Pasture Pals Equine Rescue

06/01/2026

This is why we do not "s***k" an animal to get in the trailer.

06/01/2026

05/30/2026

At barely five feet tall, Elizabeth Arnold spent her life doing work many men twice her size struggled to handle. 🔥🐴

In the early 1900s, she was believed to be the only female blacksmith in England — not because the role was symbolic or unusual, but because she genuinely earned her place through skill, endurance, and decades of experience.

At a historic forge in Kent that had operated for more than 400 years, Elizabeth became a familiar figure, calmly shoeing horses and working iron with the confidence of someone who knew her craft inside and out.

And perhaps the most astonishing part of her story was this:

She was still doing it at 70 years old.

Long after most people would have retired from such punishing physical labour, Elizabeth continued handling heavy tools and swinging a 10lb sledgehammer with remarkable precision. Witnesses described her work as steady, accurate, and completely without hesitation — the movements of someone shaped by years beside the forge fire.

In an era when women were rarely welcomed into trades like blacksmithing, Elizabeth Arnold quietly shattered expectations simply by turning up every day and proving she belonged there.

No speeches.
No campaigns.
Just hard work, determination, and undeniable talent. ⚒️

Today, her story survives as a reminder that history is filled with remarkable women whose strength was measured not in titles… but in what they achieved against the odds.

And Elizabeth Arnold forged her legacy one horseshoe at a time. ❤️

05/30/2026

DON’T THROW OUT THOSE USED SYRINGES! 🚫

💧 Give them a thorough washing
🍏 and fill with apple sauce
❤️ as a treat for your horse!

😊 Soon they’ll be eager and open their mouth willingly.

👍 No more battles with the dewormer!

05/30/2026

✨Tip Of The Day!

🐴 Horse are herd animals, meaning even just one buddy can make a big difference in reducing stress and improving overall well-being.

Horses kept alone for long periods may experience boredom, frustration, or stereotypic behaviors such as weaving, pacing or excessive calling. Social interaction plays a huge role in both mental and physical well-being.

If your horse lives alone, small management changes can still make a big impact. Enrichment, consistent routines, and opportunities for visual contact with other horses can help them feel safer, calmer, and more secure.

💚 When companionship isn't possible, providing social stimulation and a predictable environment can help support your horse's welfare and quality of life.

📓To learn more about if horses can live alone check out the links below:
🇨🇦CA: https://madbarn.ca/can-horses-live-alone/
🇺🇸US: https://madbarn.com/can-horses-live-alone/

05/30/2026

Good night!

The veterinarian is even worse, according to the horse. Smelly and brings needles.

www.foxrunequine.com

(724) 727-3481

We’re for the horse.

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

What Hard Sole Plane (HSP) Really Is

We are witnessing a growing number of claims and misconceptions surrounding the Hard Sole Plane and the role diet plays in rehabilitation of severely compromised hooves. Some of these ideas are being repeated with great confidence despite standing in conflict with what we observe in nature and in the hoof itself. This article aims to clarify what Hard Sole Plane really is, what role it serves and why preserving it matters.

Term Hard Sole Plane was originated by Jaime Jackson in efforts to build a frame of reference for what today is known as natural hoof care. HSP is but one of many inventions to come out of the hoof care paradigm shift. NHC is infused with many original concepts that can be traced and evidenced in nature. Their original meaning can only be preserved by clearly defining essential qualities of a concept, even if the wording changes, its meaning should not.

The sole of the hoof is not one solid structure. It is built gradually from many layers of keratinised material laminated together, almost like sheets of paper being stacked one on top of another and bonded together. These layers are not random accumulations of "dead material" or compacted growth. They are part of an organised biological growth process.

The sole corium produces structurally different material than the coronary corium. It extrudes solar epidermis that sheds its layers in a similar fashion to our skin continuously shedding and renewing itself. Under normal circumstances we do not notice this process because regular grooming and everyday contact with the environment gradually remove material that has already completed its purpose.

The hoof under natural conditions functions in much the same way. In an adaptive environment horses are exposed to varied terrain and movement patterns that support this natural and largely invisible process of exfoliation.

New layers are continuously produced from living tissue within the hoof. Older layers slowly move downward, harden and are eventually released from duty and expelled by the body over time. The outer aspect of the Hard Sole Plane often appears waxy and the supercorium tightly holds onto solar plates that are not yet ready to shed. In nature these structures are not removed before their "release date". In domestication we use metal tools, sometimes without much consideration to HSP.

Beneath the Hard Sole Plane lies newer and more sensitive material referred to as the Live Sole Plane. This area requires protection. Think of it similarly to newly formed skin after a cut. While mature skin can tolerate friction and pressure, newly formed tissue requires time and protection before it can safely withstand the outside world.

The Hard Sole Plane and overall sole thickness form a protective barrier between the ground and the sensitive structures above. Appearance alone cannot determine whether material is unnecessary. HSP is the hoof's natural protective outer layer. It is the layer nature intends to meet the ground.

Think of it as the hoof's own built-in flooring.

Preserving natural sole thickness matters because that thickness exists for a reason. The supercorium continuously builds layer upon layer of protective material beneath the foot to contain pressure within the hoof capsule and support the structures above. Supercorium's intelligence network continuously responds to changing demands placed upon the hoof.

Excessive removal of HSP under the guise of "correct" anatomy, when practiced systematically over time, may gradually contribute to loss of protective mass and compromise the hoof capsule's natural integrity. In the short term excessive thinning is likely to create hypersensitivity. Long term consequences may be far less obvious and develop slowly beneath the surface. This excessive removal is concerned with solar plates around the toe, as much as it is around the seat of corn and extending to excessvely shortened heel.

In wild horses living in an environment such as the Great Basin, constant movement over abrasive terrain naturally wears away only the old, dead material while preserving this protective layer intact. Supercorium's intelligence network directs growth according to loading patterns and weight-bearing demands. Some areas naturally experience greater wear than others.

Natural hoof balance is born from the relationship between growth and wear. In the wild these two forces exist in harmony. Domestication and unnatural lifestyle disturb this delicate balance. Our role as Natural Hoof Care Practitioners is not to force the hoof into anatomically idealised shape. Our role is to mimic natural wear patterns while honouring the Hippocratic clause: "do no harm."

Hard Sole Plane is most frequently assaulted when pathology within the hoof is present and the Hoof Plexus begins to disintegrate. In NHC we recognise gut to hoof connection and the adverse influence of fructan rich diet on horses' health and condition of their hooves. Our primary role is in preserving these structures, even though sometimes signs and symptoms of underlying chronic inflammation become so glaringly obvious. Ironically it is often during these situations that the temptation exists to mechanically remove more material in pursuit of visual correction, even though the hoof may already be struggling to preserve what little protection remains.

This does not mean we allow the hoof to grow unchecked.

We recognise that both wild and domesticated horses hooves share the same set of characteristics. This extends to Hard Sole Plane and its natural thickness, although that thickness may vary depending on history of management, diet, movement and previous hoof care practices.

Excessive removal of sole, wall and frog is frequently justified through terms such as remedial trimming, compaction, retained sole and dead material. Hyperfocus on aesthetics often disregards concern for hoof capsule integrity. Over-trimming more often than not creates hypersensitivity and can become inhumane.

The credit frequently goes toward mechanical correction. Far less frequently do we acknowledge that the hoof itself is a living organ that responds to its environment. Not only to the external environment, but perhaps even more so to the inner ecosystem.

While relatively stable hoof capsules may tolerate invasive practices for some time without immediately exposing damage, severely compromised hooves often reveal the consequences much more clearly. In these situations inflammation can hide beneath the noise and invasive practices can quietly disguise themselves as progress. Thus horse owners are vulnerable to conflicting advice and emotional messaging.

Veterinarians play an important role in rehabilitation and their guidance should not be ignored. Horses have been put down for a very long time and this is not a veterinarian-created problem or a farrier-created problem.

It is an environmental problem.

To improve equine health we need to address causes rather than chase symptoms. This takes us back to the Natural Horse and lessons from the wild. Where we find equines in their adaptive habitat. To heal horses we must learn to "Respect the healing powers of nature" (Hippocrates), reduce inflammatory state and provide horses with safe forage compatible with their adaptation.

Our role is to educate the public about equine adaptation and the dangers of chronic inflammation.

Grass is the real enemy, not your hoof care provider or your horse's physician.