Balancing Horses - Naturally Guided Horse & Hoof Care

26/03/2026

Some great visuals here and something I see when visiting new clients all too often sadly. Taking the toe pillar(s) is never a good idea. This is often done deliberately to “lamanitics” and it’s the complete opposite of what needs to be done to rectify P3 “rotation”.

23/03/2026

Quick pit stop before my next client. It’s important to keep my transport in good condition. My tyres were in desperate need of replacing! Thanks to Glenn at Walkers Auto Repairs Ltd for highlighting it on my recent service and to Jake at Star Tyre Services for getting me booked in so quickly in between clients. Great service from great companies 👌🏼😃
Give them a like and follow if you are local 👍🏼
Walkers Auto Repairs LTD travel all over the country so well worth checking them out even if you’re not local
Star Tyre Services Based in Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 7XJ

21/03/2026

Another one back in balance Longmarsh Track Livery

14/03/2026

Look at these two, like a couple of book ends bum to bum ☺️ don’t worry, they’re track buddies so they get on just fine 😍

13/03/2026

Beautiful girlie post trim today, these mane bags are brilliant! She had lovely clean, neat and tidy plaits tucked away in each and every one of these cloth bags. She is such a pretty girl 💝

13/03/2026

It’s FriYAY!! I hope you’re as excited for the weekend as these two are 😃🐎

12/03/2026

This lovely lady is 32 years old. She enjoys a good snooze when I do her hooves, then off she goes again, right back to it! 💖

11/03/2026

Trying to get a lovely picture of this handsome chap today as he looked so beautiful all clean but instead he just wanted to clown around 😂🤣 I just love them all 😍

10/03/2026

This is what a bar abscess looks like under the sole.

Lurking painfully.

Hidden beneath tiny pin-prick holes in the sole that most people ignore.

Those little black dots often disguise a pus-filled abscess sitting between the dermal and epidermal laminae of the bar.

Bars are extensions of the hoof wall.

They are not brakes.
They are not for grip.

Yet they are routinely left too long, folded over, and buried into the sole, creating pressure points and trapping debris - the perfect environment for infection.

This cadaver foot (with the sole removed) shows exactly where these abscesses develop.

Bar abscesses are the most common cause of sudden lameness - hands down.

Not mysterious.
Not bad luck.

Just the predictable result of bars being left long, distorted, and pressing into the sole.



HM.

Learn if your horse has bars that are painfully too long and infected - join The Phoenix Way: Path 2 Hoof Health

10/03/2026

Owners going through “laminitis” can often tell you everything in numbers.

The insulin numbers.
The ACTH numbers.
The number of kilos of hay fed each day.
The number of paracetamol tablets.
The grams of Danilon or bute per day.
The millilitres of the latest “laminitis supplement”.

But when I ask a simple question… how many centimetres are your horse’s heels?

Most owners have absolutely no idea.

And this is not me blaming owners. Not at all.

Many owners trust that their hoof care provider is keeping their horse’s hooves healthy and balanced. That trust is completely understandable.

But the uncomfortable reality is that very often they are not.

Time and time again we see hooves that are seriously out of balance. When this happens, the internal structures of the hoof (the pedal bone/P3), become imbalanced as well. The internal anatomy is forced to compensate for poor hoof mechanics.

The horse becomes sore.

X rays are taken.

And the diagnosis becomes “laminitis”, usually blamed on diet, inflammation, or metabolic issues.

Yet almost nobody stops to ask the obvious question.

What role did hoof balance play in the first place?

This is why I constantly encourage owners to spend some time learning about hoof care. You do not need to become a farrier or trimmer, but understanding the basics can make a huge difference to your horse’s long term soundness.

The resources are out there.
Much of it is freely available.

And the more owners understand about their horse’s feet, the better chance those horses have of staying comfortable and sound. 🐴

09/03/2026

From this 😬 … to this 😍 in just one trim. This horse was said to have a “club foot” but actually it just needed a realignment trim. Still work in progress but already at a much better angle and far more balanced.

09/03/2026

Another one on the mend ❤️‍🩹 great job Longmarsh Track Livery

A big change for Norman's feet .
We uncovered 3 abscess pockets in his bars 😳 , now comes the weekly checking of heels to make sure they aren't creeping higher.
If we can keep them where they should be we will see a large wedge grow out , and behind the wedge will be new tight aligned growth 😍🙏🏻.