hoof mapping in Egypt
We had a wonderful opportunity while in Egypt to meet with one of Luxor's Arabian horse stables, catering to the tourism industry offering rides along the beautiful Nile River.
Their trainer, stable manager, stable owner and farrier met with us and we sat around along the Nile banks sharing our knowledge on trimming and biomechanics of the equine foot.
Life
is very difficult here, food is scarce, horses are
thin and
tourism is one of the few viable methods of producing a very modest
income.These folks have never seen the internal structures of a horse's foot and were intensely focussed to learn and absorb knowledge.
We spent an afternoon with them, a memorable occasion none of us will ever forget. We began to teach them hoof balancing and hoof mapping,
and giving them tools and reference points to improve their trimming techniques. Then Dr. Myers wrapped up the afternoon sharing valuable knowledge and advice for their breeding program as they were losing foals and had no access to local vets.
It was such a humbling experience, moving from the classroom environment, to sitting on benches along the Nile River, drawing images in the sands of the Nile banks, without pen or paper, without a computer or any technology whatsoever. We had hired an Egyptian translater to help us, who upon completion of the afternoon refused to take payment, as he was so moved by our efforts and saw the hungry desire of his fellow Egyptians to learn how to better improve the quality of their hores's lives.
It was blatently apparent to us that afternoon how incredibly fortunate we are to live in North America where there is no lack of resources available for us to gain knowledge. We need only stir up the desire within ourselves to learn.
