Michael is trained and certified by Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School (not just a weekend clinic or two). His family has had a ranch in Santa Cruz County for 3 generations. He's a young guy who will be sticking around for awhile. He's trimmed my five horses for the last three years and I'm 100% satisfied with his work and work ethic.
Re: Looking for a barefoot trimmer in Half Moon Bay
Thanks for the reccomendation but I probably needed to make it clearer, we are looking for a barefoot trimmer, somebody that is PHCP (Pacific Hoof Care Practioner), or AHA (American Hoof Association)....not a farrier.
It is a completlely different trim from what a trained farrier does. (which is what this horse has had and why he is in trouble) Thanks, Karen
I'm a founding member of PHCP, a mentor, and sit on the evaluation and education committees. I'm very proud of our training program and our member trimmers, but I've met many farriers who also do great barefoot trims. Their trims may not be finished exactly the way we do ours, but the horses are sound and their feet look good.
Some farriers trim as if they are about to set a shoe and take way too much off the foot, but I've also seen some horrible "barefoot" trims done by self proclaimed "natural trimmers" who should never hold a trimming tool.
A farrier who comes highly recommended by an owner of barefoot horses is certainly someone that I would consider meeting.
My wonderful farrier of over 30 years is also a great barefoot trimmer, even though he doesn't do the finish, like Sally said. He graduated from Pacific Coast, many years ago, and never stopped trying to learn more. He's open minded and willing to try different ideas, but he knows what will work and what won't work. Plus, I never had to worry about having a horse get sore right after a trim, like I see with so many barefoot trimmers. The only horse that got sore after a trim was my Cushing's horse during active laminitis episodes. When I got my old mare, she'd been shod most of her life. I had him pull the shoes, and she never needed boots - ever.
So, each trimmer needs to be judged on their own work and not simply based ONLY on accreditation. The lady who's been trimming my horse since I moved him has done a wonderful job with him, and she's never been to any school or gotten any certification. She learned good, solid skills from good farriers and trimmers.
The one caveat I have to make is that owners need to self-educate about proper trimming and balancing of the feet. I've seen some trimmers do a terrible job, but the horse "moves better" according to the owner. This is a temporary mechanical element to the "slipper foot" I see creeping in over a period of several months. The horse's breakover is slower, causing the horse to need to make a little larger and more sweeping move with the legs to clear the ground and not stumble. The owners love the movement and don't seem to realize the horse is struggling, so when the horse comes up sore in the back, stifles, hips and shoulders, they want to attribute it to anything other than the trim job. There is a visible difference in the type of sweeping movement made by the slipper trim and the free forward sweeping of natural forward motion, but a lot of people can't see it until you can show them an immediate comparison. I've seen both barefoot trimmers and farriers produce a slipper foot by creating this faulty motion. It can take a year or more to correct, too, once it gets obvious enough for even the owner to start questioning the way the feet look.
If in doubt, have x-rays taken of the feet to see if the trim is allowing proper support and the bones are lined up correctly.
"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for." - Socrates
stronly recommend Denise Fields, her web site is In Balance, and is on the BAEN site for natural trimmers, she is wonderful and has helped my horse so much, not only getting his feet in shape but also with his bad-for-trimmer behavior, he is getting better and better with his feet, thanks to her patience and knowledge!
Posted by Tauna on 6/20/2012, 11:59 am, in reply to "Tauna Grinager" 63.249.97.149
My schedule is getting a little too full to commit to the drive to HMB, especially for 1 horse. Since Scott Bell is already making the trip (and lives closer, in San Mateo), I'd definitely recommend him. He does really nice work.
Santa Cruz Mountains, Ben Lomond http://ironfreehrs.com/
Re: Looking for a barefoot trimmer in Half Moon Bay
Scott Bell frequents HMB, 650-279-4092. He's a Cal Poly and Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School grad. I believe he's doing only barefoot at this point.
I've used him for several years now and he's reliable, careful with my horse, returns email/phonecalls promptly, etc. He transitioned my horse to barefoot and the horse continues to do well with his trimming.
He also took my horse barefoot, and I've always been very happy with his work and reliability. Very kind with the horses.
on Yahoo!Contributor Network: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/933720/grace_m_drake.html on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/gracemdrake/
