I look forward to helping you with your horse, donkey or mule. I can consult with hay balancing and nutrition and suggest environmental changes like adding an area of pea gravel or creating a track system for your equines. Step by step to better health.
When my own mustang mare, Arrow, wasn’t well, I went in search of ways to help her thrive again - as she did in the wild. Around February of 2020 I came across The Humble Hoof podcast which resulted in me pulling Arrow’s “one more attempt at soundness” metal shoes. In April 2020 after a laminitis scare, I took Arrow an hour north to meet Hoof Care Practitioner, Philip Himanka. That day I saw a new level of hoof care first hand . Our lessons with Nahshon Cook has been key to Arrow’s healing in conjunction with improving her hooves. It has come down to nutrition, correct and heathy movement, proper environment and hoof care.
My goal is to help horse and donkey owners navigate a path to better health for their equines. There are many paths to health but I hold strongly to the following five as core to equine health.
NUTRITION - MOVEMENT - LIFESTYLE
CORRECT TRIM - DENTAL CARE
I am now a Progressive Hoof Care Practitioner (PHCP) student practitioner working with mentors all around the country- including Philip Himanka of the PHCP as well as Ross Keller of the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization (ELPO) for donkey and mule specific care. (Continuing education specifics below).
I am now taking what I have learned from filmmaking, non-profit work (check out The Cloud Foundation), middle school science teaching and financial advising to hoof and equine care.
I’ve been loving, riding and caring for horses for over thirty years now. In 2009 I was given the opportunity to train a mustang filly, Arrow. In 2020 we adopted a wild burro in need of a home. Then we adopted another wild burro because burros need buddies! I followed my heart in 2021 and reunited with a mustang gelding I was trying to adopt the year prior. We also have three alpine pack goats who keep us on our toes. It’s a wild herd! I live with my donkey-smitten husband and three wonderful teenagers on a little farm with our dog and flock of hens and ducks. I also love to garden and experiment in the kitchen while I watch the animals play in their ever-evolving paddock “playground”.
HappilyHooved@gmail.com
719.351.8187 (call/text)
Centennial, Colorado
The Equine is the expert…
Please feel free to contact me for a list of references.
Continuing Education
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Classes
-Beginning Trim & Dissection - Philip Himanka - April 2022
-NRC Plus Nutrition Course - Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD (online) - February - April 2022
-Shoe Removal & Booting - Philip Himanka - April 2022
-Understanding and Reversing “Sinkers” and Hoof Capsule Rotation - Pete Ramey Webinar, March 2022
-Glue-on Shoeing Basics Webinar, March 2022
-Rehab without Steel, Webinar, January 2022
-Donkey Care & Trimming with Megan Hensley + 1:1 coaching session
-Choosing and Fitting Hoof Boots, webinar January 2022
-Beginning Trim and Anatomy - Ida Hammer Jan. 2022
-Exploring The Equine Hoof - Ida Hammer Jan. 2022
Classes schedule for this spring and summer:
-Insulin Resistance and PPID online course from Dr. Eleanor Kellon, VMD - May/June 2022
-Reading Radiographs, online Dr. Kellon - May 2022
-The Smart Way to Feed Horses, Carol Layton, May 2022
-Glue-on and Casting Hoof Protection Clinic with Philip Himanka, May 2022
-PHCP Conference - Denver, Oct. 2022
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Mentorships
Philip Himanka, multiple day apprenticeship and mentorship (Colorado) March-April 2022
Ross Keller - multiple days riding along and learning to trim donkeys and mules - Feb/March/April 2022
Jeannean Mercuri - two day mentorship (Long Island, NY) - March 2022
Amy Allen - one day mentorship (Washington) - April 2022
Mentorships are an incredible way to learn and to see how hooves differ in climates different than our own when traveling. I plan to continue mentorships around the US and Canada as I am able. Mentorships are also a required component of PHCP certification and ongoing membership.
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Additonal
Weekly lessons with Nahshon Cook - Feb. 2021 - present
Monthly lessons with Tom Mowery - 2019- present
Pete Ramey DVD series “Under the Horse”, donkey and case study videos 2022
Most nights you will find me researching and reading about equine health, behavior, training, anatomy and of course - hooves! That is once I finally come inside from the barn.