Gill Furman and ‘My Island Rose’ (AKA ‘Turtle’) – East Yorkshire.

Turtle made her race course debut on Friday the 4th March 2011 and it’s really due to your total commitment to horses that she was able to go back into training.

Turtle is a very intelligent horse who is interesting to work with and hard not to like. I will always think of her training me and not the other way round! But she can be difficult at times and although she has no intention of actually kicking you she can be handy with her back legs by applying just enough pressure to get her point across.

So when I asked you to help me with her I would have perfectly understand if you had declined. But I am so glad that you agreed to take us on board.

It wasn’t long before I was to witness your dedication when I contacted you for advice regarding the treatment of foot infections as I suspected that Turtle had an abscess in her hoof.

I didn’t expect you to come out to me but straight away you offered to help which I was very grateful for as my husband was out and I didn’t fancy my chances of  getting a poultice on by myself.  You explained that the holistic approach is about the body healing itself and our job is to support that healing process.  Once you had established that the cause of pain was probably an abscess, you soaked the foot in water and Epsom salts [horse handling skills required here with a young thoroughbred filly] and applied a poultice with a pad underneath her foot to make her more comfortable and to encourage her to move around.  You also wanted her to drink as much as possible so she had Epsom salts added to her drinking water and you gave me some homeopathic remedies to administer.

With in 24 hours she was more comfortable and within 48 hours she was sound the abscess having come out through her heel.  Of course she could have blown the abscess herself but the point is you helped me when I needed help and you made the horse much more comfortable than she would have been and without putting a great big hole in her foot.
I suspect like a lot of horse owners I assumed that hoof care is about having your horse shod regularly and picking out the hooves once a day but equine podiatry is so much more.  When you do an equine podiatry consult you don’t just trim the feet and collect the money and go home. You look at the whole horse’s health in relation to the horse’s feet making notes and taking photographs. As well as trimming the horse’s feet you give advice and home work which is great as I can work towards improvement prior to your next visit.
It’s your constant quest for answers that led you to help us improve Turtle’s health. When we first discussed Turtle she had unidentified right hind lameness and you suggested that we enlist the help of Fiona Varian a structural and movement consultant.  It was quite a surprise when you both thought that the lameness might be because she had a metabolic problem and in particular a painful caecum which is located on the right hand side. Turtle had been moving with her right hind stifle turning outwards which had resulted in extra stress on her back hips and so on.

You suggested that we contacted Dr Deborah Carley from Thunderbrook Feeds which we did and under her guidance we gradually introduced Thunderbrook essential base mix and Thunderbrook gut restore and I would be lying if I said we weren’t sceptical but Turtle soon started to improve and we were so impressed that we put all our six horses on Thunderbrook feeds with great results.
Through out the summer and autumn you and Fiona worked on Turtle while we hand walked her daily until she was sound and healthy and able to return to training.  Turtle may never win a race but I will always thank her for introducing you to us as all our horses have benefitted. I can honestly say that since meeting you I have felt an inner calm towards my horses and I look forward to your monthly visits knowing that as well as your equine podiatry skills I will be receiving advice from someone I respect and trust.
Beccy you are brilliant.

Thank you from every one.

Gill Furman.

Notes: AEP does not replace veterinary advice and DAEP’s do not diagnose.  All owners are advised to contact their vet if they are concerned about their horses welfare.  Generally for abscesses, we recommend Hydropathics abscess formulas or hydrate and detoxify (HD).   We can also supply Horse Quencher. However in the example above neither were at hand and a small amount of epsom salts were suggested for use to encourage hydration and detoxification.  Please consult your DAEP and vet if you are concerned about your horse’s foot health.
For more information about AEP visit The Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry’s website or click here

For AEP services provided by Beccy and Holistic Equine click here

To learn more about Hydropathics click here or for supply in the UK click here

Clare and ‘Havana’ (West Yorkshire)

Beccy Smith has been trimming my horse’s feet for several months now.  My horse is a very difficult case who has suffered intermittent lameness since the age of 3.  At the first consultation Beccy realised my horse was suffering with considerable discomfort in her stomach, and was walking in a manner which caused her to wear her feet unevenly.

I immediately changed her diet to organic hay and Thunderbrook Feed.  The resulting effect was immediate.  She no longer had sloppy poos and her stomach began to change shape!  She allowed me to groom her in areas near her hind gut, which had been ‘off limits’ for many years.  Prior to meeting Beccy I had spent many hundreds of pounds on trying to resolve Havana’s lameness with only limited success.  It never occurred to me that haylage might be too rich for her.  I also know now that she reacts whenever the farmer sprays pesticides in the adjacent fields.  Her feet suddenly develop flare which quickly disappears after a number of weeks.

I have learnt so much from Beccy which has helped me as I work with lame horses too.  We have worked on a number of horses together and had amazing results, which would not have been possible without her input and knowledge.

Thank you Beccy for changing mine and Havana’s lives for the better!!

Clare Lloyd, Cold Laser Therapist

Havana before AEP (top) and 3 weeks later (bottom).

Angie and ‘Star’ (West Yorkshire)

My beloved Yorkshire Dales cob called Star received a severe injury to his hind fetlock back in February 2011.  After having all the test’s, x-rays and nerve blocks at the vets, the prognosis was that due to the severity of the injury and also due to bony growth, his fetlock would never repair, surgery was not an option and I would never be able to ride him ever again.  I was also told he will always be lame.  I asked for a second opinion and all the test results were sent to a professor at Liverpool, he agreed with my vets and said nothing could be done.

As Star was only nine years old and had never had anything wrong with him before I was convinced there must be something that can be done. A friend of mine through the Western Horsemen’s Association called Clare LLoyd offered to give Star cold laser treatment to see if it helped, this was accepted by the insurance company and some progress was being made. Not long after the cold laser treatment started, Clare attended a seminar and met Beccy, where they discussed Star’s problem and Beccy saw his x-rays.  Beccy contacted me and went through what she could do to help Star with his recovery.  She was very understanding and no pressure at all to start and we arranged for a consultation.

Beccy drove a long way to do this assessment and spent many hours re-balancing Stars back feet.  I was amazed at Beccy’s knowledge and how dedicated she is to what she does and rehabilitating the horse.  Beccy convinced me that she could get Star back to being ridden by continuing with the cold laser from Clare, a change in his diet and keep his feet balanced.  It was good to listen to Beccy, she gave me hope that Star would come right even though the vets had said it would never happen.  I continued with the cold laser and Beccy came back to rebalance Stars front feet too once his shoes were off.

On Beccy’s 3rd visit which was 13th July 2011, Star had his treatment, was trotted on gravel barefoot and was pronounced sound ! It was just like a miracle. Beccy advised me to start walking him in hand for 20 minutes every day or whenever possible for the next six weeks, gradually introducing him back to his western saddle. He remained sound and on 20th August 2011 I sat on him and rode him along the farm track and back, he felt very comfortable (see photo). I have ridden him on five more occasions since then gradually building up the time on him. On 22nd September I hand walked him out of the farm and into a local country estate.  On the return I rode him back to the farm gate and he was still sound and seemed very comfortable.

I am honoured to have had Beccy’s expert advice and treatment and would highly recommend her, even if that the vets say there is nothing more can be done.  She gives you faith and hope that there is alternative treatment that really does work !

Thank you Beccy.

Angie Kirtley.

Gill and ‘Jasmine Rose’ [aka Jazz] (East Yorkshire)

How lucky do I feel to have met you as in just a short space of time you have introduced me too so many new ideas about horse care and I am already seeing the benefit in my own horses.

Twelve months ago I had never heard of the science of Applied Equine Podiatry but while watching you work on a horse in Skidby I was impressed by the way you watched the horse moving in between trimming the hoof and I thought to myself that you were the first person I had ever seen do that apart from my vet.

So when my vet told me he would be happy for a farrier to trim my yearling filly’s feet which he had successfully treated for ballerinas syndrome I thought that you would be the ideal person as you put so much effort into balancing the horses hoof and how interesting it would be if you would take us on with a view to eventually riding her barefoot.

Luckily you agreed to take us on.

I suppose naively I just expected you just to work on my filly’s feet but straight away it was clear that you didn’t just want trim her feet but to help her with any other issues that were possibly contributing to the way her hooves were growing and affecting the way she moved. You wanted to help me find a solution to why she had been pre disposed to develop ballerinas’ syndrome in the first place. You wanted to work on the cause as well as the symptoms.

You suggested that we enlisted the help of Fiona Varian an Equine body management consultant which we did.

Fiona showed us that when Jazz walked she was able to step further with her left normal foot than she could with her right problem hoof and consequently when she grazed she put her left foot forward and the right foot back. Then to further assist in stretching of the neck to reach that tasty bit of grass she takes the right heel off the ground thus encouraging the foot to grow incorrectly. Fiona showed us this was because the muscles on the left side of her body were soft and supple while the muscles on the right side were tight and restrictive and this was probably a result of the way she had been positioned in the womb. Jazz had been born nearly five weeks late.

Fiona worked on Jazz’s body and hooves until she was satisfied that she could step out equally with her both front feet.

Now when you come to trim Jazz’s hooves you don’t just use your skills as podiatrist but you also use your horse massage skills to help release the tension in her muscles.

Jazz is a typical cheeky yearling always experimenting where the boundaries of good behaviour lie and Beccy you have so much patience, passion, knowledge and energy when dealing with her.

Thank you again for taking us on.

Gill Furman

Jaz before AEP in July 2010 and after (bottom) in December 2010

Kerry Wiles and ‘Toggi’ (East Yorkshire)

I was SO lucky to meet Beccy through a friend of mine. When I began having problems with my horse (Toggi, a 17h Dutch Warmblood with a huge personality) Beccy was invaluable in helping me. She came up with thoughts, ideas and highly practical suggestions of how to help Toggi.  Togs has some serious dietary intolerances which manifest themselves in several ways from skin lumps or urticaria to four hugely swollen legs!!!

We know some of the substances he is allergic to but some of them are impossible to eradicate from his diet (like thistles!) and according to the vet there are almost certainly more that weren’t tested for. Beccy has helped me find food types and supplements that have enabled me, up to now, to manage without enormous amounts of steroids from the vet which was my main aim for Toggi. He also looks better than he has done since I got him – he has put weight on in all the right places and is positively glowing with health – again thanks to suggestions about his whole feeding regime from Beccy.

During the process of getting help with Toggi’s feeding regime Beccy suggested that I have him looked at by Fiona Varian. This also proved to be invaluable – Toggi’s saddle which had been regularly checked was causing him pain and completely restricting his movement which explained his reluctance to be saddled. Beccy is now helping me look at different saddle options and hopefully we can find something that allows Toggi to show off his fabulous movement unrestricted by pain and discomfort.

Thank you Beccy.

Kerry Wiles

Jo Smales and ‘Ollie’ (East Yorkshire)

The help and advice offered to me from Beccy has been invaluable and has totally transformed the way I think about my horse and his environment. I first enlisted Beccy’s help when my 4 year old Thoroughbred, Ollie, went lame with no obvious reason why.

Without hesitation Beccy came out and did a full assessment on Ollie and pointed out some very interesting things. She then suggested I get Fiona Varian to work on him. I was absolutely amazed at what Fiona could see and read from Ollie – things that I had never thought of or noticed!

Fiona worked with him in a kind and effective way in order to get greater effects from the experience. The results were outstanding! I now have a sound, straight horse that is full of life!  Since Fiona worked with Ollie, Beccy has given me helpful nutritional advice and I am currently having great success using Holistic Equine’s hoof products.

For a long time I had tried to find something to get rid of the thrush in all four of Ollie’s feet with no great results. I bought a tub of Field Paste from Beccy and within a week the thrush had gone and hasn’t come back!

I would highly recommend Beccy, Fiona and the Holistic Equine team to anyone and any horse!

Jo Smales