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Kent Woodward (dot) com |
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About Us |
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I am a Natural Hoof Care practitioner located in Charlotte, North Carolina. I model my work after wild horse hooves in the style taught by Pete Ramey. In short, natural hoof care seeks to model the beauty and balance of wild horses’ hooves—horses that walk 20+ miles per day over some of the most rocky and unforgiving terrain in the world. Because our domesticated horses do not have this luxury of such movement, their hooves are not going to take this shape on their own. This is where we, as natural hoof care professionals come in. We give their hooves this natural shape and, with time, care, and diet, their hooves will eventually build the tough sole and maintain this beautiful, natural shape. The horse is generally made more comfortable (and rideable)from the very first trim. If you want to learn more about the philosophy of natural hoof care, please visit these websites, because they explain it much better than I can. Hoofrehab.com (Pete Ramey’s website) About me: I have been maintaining a customer base of about 50 horses and my herd of twenty-six (at last count) horses for over two years now. I have many different breeds, ages, sizes, and medical histories. My “navicular” horses that “needed shoes” when they came to my farm gallop around the field (barefoot) with the rest of the herd. (I’ve occasionally caught my paint, Jim, free jumping over downed trees. He could barely walk or trot when I bought him.) The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that there is no “standard” hoof. They are all different and I have to remain flexible and able to adapt to each individual hoof. On hoof boots: I almost always recommend purchasing hoof boots for use during the transition from shod to barefoot. Consider how sore your own feet would be if you took your shoes off and were asked to walk across a gravel driveway. Until your feet were given the chance to adapt, it wouldn't feel very good. Hoof boots allow you to keep riding while your horse’s feet rebuild and adapt to their natural state. I recommend boots because it makes the transition easier—I do not use them as revenue producers. We’ll work together to get the right style and fit. If a particular boot doesn’t work, we’ll get one that does and you won’t be stuck with something that doesn’t work for your horse. If your horse needs a different size six months down the road (and I can almost guarantee that he/she will), I’ll buy the old ones back and get you new ones. |
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To contact me: |
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Kent Woodward (dot) com |
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Natural Hoof Care Page |
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Rates: |
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Single horse — $40 Multiple horses—$35 each EasyCare Boots—priced per EasyCare
I also have further discounts for large barns and I offer maintenance plans (very useful when the horse needs more frequent trimming due to shoe removal or “navicular”.)
There’s no “trip fee” unless I really have a long way to drive and then I just charge what it costs me in gas to get there—and my Honda gets really good gas mileage!
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This is a picture of a wild horse hoof. Note the rounded edges and concave sole. Also note the lack of a shoe. |
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It’s always free to talk and ask questions—even if I’m not working with your horse. If you want to send pictures for me to look at, that’s fine, too. |