Original Horse Farriery & Training

11/22/2025

11/17/2025

Pictured is the right front hoof of a wild and free-roaming mare who had been living naturally in the U.S. Great Basin but died during a BLM gather.

Her hooves as well as those on her fellow wild horses continue to serve as a model for students, vets and horse owners, and have so much to teach for those who want to learn.

The hooves of the Great Basin wild horses share many traits or characteristics - the natural wear patterns that Jaime Jackson has written about for decades in great detail in many of his books. But just like human feet, there is variation in nature - and in their appearance - and no two horses will likely have identical hooves due to their own unique DNA. This is but one of many reasons it is important to understand the wear patterns of the naturally shaped hoof, why the natural trim is not simply using basic trim mechanics but is, instead, a process where we “trigger healthy new growth patterns that, when combined with other healthy holistic practices also based on the wild horses model, eventually results in naturally shaped hooves.” Like “a chess game of complex biodynamic responses to what (is done) to the hoof.”

Image and quotes from Jaime Jackson’s “The Natural Trim: Basic Guidelines.”

11/17/2025

Your horse’s skeleton is built for impact — not confinement.

Three decades of equine bone research makes one thing painfully clear: Horses kept in box stalls lose bone density.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

Confinement triggers the same biological process humans call osteoporosis — and it starts fast.

Key findings from the research:

- Horses moved from pasture into stalls and worked only at slow speeds began losing bone mineral content within weeks.
- A single short sprint per week (50–80 m) dramatically strengthened bone.
- Corticosteroids mask pain and increase risk of further injury
- Good nutrition cannot override a lack of mechanical loading.
- A skeleton that doesn’t experience impact simply cannot stay strong.

All of this is drawn from:
Nielsen, B.D. (2023). A Review of Three Decades of Research Dedicated to Making Equine Bones Stronger. Animals, 13(5), 789.

So what does this mean for our modern domesticated horses?

It means bone weakness is not inevitable.

It’s a management problem.

It means many “mysterious” pathologies — stress fractures, suspensory injuries, joint degeneration, chronic compensation, recurrent lameness — are downstream consequences of bone that never had the chance to adapt to the forces nature designed it for.

Box stalls create osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis creates a whole lot of other pathology.

Your horse doesn’t need to be an athlete. But their bones require impact. Free movement. The ability to respond to their own nervous system’s cues to trot, canter, play, stretch, and even sprint.

Turnout is not enrichment.

Movement is biology.

Bone health is built — or lost — every single day.

A question I encourage every owner to sit with:

If you knew your horse’s bones were weakening in silence every day they stood still, would you keep managing them the same way?

Because in the end, it’s not confinement that keeps a horse safe.

It’s a resilient skeleton.

And only you can give them the environment their biology requires.

Change begins with us.

11/14/2025

The “Stifle Lameness” That Wasn’t: A Story About Referred Pain

I once had a client who told me about a horse that developed an odd, on-again off-again hind-end lameness that no one could quite pin down. Some days the horse looked off behind, as if his stifle was sore; other days he moved completely normally. Nothing about it followed the usual patterns. Things that should have made a stifle issue worse didn’t seem to, and things that “should have” helped it, didn’t.

We were all very confused.

One day, the vet happened to be on the property with a brand-new scope and offered to scope several horses for gastric ulcers — partly to familiarize themselves with the equipment. When they scoped this particular horse, they found significant stomach ulcers.

The horse was placed on a veterinarian-directed ulcer-care plan, and within a few weeks, something unexpected happened:
the ulcers healed, and the mysterious “stifle lameness” vanished along with them.

It turned out the stifle itself had never been the problem. The horse had been expressing ulcer-related visceral pain as stifle discomfort — a classic example of referred pain.

Why Ulcers Can Look Like Hind-End or Stifle Issues

This situation is a great illustration of how the equine body handles pain. Signals from the internal organs and the limbs travel through overlapping pathways in the spinal cord.

Here’s what science tells us:

1. Visceral nerves and musculoskeletal nerves converge.

The stomach and the hindquarters share overlapping spinal segments, especially through the thoracolumbar region. When the stomach is irritated, the brain can misinterpret those signals as coming from the back, pelvis, or stifle.

2. Fascia connects everything.

The deep fascial membranes link the viscera to the musculoskeletal system. When the gut is irritated, the horse may brace through the abdomen and back, altering pelvic motion and limb loading.

3. Protective guarding changes movement patterns.

A horse in visceral discomfort often holds tension through the core, diaphragm, and back. This can create subtle gait irregularities that look orthopedic but aren’t.

When the gastric discomfort resolved under the veterinarian’s care, the nervous system stopped sending those distress signals — and the hind-end “lameness” disappeared.

✳️ Why This Matters

Not every hind-end irregularity originates in a limb. Sometimes the body is expressing visceral discomfort through movement changes.

This story is a reminder of how important it is to work closely with a wonderful veterinarian, and to consider the whole horse — inside and out.

https://koperequine.com/fascia-the-skeleton-of-the-nerves/

11/07/2025

11/04/2025

5 resets and counting for this pair of Versa Grip Glues! Applied with urethane adhesive, this pair has withstood hundreds of miles and full time turnout.

"This was the 5th time these shoes were applied on this horse - same cuffs. We’ve used the same sets of shoes from May to October. 3 25 mile LD rides and 3 50 mile endurance rides. Lots of road conditioning, full time pasture turnout and a few riding vacations added into the mix."

Thank you for sharing, Chelsea Ashton!

11/03/2025

A horse’s hoof isn’t a block of wood to carve - it’s a living structure full of sensory feedback, circulation, and adaptability.

Underrun heels are one of the most common hoof distortions in domestic horses, and one of the most misunderstood.
They can impact comfort, soundness, and even boot fit.

In our latest blog post, Equine Podiotherapist Lisa Agius-Gilibert explains how to identify underrun heels, what causes them, and what you can do to help your horse develop stronger, healthier heels. 😎

11/02/2025

When the temperature dips below 40°F, it’s not just your fingers that get cold. The grass changes how it metabolizes fuel.
Here’s what’s happening:
During daylight, grass uses sunlight to make sugars through photosynthesis. Normally, those sugars are used for growth or stored in the roots overnight. But when nighttime or daytime temperatures drop below about 40°F, the grass can’t grow, meaning it stores those sugars instead of using them.
This means high sugar levels in the blades of grass, especially on bright sunny days followed by cold nights.
For horses with metabolic syndrome, high insulin, or a history of laminitis, that sugar spike in the grass can be risky. It’s like turning the pasture into dessert.
What to do when it’s cold out:
Avoid turnout on frosty mornings. This is when sugar levels are at their highest.
If possible, wait until late afternoon for grazing because sugar levels tend to drop as the day warms up.
Use a grazing muzzle or limit turnout time to control intake.
Rely more on tested, low-NSC hay when temperatures are consistently cold.
Keep tabs on your horse’s insulin and body condition. Early management prevents flare-ups. Ask us about insulin testing. It's quick and easy.

Cold weather doesn’t mean you have to lock your horse away from the pasture forever. It just means being strategic. Knowing how grass changes with the weather can help you keep your metabolic horse safe and comfortable all winter long.