MotorQueue Natural Hoof Care

08/26/2026

Hey wonderful clients! One of my clients in Springtown lost her elderly gelding this week and her remaining gelding needs a friend. The friend can be a mare or gelding, needs to be a relatively easy keeper since the other horse is a chonk and will steal food from a friend if he can - but not a metabolic horse since they will be on grass. The friend can have a few minor maintenence things but nothing major. Needs to be reasonable to handle as well. If anyone has anything they are looking to place in a new home, let me know!

08/24/2026

A fascinating possible treatment for gastric impaction!

Interesting to note that it doesn't seem to help the survival rates of Friesians... although very little ever does for them. They are very fragile as a breed.

🔗: https://equimanagement.com/research-medical/research/cola-might-help-treat-gastric-impactions-in-horses/

Historically, gastric impaction in horses has a poor outcome. Researchers at Utrecht University retrospectively reviewed cases of gastric impaction to evaluate whether treatment with cola was associated with improved survival.

Of the 125 cases included, 57.6% were discharged from the hospital. Horses treated with cola had a greater likelihood of survival: 82.8% vs. 35.8%. Non-Friesian horses treated with cola had 90% survival.

08/22/2026

👉What science says about track systems for my friends on those track liveries which follow the science 🧬 ❤️

Recent peer-reviewed evidence suggests that track grazing systems are an effective and welfare friendly approach to managing obesity prone horses and ponies.

In a crossover study of 35 ponies, those on track systems moved significantly more (around 7km/day) when compared to strip grazed ponies (5.3 km/day) on strip and showed fewer aggressive interactions. This study was however too short to demonstrate significant weight loss (Kirton et al 2025).

A subsequent study of 19 horses at HorseWorld UK found that horses managed on track systems lost an average of 10.7 kg (3.4% of body weight) over the summer, while comparable horses on restricted paddocks gained 6.8 kg (1.5% of body weight), with no negative effects on welfare, behaviour, or hoof health (Cameron et al 2025).

Together, these studies indicate that track systems increase voluntary movement, reduce social conflict, support natural grazing behaviour, and can produce meaningful weight loss in horses susceptible to obesity, laminitis, or metabolic disorders while maintaining overall welfare.

References

Cameron, L.; Challinor, M.; Armstrong, S.; Kennedy, A.; Hollister, S.; Fletcher, K. (2025) Tracking the Track: The Impact of Different Grazing Strategies on Managing Equine Obesity. Animals, 15, 874. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ani15060874

Kirton R, Sandford I, Raffan E, Hallsworth S, Burman OHP, Morgan R. (2025) The impact of restricted grazing systems on the behaviour and welfare of ponies. Equine Vet J;57(3):737–44. 1111/evj.14411

Please support the following tracks who do not spread misinformation (and message me if you want to be added)

PB Paddock Paradise
Abbotts View
Meadow View
Graveney Equine
Horse Haven
Fairlawn Farm
Pensilva Track Livery
Wharf Lane
Humber View
Blairfordel Track Livery
Barefoot Living at Oxhey Top
Cheshire Equine Track Livery
Offham Track Livery
KRH Natural Horse Care
Nurturing Nature Equine
Three Ravens
2by2 Track Livery
Fircrest Track Livery
Field and Forest Track Livery
Timber Edge Track Livery
Boundary View Track
The Humble Hoof
Meaux Track Livery

08/06/2026

FEEDING SALT
Your horse NEEDS at least 2tbsp of salt per day.

Plain white salt.

Fancy pretty salts aren’t necessary and for the love-please remove the red mineral block.

Chances are they aren’t getting their minimum amount from a block-but a white block is great to offer should they need to self serve.

Horses need salt (sodium chloride) for essential bodily functions like maintaining fluid balance, muscle and nerve function, and encouraging drinking, which is crucial for hydration. Salt also plays a big role in protein absorption!
Salt is not produced by the body and must be provided in the diet.

Ensure fresh, clean water is always available, as excess salt can lead to dehydration if water intake is insufficient.

Horses in heavy work or warm climates may require more-https://madbarn.com/how-to-feed-salt-to-your-horse/

schaefferbodyworks.com/nutrition

08/02/2026

07/21/2026

PPID and EMS are often confused because they can share similar symptoms, including an increased risk of laminitis. However, they are fundamentally different conditions, and understanding the difference is essential for your horse's long-term health.

EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) is primarily managed through careful dietary control and appropriate exercise to help regulate insulin levels.

PPID (Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction) is a progressive disease that requires lifelong medication to control hormone levels. As the disease progresses, medication doses may need to be adjusted over time.

Another common misconception is that horses can be "cured" once their bloodwork improves. While proper management can bring insulin or ACTH levels back under better control, neither EMS nor PPID goes away. Both require lifelong management to reduce the risk of complications such as laminitis.

The better we understand these conditions, the better equipped we are to keep our horses healthy, comfortable and sound.

In our latest blog article, Alicia Harlov The Humble Hoof explains the key differences between EMS and PPID, common symptoms, management strategies and why these conditions should never be treated as if they're the same.

📖 Link to the article in the comments.

Have you cared for a horse with EMS or PPID? What was the biggest lesson you learned?

07/17/2026

"My horse foundered out of nowhere."

In reality, that's often not what happened.

Horses frequently show subtle changes before a severe laminitic episode, but those changes can easily be explained away as:

• "He's just getting older."
• "She's feeling a bit lazy today."
• "He's being stubborn again."

Changes in willingness to move, turning, comfort on different terrain, hoof temperature, digital pulse and even hoof growth can all provide valuable clues that something isn't quite right, especially in horses with EMS or PPID.

Your horse's hooves are often the check engine light. The earlier we recognise the warning signs, the better the chance of preventing more serious damage.

Our latest article, written by Alicia Harlov The Humble Hoof , explores these early warning signs in more detail and explains why recognising them early can make such a difference.

📖 Link to the article in the comments.

Have you ever noticed subtle changes in your horse before discovering something was wrong?

06/20/2026

FYI.

You cannot waste a horse.

A horse who doesn’t compete is not wasted.
A horse who isn’t ridden is not wasted.
A horse who lives quietly, grows old, changes jobs, slows down, or does nothing at all is not wasted.

Horses are not resources.
They are not projects.
They are not potential waiting to be exploited.

A horse does not owe us performance, progress, rosettes, or productivity 🐴

Their worth is not measured in outings, mileage, heights jumped, tests completed, or photos posted online. Their worth exists because they are alive.

If a horse eats grass, rolls in mud, stands in the rain, naps in the sun, forms friendships, says no, says yes, or simply exists peacefully… that is not waste.

That is a horse being a horse 🌱

And honestly?
If anything is wasted, it’s the belief that animals must earn their right to be here.

End of. 👏🐎

05/28/2026

Hoofcare is very rarely about making it perfect. It's about how we can give a horse the best and healthiest foot he is able to grow despite his history and his permanent defects or damages. This horse is no miracle, and he is not perfectly sound by any means. His chronic laminitis has left him with permanent corium and pedal bone damages that cannot be undone, and as such he struggles to grow in a decent white line connection or sole depth. But he is alive and living a good happy comfortable life with his herd. That's what it is all about.

05/21/2026

This is why it's so important to thoroughly study anatomy, do dissections, and always respect the fact that the hoof is a highly complex living structure. Knowing exactly what to take - and what to leave - is critically important. We ❤️ The study of the equine hoof!

Just 5mm external hoof tissue was removed on the cadaver foot.

When you look at the bottom of a hoof from the outside, it is very easy to underestimate just how close the living structures are.

In this specimen I have removed approximately 5 mm from the entire solar surface of the foot using a bandsaw — the wall, sole, frog and bars. Before doing this, I had already taken the wall down to the level of the sole.

What this slice demonstrates beautifully is that the thickness of horn beneath the horse is not uniform.

At the toe, there is still a reasonable amount of horn material remaining. We have not yet entered sensitive tissue. The dermis is still protected.

But look further back in the foot…

At the seat of corn region we have already entered the dermis, and through the frog region we have cut directly into the digital cushion. The red areas are living vascular tissue.

This is exactly why I become concerned when inexperienced trimmers are taught to aggressively ‘pare back sole’ searching for a supposed universal ‘hard sole plane’ or ‘mother nature’s trim line.’

The problem is that many people do not actually know when they have reached that point — or if such a constant even exists in the simplistic way it is often taught.

A horse’s sole is not just dead material waiting to be removed.

Sole thickness varies enormously between horses, between regions of the same foot, and between pathological and healthy feet. Some areas can tolerate more exfoliation than others. Other areas are incredibly close to sensitive structures.

If you continue removing horn trying to chase a theoretical plane, eventually you will hit living tissue.

That is why some horses end up with redness, blood staining, tenderness, frog sensitivity, bruising and post-trim soreness.

This image is a reminder that beneath only a few millimetres of horn lies a highly specialised living organ filled with blood vessels, nerves, connective tissue and shock-absorbing structures.