AboutGwenyth Browning Jones Santagate Expertise My expertise lies in Natural Equine Hoofcare. If you're looking for answers about your horse's natural hooves, I can help you. I am a professional hoofcare specialist dealing in the pathologies of the hoof i.e. Laminitis, Navicular, Whiteline Disease and others. I can answer your questions concerning pathologies of the hoof as well as "transitioning" your horse from shoes to barefoot. My emphasis is on the health of the hooves, overall.
Experience Over 40 years of life with horses. Trimming hooves since the 1980's and professional hoofcare since 2001. I am also a trainer/teacher of horses and have been licensed as an instructor in Massachusetts since 1994. I own and operate my own boarding and rehab facility. I also have developed, written and teach Natural Hoofcare courses, clinics and seminars to horselovers from all over the world. Am trained Veterinary Surgical Assistant and Technician for both small animals and Equine. ; Trainer for 30 years.
Organizations Past 4-H Founding Equine Leader over 10 years in FL and MA.
State Director of the AMBA.
Past Regional Director of PPLtd.
Publications Contributing author to the 2001 Federal Mounted Border Patrol Equine Training Manual; Local and International Equine Publications; Contributing Editor Suite 101 Natural Horsemanship.
Education/Credentials Specific to hoofcare: Mentored under Marjorie Smith. Clinics w/Pete Ramey. Individual studies of Jaime Jackson, Gene Ovnicek, Lyle Bergeleen, Dr. R. Bowker, Dr. C. Pollitt.
Past/Present clients Include local showmen as well as Eventers, Barrel Racers, Cutters, Hunter-Jumpers and Dressage. Pleasure Trail Riders and Rescues. Most clients are recovering/recovered pathological situations.
My 13-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse named Bugsy was diagnosed with
navicular syndrome last year and I took him barefoot Feb. 1 (using a trimmer
in Pete Ramey's group) hoping to cure his lameness. I was initially worried
about his becoming overly sore without shoes but he seems to have
weathered that without much incident. But when I brought him back to the
trimmer last Friday (March 7) for a second trim, all of a sudden he appeared
to be off at a trot on his front LEFT leg instead of his RIGHT (as he had been
previously--and the right foot was the primary one diagnosed as navicular).
Is this something I should be concerned about? What's going on?!? I'm
attaching a JPEG showing his front feet at various stages over the past 5 or so
weeks in case that's of any help. Bugsy's front right foot is somewhat upright
and to the best of my understanding is in worse shape as the frog and digital
cushion were thus always left far off the ground. Both front heels were
contracted. And the most outstanding feature I can think of regarding his
front left leg is that it paddles when he trots. I don't get the feeling Bugsy's
doing any worse than last week and if I had to say one way or the other I'd
guess he may be even doing a little bit better. But, if so, why would he all of a
sudden be off on his other leg?!? Can you help me understand what's going
on?!? Thanks for whatever insights you can offer!
Answer Hi Evan ... I apologize for the delay in my answer to you. Life sometimes gets in the way of all the FUN things! *GRIN*
The toes look to be long unless that is distortion on the part of the photos. Getting those toes back will be the biggest relief. Also, yes, heels are contracted and what I've found is that most contractions cause Yeast issues in the crack between the bulbs of the heels. That can be very soring. Any suddeness of lameness, of course, *could* be caused by an abscess. One way to tell if it might be that would be to give 1 gm of Bute, if tolerated well by the horse and if there's NO relief from the tenderness then it's USUALLY an abscess that needs to be treated. MOVEMENT is best to help an abscess move its way out and burst. There are a couple of Homeopathic remedies that help to hasten the process and resolve the situation. Hepar sulph to get the abscess to burst and Silicea to resolve it. Please feel free to email to me for further detail as to these remedies if you're interested.
Please go to www.barefoottrim.com and click on "Education". You'll find an article on BALANCE in the Basic Form section of the site. Take a look there to compare your horse's front hooves with the ones depicted there. The 1/3rd:2/3rd ratio of the hoof has been 100% successful for me in remediating these kinds of issues. That allows the hooves to land HEEL first with the caudal 2/3rds of the hoof being the major weight bearing portion of the hoof. I'd really work extra diligently on getting those toes back and getting the hooves into that 1/3:2/3 ratio. You'll find that will help tremendously.
All in all one of the BEST healers is movement ... and more movement. On good, firm clean ground (no gravel, rocks, etc.)
I hope he's doing better and I hope this is helpful to you.
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