Fit For A Queenie

04/06/2026

TRIGGER WARNING

I often have conversations about euthanasia with my clients. I share my experiences because I think that having an idea about what happens on the day is important. I really hope you don't need this information anytime soon, but if you do, Andrew is extremely good.

A subject most don`t want to think about but its always best to plan, just in case. one of those jobs that needs doing right, which we always try to do and take the required time, not only for the horse but for the owner and the other horses left behind, Welfare always should have priority over time/money. But as a small business i am dependant on word of mouth so if you know of any one or any group that need my services please share.
I will answer any questions if i can even if its questions for the distant future or just in case.

02/06/2026

And another great post by Footloose Barefoot Hooves!

Seasonal changes and regional differences!

At this time of year (ie when we've just had a dry spell in Scotland) I am regularly reminded of regional differences in hooves.
All of a sudden, Scottish hooves start looking more like their southern counterparts. Frogs aren't mushy and sad anymore. Digital cushions wake up. Palmar angles change.
And when we return to softer and wetter ground we sadly lose the improvements.

I don't mean to be negative or shatter all your hopes, guys. But I think it's important to understand what seasons and climate does to hooves and that expectations may need to be different.

I will never forget shadowing an English EP a couple of years back and me and my fellow Scottish EP broke out in (mildly manic) laughter when palpating a digital cushion - we simply do not get DC's like we felt there in Scotland.
(I wrote an article about Scottish frogs a couple of years back; I will repost it alongside this one)

Here is a comparison from a fantastic book, Monique Craig's A Modern Look At the Hoof. It is a great example of how changeable the hoof is in different environments.

Should we stop aiming for the perfect hoof, the perfect angles, the best version of them? Absolutely not.
But we should also be aware that environment plays a big part in what is possible, and we simply cannot look at the hoof in an isolated way.

02/06/2026

Excellent post by Footloose Barefoot Hooves!

Leading on from my previous post, I’d like to go a bit deeper in on the subject.
So, the wider implications of these sad frogs…. let’s take a step back for a second.

I have previously noticed a north-south difference between hooves up in the North of Scotland, to what I see myself in central Scotland, to feet in England (the feet I’ve seen in Germany, yet further down south, are a completely different ballgame).

Frogs and digital cushion strength goes hand in hand. Small frogs that aren’t in ground contact, can’t help stimulate the digital cushions, and often those frogs hurt enough for the horse to avoid landing on them/heel first, which also doesn’t promote a healthy digital cushion. Digital cushions that never receive stimulation on hard grounds, will also not develop in the same way that feet that spend at least some of their time on hard ground.

See where I am going? Often, digital cushions deteriorate in winter, when the ground is soft and there isn’t as much stimulation from firm ground. When the ground dries up in summer, and also when the horses get ridden more on firm grounds, they pop back up again. I’ve seen it time and time again that a dry spell with hard ground has really brought on those feet.

Now in Scotland, the ground is never really firm for long. The further north you go, it is even less so. And this summer, the ground in Central Scotland has basically been what my colleagues up north experience year after year. How jealous me and my Scottish colleague were recently when we got a chance to palpate digital cushions down in England!

Where does that leave our horses when we try to develop good digital cushions? In the last article I’ve already mentioned some points with regards to frog health.

Now think of the digital cushion as a muscle.
Your field is the couch.
Standing on hardstanding is like standing at the bus stop.
Moving comfortably and biomechanically correctly over hard grounds (booted if needed to encourage both of these) is like going to the gym.
Going there once every Saturday morning won’t give you the desired physique, but going there 3-4x/week will help you get there.

Makes sense? Now let’s build some healthy digital cushions!

28/05/2026

Brilliant practice hoof stand made by Lucas Barribal at Munchkins Miniature Shetland Rescue !! It's so important to practice hoof handling and many people forget about bringing the foot forward for the hoof stand!

27/04/2026

Members of the Equine Podiatry Association are required to undertake a minimum of 40 hours a year CPD training. Today 14 EPs and Equine Podiatry Training students, Maisie Maria MacDonald and my mate Beth Mannings got together for a leg dissection day. The legs were kindly donated by a client and we learnt a lot. One of the EPT students found a whole pony skeleton on Dartmoor and after receiving permission from the Dartmoor powers-that-be collected the bones and brought them along.
Here are a few of the less gruesome photos!

20/04/2026

Great post by Remke Cool here if you're thinking about sowing grass!

31/03/2026

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside... at the Emotional wellbeing in animals conference in Torquay!

22/03/2026

𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗥𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺

The Equine Podiatry Association (UK) would like to highlight the ongoing DEFRA consultation regarding the proposed reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. We encourage all relevant stakeholders to be aware that 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵.

The EPA UK welcomes the reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act and recognises the importance of ensuring legislation remains fit for purpose in supporting high standards of animal welfare.

However, we have concerns that the current proposals do not adequately reflect the input of Allied Veterinary Professionals (AVPs). We believe this omission represents a significant gap, and as such, the proposals in their current form are incomplete.

The EPA UK strongly supports a collaborative approach and welcomes the opportunity to work alongside DEFRA and other AVPs to help shape updated proposals.

It is essential that future legislation fully recognises and incorporates the valuable role that AVPs play in promoting and safeguarding animal welfare.

A more detailed statement will be released in due course.

Have your say by clicking the link below 👇

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/reform-of-the-veterinary-surgeons-act/consultation/

18/03/2026

Don't underestimate the importance of vitamin E in your horse's diet. Sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products

10/03/2026

Many of you will have seen posts shared about the reform of the veterinary surgeons act and the possibility of regulating allied professionals under the new, updated version. Please would you take a moment to read the following and use the link to respond to defra before the consultation period ends on the 25th March? There's a picture of a very muddy Barny Horse to lure you to the end of this post 🤣

https://consult.defra.gov.uk/reform-of-the-veterinary-surgeons-act/consultation/

Proposed Changes to the Veterinary Surgeons Act - Your Voice as a horse owner matters

The Veterinary Surgeons Act is currently in the process of being amended and updated. The proposals will change the way Allied Veterinary Professionals (AVPs) are recognised and regulated in future. Your regular equine care providers, including Farriers, Equine Podiatry Association Members and Equine Dental Technicians and Musculo-skeletal practitioners all fall within the allied professionals definition.

A public consultation is currently accepting responses from members of the public, and your views as a horse owner could help to shape the way our professions are defined, and how the services we provide are overseen and organised.

The proposed changes in summary:
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A broadening of the scope of the Act, placing those who own or work in veterinary practices within the scope of the act, even if they are not veterinarians themselves.
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Regulation of Allied Veterinary Professionals, potentially under the umbrellaof the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons (potentially replacing the farriers registration council and the self-regulating professional bodies which already exist)
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A new requirement for Allied Veterinary Professionals to meet certain criteria (such a qualifications and insurance requirements), which we feel represents a positive change which has the potential to improve equine welfare

We are confident that our qualified, insured and self-regulated Equine Podiatry Members will meet the new competency criteria and are well placed to meet the requirements which are likely to result from the proposed changes.

However, we, and other allied professionals affected by these changes, share some concerns over possible approaches to governance outlined in the consultation and whether they will ultimately represent the same level of freedom to choose
who you use to provide your horse's non veterinary healthcare.

As a horse owner who benefits from the services provided by allied professionals, we would encourage you to take the time to respond to the consultation with your views.

Particularly helpful to your Equine Podiatrist will be responses which include the following points:
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That you value having a Qualified Equine Podiatrist to help you to care for your equine's welfare, and why
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That a Regulated Equine Healthcare Industry which recognises different professionals with different qualifications who meet similar standards will improve equine welfare, provided that regulation is fair, independently overseen by an appropriate independent body, and allows for incorporation of the existing qualified professionals who you trust and rely upon
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That you recognise that your Equine Podiatry Association Equine Podiatrist holds a recognised and comprehensive qualification and is a member of a professional body with membership requirements which have been benchmarked against the government's existing requirements for self-regulating professional bodies
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That you value your ability to choose between a range of allied professionals so can you utilise the services of the most appropriate professional for your horse's individual needs
This consultation may provoke strong responses, but we would ask you to try and keep your responses as unemotional and factual as possible, in order that the systems used to scan the picks them up and counts your views. The words and phrases which are in bold above are those which we feel are most likely to
be considered relevant by the intelligence systems which review public consultation responses.

We love being able to provide your regular hoofcare services, and we value your ability to choose who you use to assist you with your horse's care. Any move towards a more regulated industry is positive, provided that the individual obligations on different providers represent fairness and clear standards.

Thank you for supporting your Equine Podiatrist to continue our work, understanding, and contribution to improving the standards of hoofcare in the UK.


Consultation closes on Weds 25 March 2026