"I am writing this in praise for what natural barefoot trimming has done for my horses. What convinced me to try was my Arabian mare Skye. When Skye and I partnered up last summer, she had a nasty quarter crack on her left hind hoof. Although she never took a lame step, there is no doubt that this crack affected her, in that she physically compensated in an effort to keep her weight off of this crack.

Carolyn started trimming her, and right from the first trim, I noticed a difference. A few changes were made to Skye's lifestyle. She was fed a diet of as much good quality timothy/alfalfa hay she could eat, a decent vitamin/mineral supplement with no fillers/sugar, and no grain, as it was suspected that she was very sensitive to sugars in her diet. When grass time came around, she was started on a probiotic to minimize the effect the sugars in the grass would have on her feet.

She was trimmed by Carolyn every four weeks and we did not do any riding our first winter together. As time passed, I watched that crack grow out, and my mare's outlook on things improved. I was pleased to see her actually gain weight (I thought she would lose it with a diet of only hay), and I was pleased at how well she was moving. She used to switch leads and cross canter when going left. I am pleased to say that she rarely does this anymore.

It is now late June 2009, and the quarter crack is completely gone. We walk, trot, canter together, and I think we both look forward to our time together. The combination of diet modification, and diligent trimming has really worked for Skye. I used to think that there was no way to grow out a crack of that magnitude without shoes. I didn't think that a horse could seriously train and work without shoes. Skye has proved me wrong.

My other horse, a Saddlebred gelding who always had good feet, has also benefitted from natural barefoot trimming and following the same diet regime as Skye does. I watched his good feet turn into what I've been calling "gladiator feet"... hard, tough, well formed, with amazing frogs and lots of concavity. We trail ride up gravel roads, and ride in all sorts of terrain with ease. When he first started on gravel, he said "ouch" a few times as his feet adjusted, but now, no issue at all, even after being freshly trimmed.

My horses and I thank you Carolyn! If I hadn't seen for my own eyes what Skye accomplished (growing out that crack) with the aid of your trim and no shoes, I'd never have believed it.

With thanks,

Jenn, Skye and Raven"