I have been an avid rider since I was eight. At the age of 15 I purchased and started my first colt, James, a Thoroughbred with a mildly clubbed foot. Three years later, I sold him as a dressage/three day event horse and purchased another TB off the track, Gideon, who was in serious need of a long rehabilitation from a bowed tendon.  Gideon then began to reveal layers of musculoskeletal issues and became an ongoing project when I took him with me to college. I attended California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with a minor in Equine Science in 2006.  My studies included equine exercise physiology, equine nutrition, numerous dissections of the lower limb, reading x-rays, collecting stallions, palpating mares and participating in embryo flushes. I also studied the primary principles of lameness evaluation.

        My skills in lameness assessment were honed with Gideon, which I have cared for through multiple problems, including injuries to both front superficial flexor tendons, (both fronts were bowed due to excessive racing) bilateral upward fixation of the patella, tarsal-intertarsal joint arthritis, a bone spur in the left hind metatarsal phalangeal joint, weight loss, and laryngeal hemiplegia.  His rehabilitation was largely conducted at The Equine Center, a full surgical facility for horses in San Luis Obispo, Ca.  My gelding’s rehab included months of treadmill exercise and work on inclines, appropriate diet changes, rest, and great patience. It all paid off, by 2006 Gideon was sound and working as a second level dressage horse. He continues as a dressage horse to this day. His photo is on the home page, (the grey gelding completing a shoulder-in).

        I began to turn my attention to hoof care, specializing in the study of the distal limb and hoof capsule. Based on the the old saying “no foot no horse” I realized I could impact the total health of the horse with proper hoof care.

        My life changed forever when I met and apprenticed under Linda Cowles, Vice President of the American Hoof Association and expert barefoot trimmer. My apprenticeship with Linda dramatically solidified my feeling that so much of the horse could be improved by proper care of the hoof. Linda has become my mentor and true friend. I continue to learn from her. In 2006 I began trimming under Linda’s supervision and have now become an independent trimmer. While I have been an independent and professional hoof care provider for the last 2 years, I have spent the last 7 years devoted to the advanced study of equine health.

        Barefoot research and hoof care is changing the way people treat not only horses with serious pathologies of the foot, but otherwise sound horses which are simply being released from the tradition of metal shoeing. I hope that it is understood that most, if not all, horses can live free of metal shoes.  We have superior forms of protection for horses that need it, and as farriers we now understand how to trim an orthotic/protective component into the hoof capsule itself. Horse hooves have evolved for thousands of years to be all the horse needs. If we don’t routinely cut away at the hoof’s vital structures then the bare hoof is all our modern, domesticated horses require.  The links on this website take you to the very best barefoot sites. They are run by the absolute best trimmers in the U.S. Check these out; there is a tremendous body of knowledge contained on each one.

- Ann Ramsey, 2008 -