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Centered Equine Farrier Services, LLC, Philadelphia, PA (2025)

Centered Equine Farrier Services, LLC specializes in physiologically correct barefoot trimming, hoof boot fitting, and metal and composite shoe application in the greater Delaware Valley. Centered Equine is owned and operated by Kate Simmer, Certified Barefoot Trimmer with the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization, Recognizing Hoof Distortion Practitioner (Level One Endorsement) from the Daisy H

aven Farm School of Integrative Hoofcare, and Accredited Professional Farrier with Foundation Credential from the American Association of Professional Farriers. Centered Equine provides a centered, open-minded, and balanced approach to your horse's hoof care. Coming from a strong foundation in barefoot trimming and a natural horse care philosophy, Kate is committed to creating the healthiest hooves possible. If the workload or hoof condition require hoof protection, Centered Equine can help you navigate the various options available, whether that is professionally fitted hoof boots, hoof cast application, or steel, aluminum, or composite shoes. After a lifetime working with horses in various capacities, Kate Simmer became a barefoot trimmer in 2007, and began serving client horses in 2010. In 2013 she began to learn to apply composite and metal horseshoes as part of her practice. Kate is a Certified Barefoot Trimmer with the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization, and an Accredited Professional Farrier with the American Association of Professional Farriers, an organization that underscores the necessity of continuing education in today's rapidly advancing farrier profession. In 2019 Kate completed the AAPF Foundation Credential written exam with a score of 100%, and joined the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners, an organization that fosters mutual respect and education between veterinarians and farriers. Kate has also achieved her Level 1 Endorsement: Recognizing Hoof Distortion Practitioner from the Daisy Haven Farm School of Integrative Hoofcare in Parkesburg, PA. Finally, in addition to a full-time farrier practice, Kate is working towards an Associates in Biology in preparation for a Master’s Degree in Equine Science.

06/15/2024

Why it's harmful to leave long toes on laminitic horses!

Here is a brief video explanation. When you lower the heel, you increase the force on the deep digital flexor tendon which is pulling the coffin bone back away from the dorsal hoof wall, and down into the sole.

If you then leave the long flared toe, you have created a lever arm where the coffin bone is being pulled away from the dorsal wall by the DDFT, while the ground is pushing up into the flared dorsal wall, pushing it away from the coffin bone as well.

If you back the toe and remove it from ground contact, you remove this opposing force, allowing the lamellar connection to grow back together more quickly from the coronary band down, without constantly being leveraged apart.

The main breakdown in a chronic laminitis foot is, surprise surprise, the laminae. Any hoof care should therefore seek to unload and preserve this weakened connection at all costs. Even, yes, if it means applying a boot or a shoe for comfort.

Leaving a laminitic horse barefoot with a long toe is clinging to ideology at the horse's expense, and leaving them vulnerable to further damage, no matter if they appear more "comfortable." Thankfully we have many tools to help them be comfortable while still helping them heal as quickly as possible from their precarious situation.

03/29/2024

Just another day at work! This is Merrilegs, boarded at Northwestern Stables, Inc. in Philadelphia.

01/15/2024

This one's for the hoof care providers!

Here's a quick video showing removal of the Versa Grip Glue from Easycare, applied with methyl methacrylate ("acrylic") glue. A lot of folks say it's too hard to reset them due to difficulty cleaning the glue off of the cuffs, but I peel them off leaving the glue on the hoof wall, and then shoe cleanup is minimal. Cleaning the glue off the hoof wall is the hardest part, but angle grinders and sanders make this process go faster, if the horse doesn't mind power tools.

There are a few tips that make this process easier... I will often purposely not create a glue "feather" around the cuff, so there's a ledge to grab with nippers at the end of the cycle. If I want to create a feather say on a horse who I'm worried may pull a shoe, I'll just have to rasp it away to create that ledge for the nippers to grab.

There's a technique to peeling the cuff where you fold it away from the hoof and grip the fold with the nippers, to separate the last part at the bottom. Old nippers are important here, as they have a space between the blades so you won't cut the cuff.

Finally, the shoe sits looser on the hoof for resets, so I mix the glue in a cup with a tongue depressor and apply it to the shoe, then wrap tightly in plastic before setting the foot down to cure (as opposed to setting the shoe on the foot and applying the glue through the holes in the cuff with a mixing tip, as in the standard method of application).

Hope this helps some practitioners, and isn't too boring for non practitioners! Lol

12/29/2023

Meet Ella, a new client with functional limb length disparity. First collage is the first appointment, 2nd two are a 5 week comparison of the changes.

Limb length disparity in horses causes uneven loading of the digits which over time leads to pathology. Ella was not doing well in regular steel shoes, so her owner decided to try something different! We opted to shoe the left front club with a direct glued composite shoe and cast both front feet. At her appointment today, her right front foot seemed healthy enough to remain barefoot, and we reset the left front shoe.

What's cool is that both feet have improved, showing that the package evened out her weight bearing despite being so different looking foot to foot. We try to shoe the whole horse and think about the "why" of things, instead of addressing each foot in a vacuum.

Address

Philadelphia, PA

Telephone

(267) 315-7355

Website

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