Mark Johnson Farrier - another way?

22/01/2026

If like me you hadn’t picked up on the non fasted results of an insulin test being crucial then please read this!

I’m going to toss out some numbers. If numbers make you go cross-eyed, give it a chance and stay with me- it’s important.

Latest research shows that non-fasted insulin results (with access to a horse’s normal forage) that were above 21.6uIU/mL resulted in a 22% incidence of laminitis within 4 years of the bloodwork results.

That’s a lot of numbers. What that means is that almost a quarter of horses with an insulin result above 21.6 could become laminitic.

What’s even more concerning is a non-fasted insulin result of 45.2 or higher had a 69% laminitis incidence rate within 4 years.

Considering that many labs say “normal” range for insulin is under 40, and considering that many times this bloodwork is taken fasted (instead of the updated recommendation for non-fasted), many owners may see their horse’s insulin result in the 20s or 30s and think their horse is fine, or think their horse isn’t metabolic, when actually their horse may be walking a fine line of laminae issues.

I’ll tell you about a mare here. This picture is of her feet when she was really quite rotated/foundered, shortly before coming to my farm.

This mare came to my property in October 2025 after struggling with founder and rotation for a few years. The owner had been very diligent, getting tested hay, feeding a quality mineral supplement (one I feed to my rehabs here too), and building a grass-free dry lot. She had a consistent trim every few weeks, and diligent boot use.

Her insulin still would run above range, and the owner even used an SGLT2 inhibitor to help. This DID help with her pain, but even while on it she had an insulin result come back at 140 last year.

The vet recommended more movement to see if this would help with comfort and hoof health as well as body condition, and shortly after that, the mare moved here to the track.

Right before getting here, her insulin wasn’t out of control- it was around 36, while still on an SGLT2 inhibitor to help keep it in check. She was comfortable in boots, but quite cresty necked with fat pads.

After one month living on the track, her insulin went down to 24. She was comfortable at this point, and the vet recommended to stop the medication and check in again in another month or two to see how she was doing. With that, in November, she came off the SGLT2 inhibitor, and we watched and waited.

As she continued to move around the track, eating our tested hay in slow feed hay nets and minerals balanced to the hay test, she slowly lost some of her extra weight. Her feet started growing healthier, with a tighter wall connection making its way down.

Last week, her bloodwork was checked again.

With no medication, the same trim as before, and “simply” increased movement and a balanced diet, her latest insulin result came back at 7.7uIU/mL.

7.7 ! Yes, the decimal is correct. Her insulin was under 10. We have seen that with other cases here too.

Does this mean she is not metabolic?
No. It means right now, with diet and exercise, her metabolic status is controlled.

Did we change the trim? No.
Did we drastically change the diet? No.

The key for this horse was movement. The track system increased the movement, and movement lowered her insulin.

Just like with people, often the best thing we can do for our horses is good movement and a healthy balanced diet.

17/01/2026

Say that a bit louder could you? 🙏😊

“The deep flexor tendon for example comes down the back of the leg, turns over the navicular bone and inserts into the bottom of the coffin bone, that’s a real high stress point”

So many horse owners hear the word “navicular” and immediately panic - and honestly, I get it. Historically, it has been one of the scariest diagnoses in the horse world. But here’s the truth that doesn’t get said often enough: many horses labeled as “navicular” may not have true navicular disease at all, and many of them can become comfortable, sound, and stay that way for years.

Most of you know The Humble Hoof Podcast exists because of my mustang, Vinnie. He was given a navicular diagnosis early on, and like so many owners, I went down the rabbit hole searching for answers, options, and hope. Somewhere in that search, a blog post titled “The Persistence of Memory” by David Ramey, D.V.M. popped up and it touched upon what so many other hoofcare professionals were seeing in practice - that many of their "navicular" diagnosed horses seemed to become sound over time. The blog post challenged the way navicular is diagnosed, discussed how often it’s misapplied, and encouraged critical thinking instead of fear-based decisions. That post helped push me to look beyond the label and seek different ways to help Vinnie, and subsequently other horses in my hoofcare practice and my navicular-focused Facebook group, and it played a role in the path that ultimately led to this podcast.

Fast forward to meeting Dr. Ramey in person at AAEP, where I met him at a vendor booth and asked if he’d be willing to come on the podcast - and he said yes!

In this episode, we talk about: Why navicular diagnoses can often be wrong or oversimplified, the limitations of imaging and labeling, why time, management, and thoughtful rehab matter, and why a navicular diagnosis isn’t always the end of the story. If you or someone you love has a horse with this label, I really hope you’ll listen. This conversation is honest, humbling, and full of perspective.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app, or directly at this link:

https://thehumblehoof.com/2026/01/16/is-it-really-navicular/

You can learn more from Dr. Ramey at doctorramey.com !

14/01/2026

Marc Jerram makes no pretence that his podcast is anything other than technically biased, being a podcast aimed more towards the practitioner rather than the owner

That said I’m quite sure many owners would gain a lot through having this show on their radar

I’ve just thoroughly enjoyed this very grounded episode on medio / lateral balance

Podcast Episode · The Hoofcare Companion · 14/01/2026 · 23m

02/01/2026

Trying to imagine how long the herbs will last but even so , rather cool 👌 and if you had multiples on castors perhaps you could move on and off site to allow re-growth

29/12/2025

I’ve only just caught up with Andrew’s two lectures from earlier this year, quite simply fantastic! Andrew is a great and engaging speaker, the content was extremely high quality and was supported by some excellent images courtesy of The study of the equine hoof
If you get the chance to listen to Andrew speak don’t miss it! I’m confident you won’t be disappointed 😊

27/12/2025

What does a Scoot Boot fitting look like in my world ?

Firstly am I being over extra? Well, quite possibly but … there are elements to this which very frequently crop up, firstly and obviously there’s getting the right sized boot and this is where our saying “fit snug and stretch” so often comes in

It is one thing to get a boot on the foot but is it going to twist, rub, come off etc …? Often boots happily come out of the bag and onto the hoof and everyone lives happily ever after yet others don’t and get blamed for being “that boot” and so often it’s nothing to do with the boot

Really drilling down and getting that optimum fit, which for me often seems to involve stretching the back of the boot, I see as imperative to the process, then, there is adapting that boot to not just the limb stack above it, but ensuring that the limbs line of flight and the boot correspond and that means not just putting in enough breakover but putting it in the right place

Next, there is the contemplation, does this horse need the addition of bespoke orthotics, in order to achieve an outcome of better digital alignment and especially comfort which follows through to performance?

I’m posting this as I’m receiving requests for “boot fitting” especially from non clients and I get that and am humbled by it but by the same token, there is boot fitting and then there is boot fitting and greater still is the perception of what “fitting” means, my record for a set of boots (that’s all round) including assessing gait and the fitting of bespoke orthotics is 3 hours for one horse and that’s happened twice now , ok, one you might reasonably say was 2 1/2 hours, minus the chatter but still it’s a potential massive commitment of time

I have taken the decision to only be available for existing clients for Scoot Boot “fitting” as perception of “fitting” and the reality in my world! Are often different and people’s assumptions and expectations can be worlds apart

https://www.hoofbootfarriers.com/

15/12/2025

I could never work from home - way too easily distracted and while working on something else stumbled on this and .....

And just to be clear, of course the laminae support the pedal bone within the hoof but they are not alone in their role and attachment

14/12/2025

It’s one of the biggest turn off’s for me with people who don’t get this

13/12/2025

https://www.hoofbootfarriers.com/

07/12/2025

Now that was seriously seriously kind! And much appreciated Thank you Jade!

Our video course

03/12/2025

There will be few people more passionate about progressive equine dentistry than Dr Chris Pearce MRCVS and his chapter in Horses Inside Out’s “Bare Bones of the Matter” is packed with essential information

Chris’s drive for improvement is truly inspiring and having him team up with The British Horse Society’s dental campaign is a very positive step for equine welfare

Recent studies have found that up to 70% of horses have undiagnosed dental problems. Find out more about horse teeth and equine dentistry here.