I am a certified natural hoof care practitioner and my initial education and certification was through the Assocation for Advancement of Natural Horse Care Practices, or AANHCP. I also hold a certification through Liberated Horsemanship. To become certified, I had to complete a demanding course of study which included many hours of class work, trimming practice and apprenticeships with AANHCP qualified field instructors. After many months of practice and study, the certification program culminated with an extensive practical examination of my trimming ability. I am also required to attend continuing education workshops to keep my certification. To date, I have completed additional coursework in trimming pathological hooves and also have completed coursework on equine nutrition and feed balancing.
I have been involved with horse since I was a child. While growing up, I rode and competed in horse shows with my Appaloosas.
My interest in natural hoof care came because of my horse, Astro. He was often unsound when wearing steel shoes and the caused his hooves to bruise. I did a lot of research via the internet about natural hoof care. I found Jaime Jackson's website and found an AANHCP-certified practitioner to come out and take off Astro's shoes and give him a natural trim. After having the practitioner out a few times, I realized that I wanted to learn how to do this myself and become a professional. Astro has been barefoot almost four years and is doing much better than he ever did when shod. I also have a Haflinger mare named Sweet Pea.
I am an avid dressage rider and enjoy the competetion of dressage shows. Sweet Pea and I have recently begun competing and are having a lot of fun collecting blue ribbons! When we're not competing at horse showsthe horses and I enjoy trail riding.
After many years of traveling for my husband Kris' military careeer, we have now settled down to our permanent home in Elmira, Oregon.
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