About me

My name is Anja...

Horses have always been in my life. They are wonderful creatures that really enrich our lives if we allow them.

They just deserve the best horse care we can give them.

I am around horses now for nearly thirty years and I really learned a lot from them through the years. I would like to invite you to share some of my knowledge and experiences with you through this website.

If you feel you have something interesting horse-related to contribute to this site, please do so through my contact page . I would be delighted to publish your comments here.

I grew up in Germany. Our family always had horses and I have been riding since the age of twelve. I was competing in dressage and show jumping for many years in Germany.

In 1998 we moved to the south-west of Ireland. I now have three horses right beside the house. Heaven!!

My horse Ed was a very difficult case from the beginning. He was very neglected when I got him, thin and malnourished. He had problems with light colic several times because of worms and his feet were not in a good state either.

You learn a lot from horses like that!

I live in a quite remote place. It is very difficult to find a qualified horse vet, therapists, farrier,...You certainly don´t find a barefoot hoof care provider or equine podiatrist. (Now you do!Me!)

So you pretty much have to rely on yourself when you run into problems.

But my horse needed help!I was just not happy with his feet. I spent nights on the internet researching barefoot hoof care. There is a lot of confusing information out there ...

Eventually I found the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry that is run by KC and Robyn LaPierre in Florida. And I enrolled in a course.

This was simply the best thing I ever did for my horses. I learned so much there! It changed my and my horses lives!

I did the online course about Applied Equine Podiatry and five practical courses in the UK and Florida.

In those courses you don´t just learn how to trim a horse. KC teaches you to see the full picture. We are not just treating a foot, we are treating a whole horse. What we do to the foot will affect the whole horse. But also: Nutrition, Environment, Conformation, Training, ... will have a huge effect on the hoof.

In October 09 I qualified as a DAEP (Degreed Applied Equine Podiatrist) and I am currently doing my second level in AEP.

In March 2010 I completed a course on equine nutrition with Dr. Eleanor Kellon from Pennsylvania. Another great learning experience! I just felt I did too much guessing when feeding my horses and optimum nutrition does make such a difference to a horse!

My 4-legged teachers:

Mr. Ed

Probably the horse that taught me the most! It is only for him that I became a DAEP. He is retired now but very happy. When I see him running around, rearing and bucking I know I did the right things for him.

Two years ago he could hardly cross the yard, his feet were so bad!

Jess

We bought Jess as a five year old at an Irish horse fair. In the beginning she was a fairly introverted pony with little interest in humans. When you opened the gate she turned around and went the opposite direction! A lot of time and patience turned her into a lovely pony with tremendous attitude. I broke her in gradually and now my 13 year old daughter is riding her bareback!

Shimmer

Shimmer only joined us in October 09. I adopted her from the ISPCA. She is a gorgeous four year old thoroughbred. Her feet were not in great shape when we got her. She had massive cracks on both her hind feet and continuous sub-solar abscessing in the left fore which is very painful.

But she has overcome all these problems now and we are slowly working our way towards breaking her in ...