testimonial Quarterhorse/arabian Farm
team penning, endurance, breedingDr. Myers, Hoof Balance Team,
I have been a life-long horse addict, competing in hunter, jumper, dressage, show ring halter, Western and English pleasure, competitive trail riding and most recently ranch sorting. For the past 17 years my passion has been my Arabian and part-Arabian horses. I try to always do the best for my animals, in their veterinary care, training and hoof care but especially for their feet as the old saying:
“NO FOOT - NO HORSE” is all too true. Over the last 40 years of owning horses I have been very fortunate to know a number of excellent farriers. However, when my last great farrier retired, after close to 45 years in the business, I was left searching for a new farrier and I quickly learned that not all farriers are created equal. In less than a year with a new farrier I had noticed certain problems creeping up in my horse’s way of going and in their feet. My Arabians started landing toe first, and were showing signs of foot soreness on harder ground. Their toes were becoming longer and their heels were creeping forward. Their hoof shape was becoming distorted and they no longer traveled with that light elastic gait that I’d come to enjoy when riding my horses. For 16 years this had never been a problem for any of them.
My Quarter Horse (QH)
brood mare was
also showing serious signs of laminitis. Consequently, when I had heard
about the upcoming local
education seminar for horse owners as well as a Farrier and
Vet clinic being presented
by the Balanced Equation Team, I decided that I had to attend. It was
undoubtedly one of
those life-altering moments when you learn something truly significant.
Suddenly, a whole lot of issues became clearer for me, and
I understand equine hoof balance more clearly. I
had always relied on my farrier to know
this stuff, now I knew that I, as the horse owner, also would have to
learn
more and be more vigilant in their hoof care. Dr. Myers and his team
helped me
to see where the problem in my horse’s gait was coming from.
I immediately started to look for a new farrier. Dr. Tookie Myers, his wonderful wife Carlene, Sylvia Kornherr and Neil Daly truly helped to save all my horses even though only one horse went to their clinic. Dr. Myers possesses such a unique skill set from his work as a veterinarian, farrier, horseman, trainer, instructor and horse show judge. Dr Myers gets the whole picture and does not just address the horse’s feet. The Balanced Equation Team has helped to return all six of my horses to true soundness and literally to save my foundation bred QH broodmare “Dudes True Blue Agent” (Blondys Dude, Skip Agent). Thanks to Dr. Myers and Neil Daly’s quick intervention on her feet, and with the help of my local Veterinarian, Dr. Steve Scott we managed to keep her sound and comfortable during the whole process of addressing her laminitis and correcting her severely distorted hoof angles. She was even able to maintain her pregnancy and deliver an awesome palomino filly only three months after Neil Daly and Dr. Myers started to help correct her hoof angles. I feel fortunate to have met Neil Daly who is such an open minded, well spoken young farrier in our area. He now regularly takes great care of my whole herd of horses. My competitive trail and ranch sorting horses all travel barefoot and only require Cavallo horse boots when traveling over the most rugged terrain.
From my own personal
experience dealing with these true
professionals, I can strongly recommend The Balanced Equation Team to
horseowner's and breeders out there
who may be encountering problems regarding their horse’s feet. They
offer a one-of-a-kind full
service team that can help your horses stay sound during strenuous
competition
or return to soundness after a chronic problem. They facilitate the
entire
process from start to finish and will liaison with all parties involved
for
complete and accurate communication and instruction. Using a
facilitator keeps
all parties informed and in the loop and they are available for the
client at
any time. The best part of working with this professional team is that
they
also help to empower the horse-owner to make informed
decisions. They
certainly helped me to more fully understand the theory and concept of
a truly
balanced foot and to see and to understand, the specific corrective
program required for
my horse. They made me feel that I was also an integral part
of the team treating my
horse. They offer full diagnostic reports with radiograph
Metron analysis
and full hoof reports and they are more than happy to work with your
local vet
and farrier as well.
