Like many others, my interest in Equine Podiatry began with my own horses, partly by accident and then fuelled by their various ailments and injures! I’ve owned my own spotty Warmblood since he was a foal, and after backing him it quickly became apparent that we were achieving everything we wanted to without any need to put shoes on. He’s been happily barefoot covering miles of hacking and low riding club activities for his whole 13years. When we purchased our young New Forest pony for my daughter, we removed his front shoes and enlisted the help of an Equine Podiatrist to transition him to barefoot… and then I was hooked! His feet needed time to recover from the shoes. I loved the ‘whole horse’ approach to his hoof care and the amount of information that was shared to enable us to give him the best set up, and to enable him to continue with all Pony Club activities barefoot. As he is a Native Pony, managing his diet became a major part of his care, which also has a direct link to his hoof health. I slowly found myself reading and learning more about their feet, and when my horse had an impressive puncture wound in 2020 I found myself learning the internal anatomy and structures of the foot and became even more curious. After a career in the NHS and with my children nearly grown up (and with the encouragement of our lovely EP!) I decided to take the plunge and apply for the course in 2022, gaining my level 5 Diploma in August 2025. I now love spending my days working with horses, ponies, donkeys and their humans, and I really enjoy sharing the knowledge I have gained over the last few years of training and horse owning! Watching positive behavioural changes in horses that may have previously struggled with hoof care is so rewarding, and seeing a beautiful, functional hoof emerging over time will never get old. I am constantly learning, and as an Equine Podiatrist I hope to provide clients with reliable, current, evidence based, and holistic hoof care, enabling them to have a successful and sustainable barefoot journey together.