Please share your trimming success story with us here!
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Two links with some great rehab stories:
Several interesting cases, including this horse:
and after...

http://www.healthehoof.com/home.html
(Fischer Equine Lameness Foundation, MN)
Lily, a knuckled-over mare:
and after...

http://www.ausequinearts.com/CaseLily.html
More barefoot
success stories!
Click HERE

A compilation of barefoot success stories,
edited by Yvonne Welz
Name: Merlynn
Burns
Location:
Contact Info: mgraphics@prodigy.net
(661) 944-4877
Age, Breed, Problems: Shetland/Mini
4 yrs, foundered twice
Trim for others?: Possibly
Date:
Not finding any solutions and solid answers
for the foundering problem my pony was facing, I did some research and found
out about the Strasser trim. I implemented it the
best I could by instructing my horseshoer to please
trim her to a 30 degree hairline and to back the toe up. There was evident relief,
even though the bars and frog were left alone. Later, after attending a Martha
Clinic, I tweaked and continue to tweak the trim on my pony. Over a period of 2
months we have gone from flat soles with long
skinny frogs and oblong feet to rounder, concave, shorter, wider frogs and
dramatic soundness improvements. Today, 2 months later she is galloping,
bucking, and trotting happily with her "herd". She is still healing,
but what a difference! I am very grateful for the knowledge that Strasser and her students have made available. I have every
confidence in the correctness of this trimming method. While every horse is
different and may require a slight variation of the trim - on the whole from
what I have observed with many horses is that it is very successful.
Name: Joni
Libert
Location:
Contact Info: 907-283-5688
Age, Breed, Problems: 18/Quarter
Horse/ Foundered
Trim for others?: Yes
Date:
Rescued an 18 yr old QH/Gelding in 2000. Foundered in all four feet. Foundered again after a
"specialist" applied orthopedic shoes, & burned the bottom of his
soles (to "toughen" them up, she said). Removed shoes 3 months later
& began trimming on my own after reading an article on the "Strasser Method" in "Natural Horse Magazine"
by Yvonne Welz. Went to 2 clinics, & became a "Strasser
Method" student in 2001-2002. My horse is recovering nicely in spite of my
initial inexperience in learning to trim. He will be used this summer for first
time since his rescue in 2000. His demeanor & whole-horse attitude has
changed for the better. He is not 100% sound yet, but his progress is steady.
Without this trim (& lifestyle change) he would not have survived. I was
told by a farrier to not waste my time, he would
never be rideable & that I should euthanise him. Good thing I did not listen. Now my friends
say he is one of the best horses they have ever seen, & he moves like a
dream!
Name: Lana
Gray
Location:
Contact Info:
peraxies@hotmail.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 18/Quarter
Horse/ Foundered/ 1year/QH/ligament problems
Trim for others?: not yet
Date:
Dr. Strasser has
become such an inspiration, and Hero in my life
because of her knowledge she has shared. We were able to save our QH and save
the life of a little colt in just a week's time. With proper living conditions
and trimming, he is standing straighter, and able to gallop (for the very first
time EVER). We believe it was because of the farrier
he has the problems he has today. (The farrier threw
him to the ground repeatedly, and knocked his hips out, causing ALL sorts of
problems..) and, if it
weren't for Dr. Strasser, the baby would have been
shot because of his "uncorrectable problems." I now refuse to ride
any shod horse, and cringe at the sight of old nail holes.
Name:
Location: New
Contact Info:
Rt66Kix@aol.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 10
y/o QH, former racehorse and barrel racer; thin soles, thin walls, contracted
heels
Trim for others?: not
yet!
Date:
Name: Roxanne
Hill
Location:
Contact Info: 816-524-4741
zuzu@swbell.net
Age, Breed, Problems: 6
year old, Quarter Horse, contracted feet and heels
Trim for others?: No,
but will help them get started.
Date:
My mare was 4 years old when I had a friend
at a clinic point out that my mare's feet were contracted. She had been
barefoot up till that clinic and I had shoes put on her. This friend noticed a
hoof print outside in the mud were the ends of the shoe was almost meeting. She
was telling me about it and I know that was my horse's foot. She wanted to see
and then told me about Dr. Strasser's book. I ordered
it as soon as I got home. I went to a team penning and my horse was dropping
her hips really bad. I took her to the Vet the next day and he said she had
sore heels and to get the shoes off. He said if I did not I would have a 4 year
old with navicular. He offered to trim her and thin
out the walls to allow the heels to spread. I told him I had a book coming and
wanted to try it first. So that is how I got started doing Dr. Strasser's trim. So far it had been how she was trimmed
that got her this way. It really made me upset that none of the farriers could recognize that there was a problem with her
feet. I knew if I did not learn how to do this myself, I would have a navicular horse. I have been trimming my mare for 2 years
now and it has been a slow process, but have made
changes. Her foot has rounded out and not oblong any longer. We have gained 1/4
inch in width. Heels have expanded, but still have more to go. This mare is
very comfortable now and is in less pain. This horse was very quiet before the
trim and now has much more energy. I believe she was such pain before. I know
it is just going to keep getting better, but takes time for the coffin bone to
remodel.
Name: Teresa
Ruth
Location:
Contact Info:
truth@bcidaho.com
Age, Breed, Problems: Arabian
gelding 9 years old shod 6 years, long toes, stretched white line, contracted, tender
on anything but grass and sand when barefoot, starting to toe out badly
Trim for others?: Maybe
Date:
I learned via internet sources that while
Cody was barefoot he was actually deteriorating - my (then) farrier
said his white line was stretched and that wouldn't go away, but that it
wouldn't hurt anything. When I said he was tender on rocks, he offered to shoe
him. I began trimming him myself Oct. 2001 after a Mike LaGrone
clinic; then a group of like-minded barefooters
invited Kurt Schlagel, CHCS student, to
Name: Teresa
Ruth
Location:
Contact Info:
truth@bcidaho.com
Age, Breed, Problems: Paint
10 yrs diagnosed navicular
Trim for others?: Maybe
Date:
I just bought this horse
Name: Joanne
King
Location:
Age, Breed, Problems: 19,QH,diagnosed with arthritis plus really bad fencing
accident
Trim for others?: Yes
Date:
LONG!! I live in a place with few horses and
fewer trained farriers. Over the years I found it necessary
to learn how to shoe myself. I took over my own shoeing when I started seeing a
twisted hoof capsule on both my horses due to an imbalance. When
my farrier moved away I took over one of his clients
who wouldn't take no for an answer. There is one farrier
left in this area that most people use. Skipper, not my horse, lived in a stall
for more than 10 years with little or no turnout...his only exercise was when
the owner rode. He had many, many lamenesses and he
looked a lot older than he actually was. He was sold a few years ago and moved
to a barn further down the road where he was turned out most of the time. He
had to learn how to be a horse :-/ The one farrier that was left here began shoeing him at this point.
He was becoming very stiff and the alpha mare began picking on him. At one
point she kicked his shoulder and chipped a bone. He got even worse. He was
diagnosed with arthritis and put on very expensive medication...$120 each
month. Then he got cornered by the mare and tried to jump the fence and
failed....this fence has the most powerful fence charger that you can
get...designed to keep in the bull that used to walk through lesser chargers.
He was constantly zapped for who knows how long...when he finally got out he
was almost dead. His hind legs were completely shredded. If it were my horse I
probably would have had him put down at this point. The owner chose not to and
he began the long road to recovery. The farrier
managed to get his shoes off and then he was just trimmed. The owner was told
she would probably never ride him again. He was separated from the other horses
and had to be forced to move. Eventually he started healing and moving around
on his own a bit. His front feet were chipping so the
owner had the farrier put the front shoes back on
him. I discovered Dr. Strasser's methods quite by
accident....I was looking online for help in shoeing a behaviorally challenged
horse. Someone suggested barefoot and led me to the barefoot egroups. I saw right away that it made sense! I studied it
intensely for a year and then decided to try it on my own horses. I've had no
hands-on help...just the internet. But I also had experience with a rasp and
hoof knife and had studied hooves a lot before starting to shoe my own. When my
friend saw that it was successful she decided to try it on her 3 horses that I
was still shoeing. Eighteen months after Skipper's accident...wounds still not
completely healed....the owner decided to leave his shoes off for the winter
and got the farrier to trim him. A week later she
called me to look at his feet because he was walking on his toes. He had high
heels, overgrown bars, frogs about 1/2 inch below the level of the hoof wall,
severe contraction, a twisted hoof capsule, and was completely unbalanced. I
trimmed him and sent pics to Lisa Huhn
in
Name: Debi
Stocker
Location:
Contact Info: debistocker@hotmail.com,
704-630-6617
Age, Breed, Problems: mulitple
Trim for others?: No,
but I'll happily refer to my wonderful farrier :) .
Date:
Our story starts about one year ago. We had
a Morgan who had weak, shelly feet. He just could not keep shoes on. For lack
of any other options, the farrier pulled his shoes
off, and we hoped that his feet would toughen up. He went from barely able to
walk on the gravel drive, to trotting on it soundly. No chips. The next horse
is an aged gentleman with navicular. All the
conventional methods had been tried (wedge shoes, etc...) This horse had been
retired because he could hardly walk. Once again, we saw tremendous
improvement. He is now trotting and cantering around his pasture, playing with
his buddies. The third horse had such contracted heels, that the bulbs pushed
together and looked like an arrowhead. This horse was so bad that our farrier asked to meet with the vet to confer. They tried a
few different shoeing methods, nothing worked. So, the farrier
pulled the shoes to see what would happen. Again, the horse improved dramatically.
At this point, I got on the internet and really started researching. I ordered
and read "A Lifetime of Soundness" and then gave it to our farrier. Turns out, he was instinctively doing pretty much
the same trim (no, they didn't teach it in horse shoeing school). He has been
doing lots of his own research. At the end of this month, I am going with my farrier,
and one other person to our first Strasser Clinic. We
can't wait! Oh, and yesterday we took 6 of our barefoot horses on a hunter
pace. Over the rocks, thru the woods, into the rivers.
All the horses seemed happy and comfortable, and at the end all of their feet
looked pretty much the same as when we started. A few were tender on gravel,
but it would be nothing to just slip on a pair of hoof boots if we needed to
ride on gravel a lot.
Name: Claudia
Garner
Location:
Contact Info:
hhdressage@sc.rr.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 5
year old Trakehner mare, no initial apparent problems
Trim for others?: Only
if they come to our farm
Date:
"Truly Scrumptious" is an
impeccably bred Trakehner filly, born in 1997. Her
full brothers and sisters (7 of them are very successful. She was inspected in
2000 by the American Trakehner Association. In what I
thought then to be right, we put front shoes on her. She was extremely
difficult to shoe, especially when it came to nailing. Her inspection result were all 7's with two exceptions: She got a 6 for her
legs because of a slight "conformation problem" in the right front
and an 8 for her trot. We waited to start her under saddle till she was 4 years
old. The summer of her 4th year she was started lightly without any accidents.
Meanwhile, she was barefoot and trimmed regularly, but always with problems. In
the fall she started bucking. Turned out she needed to be trimmed differently
(too much bar material); then the bucking stopped. In February of this year
Martha Olivo came to teach a clinic and I learned about the importance of
trimming to the dirtline and seeing the whole hoof
correctly. For the first time this young mare stands still while trimming. Her
trot is now a 9 at least. Without Martha's training with Dr. Strasser and her own ability to teach a natural trim, we
would not have ever gotten such stunning results. I now trim all my horses
myself and they are doing excellent. They have more reach and impulsion. They
are lighter on their feet and more willing to work.
Name:
Location:
Contact Info: 765-397-3789
verdeyen@localline.com
Age, Breed, Problems: Founder
/13 yr /TWH cross
Trim for others?: No,
but could help them trim
Date:
My mare had a history of undetermined bouts of
lameness and frequent abscesses that continuous front shoes and pads helped for
two years. The entire summer of 2000 she was lame or off, the farrier didn't know what to do anymore and one vet couldn't
find anything wrong, either. X-rays finally showed severe rotation, and that
vet recommended egg bar shoes with wedges. Just a few days prior to that being
done, I discovered Dr. Strasser's trimming method and
it made much more sense. Shoes were pulled and heels lowered. It was really
difficult in the beginning because she was so sore and I was basically learning
as I went on what I now recognize as very damaged
feet. Most of my information has been learned from the internet, but an early
clinic with Martha Olivo helped tremendously. Then hosting a clinic with her,
June 2001, so she could see and trim this horse, helped even more but we still
had a long way to go. The summer of 2001 was much different. I watched this
mare gradually start moving normally. She had always being short-strided, but she began to overstride!
More recently she only has trouble on frozen ruts, otherwise she can run and
buck and looks wonderful, she trots freely on pavement and walks across gravel
previously avoided. Martha was able to trim her again March 2002 and correct a
few things in my trimming, but we're almost there. A big
thank you to Dr. Strasser and everyone making this
information available.
Name:
Location:
Contact Info: 765-397-3789
verdeyen@localline.com
Age, Breed, Problems: TWH
cross/14yrs/probable founder, stretched white lines, some contraction, tender
on rocks
Trim for others?: No
but could help them trim
Date:
This gelding never had lameness problems
except for an occasional abscess. Shoes only during the best
riding weather for a few months per year about ten years ago, otherwise
barefoot. Since discovering Dr. Strasser's
trim and trying to learn on my own, what's good for one is good for all and I
needed the practice. Even my previous farrier
confirmed how much better this horse's feet were becoming. I had always thought
shoes were necessary to ride our gravel roads. He's gone from avoiding rocks to
freely choosing to trot on all but the sharpest of stones while ridden, so far.
Now I also have to learn to ride better because he's a handful! I've had help
from Martha Olivo with this horse too, she's trimmed
him June 2001 and March 2002. I also trim my 33yr old grade mare that always
had great feet. She also wore shoes in the past for riding on gravel because of
stumbling, and again, because I thought it necessary. Her feet now look even
better and I believe this trim will make her senior years even better and
longer.
Name: Patty
Hansen
Location:
Contact Info: email:
acerpatty@yahoo.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 9
yr old Appendix Gelding; Navicular Syndrome
Trim for others?: Not qualified
Date:
I have owned my horse three years. He was on
and off lame the entire time. The last year, lameness was worse and continual;
worse with work. He was diagnosed with navicular
syndrome in 1998 and put on isoxuprine with shoes and
pads. In spring 2001 I took him to be evaluated again to the University of Minn. Vet Hospital. He received a complete lameness
workup, ie, x-rays, ultra sound, nerve blocking. They
found no changes in the navicular bone and simply
diagnosed him with soft tissue soreness in the right foot. I was told to ask my
farrier to tweak around with his shoeing. My horse
only got progressively more lame and I was advised to
just give up and ship him. I persevered and discovered the Strasser
method. He was trimmed with the Strasser trim in
December 2001 and not just three short months later he is sound and I am riding
him again. Thank you so much, Dr. Strasser!! Patty
Hansen
Name: Debi
Broadway
Location: Hazel
Green,
Contact Info:
trnghroses@aol.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 6 yr.
old QH gelding: severe contraction, high heels, flat footed
Trim for others?: Not
at this time
Date:
I have a QH I purchased 3 1/2 yrs. ago that
came to me with feet in very bad shape. My farrier at
the time, managed to make his feet look awesome during the 1 yr. he shod him.
The horse seemed to move sound until one day the bottom fell out! He had a
quarter crack at the coronet band, and was lame. I was
referred to another vet who had his own shoer, 2 hr.
trailer ride, different type of shoes put on and a patch over the crack. 2nd
time I had to haul down there, he shod him, re-patched him and 3 days later...I
HAD A VERY LAME HORSE!!! Switched shoers again,
(recommendation of another vet), he shod him for 7 months and still lame. In
desperation I called upon Charles, he believes in barefoot and has gone through
a Strasser clinic and clinics with Martha. He came
and said to pull his shoes off! I was very apprehensive,
since his feet and hoof wall were so damaged already I didn't know how this
would help. He pulled off the shoes, and in 3 weeks I began riding him again.
He came up sore last week, and I wrote about it on here and called upon Charles
again. This time I had attended one clinic with Martha, so over the phone he
told me to look at his frog and see if it was grown down below the hoof wall
and if so trim it up a little. Well, it was and I did, and there was a bruise
under there, too. I am happy to say, my horse since yesterday has been a
fireball again and seems to be doing GREAT! He is still flat-footed, but, I
know it takes a while to undo the damage caused over years of improper shoeing.
I honestly feel I can ride him right now with the way he's acting, and believe me, I haven't really gotten to ride him in over a year! I am
seeing success right here in my back yard, and I own 3 other horses that have
not ever had shoes o, and as long as they live with me, they won't! I am so
happy to have been enlightened when it comes to the health of my animals, and
after attending a clinic, to be able to help them myself in small ways instead
of having to "wait for the farrier to
arrive."
Name: Monica
Meer
Location:
Contact Info:
Age, Breed, Problems: 12
Yr. Saddlebred, foundered
Trim for others?: yes
Date:
In May of 1991 our 12 year old saddlebred foundered. We had only had her for a year. I was
told she was barefoot all her life with no previous problems. I immediately
called my farrier and my vet. The vet x-rayed her
front feet. The left was rotated to 12 degrees and the right was at about 8
degrees. His instructions were to back up toes, give her bute morning and night, and dry lot her. My farrier was shocked that he didn't recommend shoes. Seeing
that at that time I thought the farrier probably knew
best; I asked the vet about shoes. He said reverse shoes would be OK. I had
them put on. She seemed better for about a day or two. About two days later a
friend came into my shop with a very good friend of hers. We started talking about
the founder. She immediately told me to get the shoes off. She told me that her
horse was put down due to founder and since that time she had been researching
Gretchen's site. She gave me the site address and I began my mission. I
immediately called my farrier and told him to come
pull shoes and drop her heels. He thought I was crazy (after all, the shoes
were only on for 5 days). He would only lower her heels 3 degrees at a time. He
told me he could not take any more off for at least two weeks. That night she
was pacing the fence line. I knew she was feeling better. I asked my farrier to come out sooner, that she was looking better
already. He said he would not compromise the horse by taking more off. Well,
needless to say she relapsed since he refused to come out sooner. In the
meantime I was listening to everyone under the sun tell me what to do, when in
my heart I knew Strasser's trim was what she needed.
I called an old farrier in to help me out. He called
my vet again and the vet told him to put on pads and shoes again. He told me
that he had helped other horses before and that the trim would not do it. This
was the stupidest thing I've ever done, but I let them put on the shoes and
pads. The bad thing was that she literally had no hoof because of the way the farrier was trimming her. Her wall was shorter than the
sole. After he put on the natural balance shoes. It
only took a few days for her soles to be so terribly bruised that she could no
longer stand. It seemed that it was crushing her sole. I had an emergency
pulling of the shoes. She was really in bad shape now. I was continuing to bute her just so she could stand.
I couldn't stand it any more. I purchased a set of knives, a rasp, a Dremel, and headed out to try for my
myself. I was doing such a little bit, it really wasn't helping much. I
was preparing myself and my daughter for the possibility that I would have to
put her down. My last hope was to have
Name: Suzette
Dybiec
Location:
Contact Info: 614-481-5498
suzette@humanfactor.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 13 yo,
QH, Toe Crack, High Heels, Overgrown Sole and Bars
Trim for others?: No,
but could get them experienced help
Date:
I first read Dr. Strasser's
book "Lifetime of Soundness" and Jaime Jackson's "Horse Owners
Guide to Natural Hoof Care" in June 1999 (through internet research). My
horse came with shoes (purchased January 1999) and I suspected they could be
related to her head bob, toe crack, and lack of energy when riding. Arranged a
phone consult with Jaime (June 2000) and pulled the shoes. At the time I
boarded at a facility where full turnout was not an option and she was forced
to stall 16 hours per day. For the first couple weeks, she could barely walk at
times after stalling. I did not comprehend at the time how critical full
turnout is when pulling shoes and I'm fortunate she never foundered. She
continued to have the head bob, toe crack, and lack of energy and I submitted
pictures of her feet to Gretchen late March 2001. She referred me to someone
who could help me. She had high heels, and overgrown sole and bars. She was
also clubby in the RF where the toe crack was. I committed to having her
trimmed (by a CHCS student) every three weeks (and I learned how to basically "emory board" in between), moved her to full turnout,
daily soaking, and riding as much as possible. Immediately after the first trim
(
Name: Joanne
Zabawa
Location:
Contact Info:
TJZRanch@aol.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 13 yr
Quarter horse gelding - ouchy on rocks
Trim for others?: no
Date:
After 3 years of barefoot riding - without a
problem - we moved to a new location and started riding on gravel roads. My Quarter horse, Black, got ouchy on the
rocks and I had him shod. I never believed shoes were good for a horse,
but did not want to see him in pain. My farrier told
me the only way Black could be ridden on the gravel roads was in shoes.
After attending a clinic with Martha Olivo -
she trimmed Black in a natural style and connected me with Dr Strasser's books. I have continued to read and learn -
following many barefoot advocates - about the Strasser
style of trimming. I have followed the guidelines to natural horse keeping -
out 24/7 - daily exposure to water - work on hard surfaces and varied terrain
etc. After 1 year Black is not only walking on gravel without a problem, but he
willingly trots, canters and gallops on the gravel roads when we ride -- he is
very happy and healthy! I now maintain all 5 of my horses barefoot in with the Strasser guidelines for trimming and horse keeping. Thanks
Dr. Strasser!
Name: Josh
Wetzler
Contact Info: staceyandjojo@hotmail.com/
336-492-7978
Age, Breed, Problems: multiple
Trim for others?: Yes.
I am a professional farrier.
Date:
Please see Debi
Stocker's above post for success stories.
Professional Farrier. I am
well versed in the natural barefoot trim and living conditions. I have attended
a Strasser Clinic, and will continue to further my
education. I take extra time to explain to my clients exactly how and what I am
doing. I welcome questions. I have a number of clients happy to give a
recommendation.
Name: Kim
and John
Location:
Contact Info:
kijopainthorse@datacruz.com/574-287-6506
Age, Breed, Problems: approx.
11, Paint , founder due to allergic reaction to
medication
Trim for others?: ??
Date: 14
May 2002
Hi, I just wanted to share a similar story
that seems to be sort of common. I am not sure how this compares to the
following methods, but it seems similar to what we have done. I have a paint
mare that was in foal with her first baby several years ago. She was around
four at the time, maybe five. She came home from the trainers/breeders and was
shortly thereafter diagnosed with strangles. We doubted the vets opinion, as we
thought it was a sliver from a wood board that the mare liked to hang her head
over. So the vet wanted to treat her with antibiotics no matter what the cause
was. We went with the vet's view (they know more than us, right!) She was on
the medication for two days and one morning I went to turn the mares out and
she did not touch her food. I moved her outside and she continued to talk to
me. Finally I figured out that she could not bend her neck to eat due to the
shots she was getting. The vet came out and said she was having a reaction to
the medication and checked her feet. Said she was ok and changed the
medication. Two more days went by, and by this time the mare could not walk. I
was in tears.... The vet was back out. Checked her feet again and guess what
she was foundering. I cried and cried. She was maybe three months in foal. The
vet did a blood test on her, and sure enough, she was at toxic levels for the
antibiotic--she never did have strangles. The vet then pulled her shoes off
(which was a joke, I normally do not shoe unless they are getting used a lot,
and she was. (We tend to believe that a horse is better in the natural state.)
Our farrier puts shoes on to stay on and it took the
vet over an hour to take two shoes off.) The vet set us up for the upcoming vet
calls, telling us what to expect. The puss pockets and fever in the foot. The
mare could not walk. We had been told to put shoes on her, to sell her, that
she would never be good again. After the vet had charged us a ton of money and
not really seeing any improvement, we decided to take her to our old-time farrier. It was so gross, he dug her foot out until he got
to the infection in both feet, dumped some formaldehyde on her feet to stop the
infection, trimmed the toes off of her front feet (our farrier
already kept her lower than most on the heels) and sent her on her way. To our
amazement she walked off the trailer, the best that she had walked in weeks. We
then started a weekly trimming session on the mare. Or whenever we noticed that
she was getting a little ouchy in her walk. My
husband went out and bought a rasp and a pair of clippers, and kept the mare's
toes chopped off so that she would roll over easier. This was the best money
ever spent on her. The farrier would then do his main
trim job about once a month. Her nails seemed to grow much quicker than anyone
else's, and still do . The farrier
continued to have to clean the sole of her foot out as it would grow really
quickly. He had a couple of good clean-outs to get all the infection out. After
a good year of doing trimming in this method the mare was getting back to
"normal" if you call it . We continued to do
more trimming on her for the next year or so. Now seven years later the mare
gets around well. I have never had her feet x-rayed, but she does well. After
all she went through she just hangs around and gives us some nice paint babies.
We do ride her occasionally, but not long or hard. We don't want to have
anything happen to her, as she does produce a nice quality baby (and spot,
too!) I guess my suggestion is to stay as natural with the animals as
possible. Nature is better. Shoes are ok if you have a need for them, but most
of the time it is unnecessary. Let the horses have room to move and stretch. I
have seen too many horse people try to do what they think is best ....ex.
stalling, shoeing, too many supplements--and end up hurting the animal.
Name: Tom
Location:
Contact Info:
http://bigtimberranch.homestead.com/welcome.html
Age, Breed, Problems: 19
yr old TN Walker, had first bout at age 5, and many other painful bouts since
Trim for others?: ?
Date:
Stepper was really having a painful bout with
laminitis a few years ago. I had been monitoring him closely for years (due to
previous attacks), but somehow he got a bad case. Anyway, somehow I found
Gretchen or she found me. She came out several times and taught me a lot and
I've had great success, and so has Stepper. I rode him last weekend and we were
flying all over those trails, he really felt good. He's 19, had several serious
bouts with laminitis starting at age 5, but the trim works. I still monitor his
pasture and feed intake. He is muzzled on pasture most of the day, but gets 2
to 3 hours of free time without the muzzle every day. At night he is kept off
the pasture and fed grass hay. He gets carrots and apples and a handful of
pellets and blackoil sunflower seeds twice a day. In
the morning I make sure he gets a flake of hay in his stomach before muzzling
him. I highly recommend Best Friend Equine Muzzle, but I add a couple of small
holes to allow for better grazing. Otherwise, he got frustrated and just quit
trying to graze and stood in the leanto all day--not
good, you want movement and exercise. The extra holes provide him just enough
to keep him interested and trying. I am really thankful to Gretchen for all her
efforts in helping fight laminitis, a horse's worst enemy. Tom
When I first saw Tom and Stepper,
Stepper was very sore, contracted and rotated. He was oozing abscesses
everywhere; you could smell him 15' away. When I got home, I had to
disinfect my tools, my clothes--everything. Even the bottoms of my shoes
picked up the scent just walking on ground he had stepped on. He improved
soon after the first trim. I went back one more time. Tom had me
look at the other horses. One, a colt, was much worse than the others.
I asked why. Tom said the farrier was still
doing the colt, but that he (Tom) was doing the others. I said, fire this
guy, you are doing better! Tom really picked up on what I was showing him
very fast. The next time I called, wondering why I had not heard from him
in a while, his wife said he was out on trail on Stepper, and that Stepper was
fully back in action again. Tom picked up on what I was showing him about
the trim and really followed through; he was rewarded with a quick
recovery. The muzzle he mentions is something I told him about. For
more muzzle info, Click HERE
I have been using the Strasser method for some time now. Gretchen came out to my place
and showed me what to do. I have a 20 year old walking horse that had his first
bout with laminitis 16 years ago and several serious bouts after that. Through
the years I have found the key is not only the trim, but my constant management
of what he eats. I live in
I rode him yesterday and he was ready to go and in the best shape of his life.
We even walked a 1/2 mile down a stream full of rocks and who knows what, with
no problem. He used to have trouble going downhill and I would traverse back
and forth to help him get down--now he flies down the hills. I use the natural
trim on my others and have never had any problems, only sound horses.
Tom
http://bigtimberranch.homestead.com/index.html
Name: Maureen
Gall
Location:
Contact Info: waratah@aol.com
(434 361 1406)
Age, Breed, Problems: 21 y/o
App. foundered '97, flat footed, ouchy on gravel,
on/off lameness. 17 y/o QH, no hoof or lameness
problems at all.
Trim for others?: not
qualified - but can refer to others in this area
Date:
Six months ago, after finding the Strasser site and other barefoot sites, I located a nearby farrier who was doing the Strasser
trim. Pulled my horses' shoes and have 6 months of gradual improvement in the
App. Though the QH had never had a problem, I opted
this trim for her as well and she is doing fine, also.
My dilemma is that I have relocated both
horses to a farm/barn in
IF ANYONE OUT THERE READING THIS IS AWARE OF
ANYONE WHO MAY BE PERFORMING THIS TRIM IN THE BARNESVILLE, MD. AREA, I WOULD BE
MOST GRATEFUL TO HEAR FROM YOU.
Thank you. Maureen Gall
Name: Sonja
Appelt
Location: Villach/Austria
Contact Info: 0043
676 350 49 15
Age, Breed, Problems: 4 y QH
gelding, navicular\
Trim for others?: no, but
will provide information
Date:
When I saw & bought him last year, I
didn't know much about horses. After the examination by the vet, he came up
slightly lame (his shoes were taken off for that). Vet said it is navicular, I bought him cheaper. Heels were under-run, hoof
walls thin & unstable, feet cold while still shod. With the help of a Strasser trimmer and frequent trimming myself,
the heels are upright now. The hoof is currently too short, though, so he's
very ouchy on gravel--will start to ride with hoof
boots this week. I feel guilty for not giving him enough movement which would
speed up his recovery, for sure. I learned trimming on a 3 day seminar. The Strasser trim works, and I've
learned much in this short time!
Name: M
Oswald
Location: Far
Contact Info:
Meadybites@hotmail.com
Age, Breed, Problems: QH
X
Trim for others?:
Date:
Although I have never had a horse suffer from
laminitis I am still a big believer in the bare-hoofed horse. I have a 22 year
old QH x mare who has never been shod nor has she ever been lame. I have just
started her daughter and I have no plans shoe her even though we work on a
large variety of soil types. I think is some cases the no--shoe method can
prevent as many problems as it can fix.
Name: Joanne
Husted
Location:
Contact Info: 530-306-3109
Age, Breed, Problems: 15
yr old paint mare
Trim for others?: probably
Date:
Dancer, my paint, was my first horse
purchase. I didn’t have a vet check, and didn’t think I needed one since I
trusted the Ranch owner. Dancer did fine on the trail and I watched others ride
her while she did sliding stops, spins, etc., with no troubles. She would trip
every once in a while, but I see that a lot with horses, and wasn’t concerned.
I asked the ranch owner about her hooves with the rings on them, and why was her toe filed back--her reply was, "that is just
how she is made." 2 months later I had her re-shod. A few days later
Dancer didn’t want to do anything, and shortly after that she threw her right
front shoe and went lame. I took her to the vet, who knew right away that she
was a founder case. X-rays showed severe rotation, with
remodeling of coffin bone tip (long-term foundered horse), very near sole
penetration. The vet told me that I should seriously consider putting
her down. I agreed with her, and took Dancer home, thinking I would have it
done very soon. The next day I found this web site, made a couple calls, had
someone come out to give Dancer her first Strasser
trim. It was amazing all the bruised sole that she took off. I went to a Martha
Olivo clinic so I could learn to do it myself. I do the trimming myself now. It
has been terrible watching Dancer go through all the painful abscesses, and in
the beginning she would do a lot of laying down, and I
would have to use the whip to get her on her feet. After each abscess she would
have a period of relief and actually walk without me encouraging her. One
morning in early September she was trotting and bucking with the other horses--
granted, they were little bucks, but she definitely felt better. April of 2002
was her first trim--I took her in for more x-rays on
Name: John
Ripley
Location:
Age, Breed, Problems: 4yrs standardbred slightly lame
in front
Trim for others?: yes
Date:
DEAR Sir/Madam--my name is John Ripley from
Yours, J. Ripley
Name: Paula
Stich
Location:
Contact Info:
Age, Breed, Problems: 11 y.o. Thoroughbred thin-walled, shelly, under-run heels--you
name it...
Trim for others?: I'll
help other people do it themselves
Date:
Cosmo is a 15.3, incredibly athletic
Thoroughbred gelding that has done eventing, dressage
and now endurance. I always kept shoes on him, as his feet were flat, and his
hoof walls were thin. I didn't know about the barefoot trim until his feet just
broke down completely and I found this site and began to read and learn. I
bought the Strasser book, LOS, and thought I have
nothing to lose. Well, we are almost 2 years into barefoot with a
"hopeless case," and low and behold, we finished one 50 mile
endurance ride and 2 weeks later 2 50's back-to-back, all barefoot, and not
even boots. Granted, it IS
Name: Cheryl
Henderson
Location:
Contact Info:
hndrsn@cdsnet.net
Age, Breed, Problems: 6yrs,
qtr, navicular right fore
Trim for others?: still
in the learning process
Date:
Friend gave me her navicular
horse, who had been treated by vets, corrective shoers,
had blocks and the usual program given for conditions like this. On Feb 5, 2003
I got him after his egg bar & pad and other shoes were removed...hoof wall
was torn carelessly when removing the shoes.
Anyway, he was so out of balance and all
contracted. The right navicular hoof was round with a
bulge in the front of the wall. Right fore heels were not overly long. The left
front hoof was grossly out of balance with both heels being excessively long,
and the outside 3/4" longer than the inside. The right hind had a bulge
pushing out the front of the hoof wall and was round in shape. The left hind
was so steep and round with a deep groove in the side wall by the coronet area.
Both hind heels were not too long.
This is what his movement was like: He
walked with a thud to the right fore, and a swing
paddle limp on the left. His head and neck bounced deep with each movement.
Going into a turn was awkward and sore. He was braced going down the paved
driveway...and really had discomfort on the steeper part of the paved driveway.
I began to trim with what I learned from Martha Olivo and her assistants Carol
and Karen last November '02. I balanced the sides, opened the heels and lowered
gradually every two days the first week. I stroked and massaged his legs and
tendons each day. I also had him stand in the stream for 15 minutes each day.
On the eighth day he had already gained
measurable frog and bulb size. His hair line looked good, but his heels were
still a bit high and his sole was too flat. He still moved about the same in
rhythm, but easier. Then I took him to the
On the 25th day his soles, frog and bulb
looked fantastic. His round rear feet now have an oval shape. He has deep
depression grooves on two of his feet. Older bruises are still surfacing. The
new horn is full and gives the image of what his angle and growth will be in
the months ahead. These are the 1st month results--I take him for walks around
the forest and on the paved 1/2 mile driveway. He did a perfect haunch turn,
out-walked me, trotted when I let him go free to the lawn, and cow-kicked at
another horse at a feeding site. Except for his showing a difficult stance,
some limp and one stumble in the beginning of going down the steeper part of
the driveway. You would not think he had any issues by his movement. I bought
him some Old Macs and plan to get him on some longer walks. To encourage daily
movement he is in with my other 9 horses on 15 acres of forest with a stream,
rocks, granite, mud, packed dirt. I hide their feed in
flakes throughout the area, making them all have to walk around to locate where
it might be. All of this gain in such a short time! Makes me realize the
benefits of a barefoot trim and movement are an amazing remedy. I am so happy
for him.
Name:
Location: Floresville
(South of
Contact Info: 830-216-7793
or email las_whinny@yahoo.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 18 year
old foundered (penetrated both fronts) Arabian stallion
Trim for others?: No,
but willing to take rehab cases here and CSHS available (comes every 3 weeks)
for trimming.
Date:
Winsome Star foundered in July/August of 2000,
after being "shot up" at a show by 2 strangers. Vet speculated on any
number of tranquilizers, and I myself suspect corticosteriods
because of the rapid and severe laminitis that resulted. "Winnie"
rotated 15 degrees in both fronts, and was also a "sinker," where the
coffin bone actually sinks downward in the hoof capsule. All advice at that
point was to put him down, in spite of the fact that he came trotting off the
trailer at the vet hospital to be x-rayed. We called in a leading specialist at
that point, and worked with him for about 1-1/2 years, using fairly
conventional methods, though he did try to lower heels, etc., when he thought
the horse was beginning to recover. The specialist pretty much gave up when
Winnie did not respond, and we called in Rachael Coggins,
then a CSHS student (after Gretchen recommended her to me) to help. Before
Rachael could even make it out to see Winnie, he had sole penetration. All vets
but one said to put him down. The one actually saw him, and said "hey,
he's still walking and trying, can't hurt to try." Rachael began trimming
Winnie and teaching me in December of 2001, and Winnie had progressed greatly
since then. He is still recovering, but is now chasing the 3 year old gelding
around the pasture, neck wrestling and rearing to box with him, and
walking/trotting to pace the fence line when we move his mare (almost ready to
foal) up for the night. He is resting his hind feet more (like a normal horse
relaxing), and can even buck (uh, oh). I've ridden him a few times, and will do
more, I hope, this summer as the days get longer. The lack of riding is not due
to any problems of Winnie's, but a lack of time on my part. He is again going
through some bad abscessing on his right front (originally clubby anyway from
an old trailering accident), but does not seem
bothered by it. The addition of LaminaSaver to his
feed seems to also be helping, though from what I've seen on their site, they
indirectly support the Strasser method,
or something similar, to make this product actually work.
Winnie--shod
February 2001, and then sole penetration Dec. 2001
January,
April 2002
Anyway, Winnie would not even be here today
if it weren't for the Strasser method, and Gretchen's
site!!! Thank you!!!!!!
Name: Trieneke
de Jager
Location:
Contact Info:
tj66@home.nl
Age, Breed, Problems: 10 jaar 3 jaar
kreupel
Trim for others?: nee
Date:
Renate Huttman was
de eerste die tegen mij kon zeggen,
waarom mijn paard kreupel was. Dat konden de dierenartsen mij niet vertellen.
En hij was afgekeurd voor de sport met andere woorden hij mocht
naar de slager. Renate heeft hem getrimd en met succes. Na een jaar trimmen heeft
mijn paard weer meegedaan aan een endurance wedstrijd een rit
van 58 kilometer en met succes met een gemiddelde van 13.75
kilometer per uur.
Trieneke de Jager
Name: Sue
Bates
Location: west TN
Contact Info:
bsbates@netease.net
Age, Breed, Problems: 19 yr.
old Arabian mare
Trim for others?: maybe
after more practice
Date:
Discovered that our 19 yr. old Arabian
broodmare (w/3 mo. old colt at her side) is actually foundered rather than
arthritic, as our Amish farrier had indicated. Just a
bad call on his part; he's usually VERY good and we trust him implicitly. We
only acquired her about 2 1/2 yrs. ago and it appears that this is not her
first case of founder. About 8 wks. back I'd had him
put shoes on her front, thinking that it might help her 'arthritis' or
tenderfoot or whatever. It worked for about 3 wks. and
then she began getting worse again. The last 10-14 days she's really been
spiraling downward. Finally, a vet call confirmed founder and I discovered the
Natural Horse Trim site after doing an online search for a cure. By this time,
she was bad enough that she spent much time lying down, with weight loss and
obviously in much pain. Hubby & I managed to get the shoes off of her last
weekend while she was laying down, and I then began
working on trying to regain the ground-parallel coffin bone in her front feet.
Bless her, she was MOST co-operative!! I've continued working on her almost
daily, just a little at a time since I can only 'do' her when she's down and
I'm far from expert. We have already seen improvement!! Her weight is coming
back, her eyes look better, the back is more concave instead of arched upward,
she spends more time standing and she's moving around a bit more.
Unfortunately, while doing her back feet tonight, I discovered a small
penetration of the coffin bone in her right rear foot. It's no larger than the
tip of my little finger and I'm hopeful that the trimming that I did on her
heels tonight will help to give her more relief and begin to affect a cure for
the problem. Her toes have never been overly long, so I'm assuming that most of
the problem has been the result of whatever initially caused the founder and
the high heels. I have already told several people about the site and am so
thrilled to see the old gal improving in such a short time! Both my hubby and I
were dreading what we were sure was her impending demise; fearing that one
morning we would find her dead when we went out to feed. The last couple of
mornings she has been back to her former self of calling for breakfast and
standing there waiting for it to be served! Same at nighttime! Bless her heart!
Today was her most mobile and upright in days and days. I think there may be
light at the end of the tunnel..... :-) Thank you for your website, Gretchen!!!
Name: Trieneke
de Jager
Location: The
Contact Info:
tj66@home.nl
Age, Breed, Problems: 11
years warmblood (17h) foundered for 3 years
Trim for others?: no
Date:
My horse Harry was foundered for 3 years,
and the vet never found a solution for the problem. So the vet wanted to put
him down. I couldn't accept it. So I found a Strasser
trimmer from
Here is a photo of me and
Harry after a 30 mile ride, from
Name:
Location:
Contact Info:
barbara@reasonabledoubt.org
Age, Breed, Problems: 20,
TrakX, navicular/ringbone
Trim for others?: no
Date:
This is a success story, but a bittersweet
ending. I have been working on my horse for over two years after attending my first
(of two) clinics with Dr. Strasser here in
Name: Jacqui
Johnson
Location:
Contact Info:
jacqui.johnson@travelshoptenerife.com
Age, Breed, Problems: 13
/navicular
Trim for others?: no, but
happy to refer to my farrier
Date:
My 13 year old gelding started having
problems in March 2002.The vet wrongly diagnosed tendon problems, and after 1
year of unnecessary treatment and bouts of lameness with months of stall rest, said
that there was no solution and that I should think about retiring him. My horse
means too much to me to give up without a fight, so I moved him to a stable
where he could be loose 24 hours, and called in another vet to check him out.
In 15 minutes the vet diagnosed navicular syndrome,
which I suspect was his problem from the beginning. Terribly upset with this
news I decided to try and find somewhere for an an
early retirement, but at the same time began searching on the web for
information on navicular to increase my then very
superficial knowledge. The sun came out, I found information on the Strasser trim and not only that, this marvelous lady
actually answered my email. In July 2003 my horse's shoes were pulled and he
was given his first trim, 4 days later he was walking almost soundly and now 3
months later I am trotting and cantering him. I have had the most invaluable
help from my stable owner/farrier who has trimmed
every 10 days and given my horse his new lease on life. I would never have
believed it possible, and just hope that more professionals will bow their
heads and just give it a try - it really works. I will never be able to say
thank you enough to Doctor Strasser who has
researched this method and Mr. Gomez who has helped me put into practice.
Name:
Location:
Contact Info: 336
698-0784
Age, Breed, Problems: 6
year old
Trim for others?: yes
maybe depends
Date:
In fox hunt school, a woman came from the
local pony club with her daughter and horses to be the fox and hounds. We
chased them. I was impressed with her gelding until I looked down and saw him
standing buck kneed, and asked her if I could look at her horse's feet. She said
yes, and was very open to discussing his problems and telling me about him. He
is a 6 year old