Hannah E. Herschberger

Owner | Barefoot Hoof Care Practitioner

When I was nine, my Welsh pony had foundered. The true owners of my pony weren't actively treating him, and didn't seem concerned with his lameness. I asked the farrier so many questions, one of which was how do I get your job. He told me I would never be physically able to be a farrier. I accepted that answer since all hoof care providers at the time were larger men and I had always been under 100 pounds. However, that didn't stop me from doing every school project, presentation, and study subject on the equine foot. My main focus was on laminitis and traditional shoes. So much so in fact, my teachers would announce to the class that we would be creating a research project on a subject of our choice, but Hannah has to pick a subject other than horse feet. 

Twelve years later, I finally had my own horse. He was tender on rocks, imbalanced in his feet and limbs, and struggled to physically stand for his trims. After about six months of paying this poor trimmer a lot of tip money to trim my horse, I decided it was time to buy tools and put my knowledge to the test - even after twelve years of personal study, I was still terrified to touch my horses feet. I've always said, the most important thing I've gathered from studying podiatry is this: Horses feet should never be touched by an individual that is not thoroughly trained in podiatry, locomotion and biomechanics, trimming, horsemanship, stages of life development, diet, nutrition, and environmental influences such as substrates, footing, and bedding. Hooves are unimaginably strong, but they are also easily influenced by trimming whether that be good or bad. Point being, I took my horse's hooves seriously and I learned a lot quickly.

I spent a lot of time under my horse for nearly a year. Many at the boarding barn noticed, and asked for my thoughts on their horses feet. Eventually, I ended up trimming about thirty horses part time after working my job as an HVAC Journeyman Installer. A couple years ago I was in a head on collision in my work van, and even after my body healed my mind still struggled to get back into an identical work van and get back to work. That was the push I needed to quit working jobs I never wanted, and take the leap to go full time in a career I've dreamed of. A few years later, I'm helping horses live on comfortable feet and helping their owners to learn the best practices to maintain their beautiful feet.

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