The Hoof Smith
I am putting up this little profile so people can understand that my changes are written from experience and looked over by Vets, that way the
My name is Darren Robertson and I am a specialist BareFoot Trimmer in Sydney Australia.
I also run a rehab center in Sydney for Foundered horses, as well as teaching facility for Horse owners, Farriers and Vets.
I learned my skills from Martha Olivo (The Hoof Goddess), probably the most educated barefoot trimmer :-)
I have also compared notes with Pete Ramey while he was in Australia and many other Barefoot speciailsts. Using what I have learned from these people and the horses I have developed a method of trimming that includes the best of these pioneers and my own advances in hoof trimming.
I have had vets monitoring my work on a fortnightly basis while rebuilding a 28 year old cushings horse with bad feet and had been recumbant for 6 weeks prior to start my work on him. In 9 weeks he cantered up the paddock for the first time in 5 years.
Barefoot is a very successful methodology for laminitis and founder repair. The vets are still not trusting the resuts but the horse has the final word on wether a method works or not.
Most farriers will recomend putting down a hors with pedal bones sticking through the bottoms of its feet, as a Barefoot trimmer I can walk in and get the horse up and moving immediately and by caring for the injury have the horse back to normal in a short time.
One mare with pedal bones palpable though both front feet was turned out onto her normal paddock in 2 weeks after the first trim. This was her second occurence of founder in 5 months the first being Toxic Metritis.
I have dealt online with people like Ronald and other Farriers who don't believe barefoot works, they do not see the evidence infront of them.