I have been working with horses in one way or another for over 40 years.  In 1991 I discovered natural horsemanship methods and found them to be far superior to the conventional way of riding and training.
 
Then in 1998 one of my training clients directed me to a website Tribe Equus. That was the beginning of a total transition of thinking in terms of my horse's feet and their shoes.   

Here I discovered the writings of Dr. H. Strasser of Germany and Jaime Jackson, an American farrier whose ideas at that time seemed to present a very similar concept of hoof care. 

The discovery of natural hoof care proved to be as enlightening as that of natural horsemanship.  Here was a whole new way of treating horse's feet that led to a tremendous improvement in their feet and overall health.  

In seeking verification of  my understanding in regard to this new concept I made contact with Debbie Dutra, another pioneer in this new approach to hoof care.  Debbie was very helpful in taking me through the basics.  I learned the hands on, one on one basics from Debbie. She and I are still in touch regularly, discussing various problem hoof cases. 

By this time I was finding myself pretty busy, trimming horses for my clients and friends, but still felt the need to learn more, especially in those dark areas involving laminitis/founder & navicular syndrome.  It was at this time that I began to attend several weekend clinics presented by Martha Olivo, another well known name in the natural trim movement.  I ultimately completed her certification course in July of 2003.  The course included doing many hoof dissections which gave me additional insight into the workings of the hoof.   

Since that time I have continued to learn from the best teachers of all: the horses. 

I am currently trimming about 125 horses per month and have been able to observe the positive changes in all of them, this includes 12 horses that were designated to be put down due to severe founder/laminitis and 3 diagnosed as incurable navicular horses. 

Over this 7 year period, several varying schools of natural trimming have diverged.   The most recent name to emerge is that of Pete Ramey, whose emphasis is on the wild horse model foot and who presents the idea that sometimes less is more (LIM).   I found his clinic extremely interesting and educational.    

I have taken what I've learned from each of these teachers, along with my own experience, and applied this broad base of knowledge according to what works best for a particular horse. What I have developed from all of this is my own style of trimming, customized to suit the individual horse.

~Phil