2020 year in review - BC clinics
Christine, Zak and Francine - your favourite Hoof Geeks!
We cannot begin to even express the feeling of gratitude Francine and I have towards all of our friends old and new in British Columbia. You have completed 1/2 of our vision - to take Barefoot Across Canada - helping horse owners - practitioners and professionals alike learn more about the whole horse - starting with the hoof!
We also had a fantastic conversation with the gals from Friends On Horses Podcast that we know you’ll enjoy! This is the place to start for anyone wondering about what we do, why we do it (for the horses of courses!) and what it means and what it takes to transition your horse to barefoot. Send your friends here if they are curious! You’ll find the video at the bottom of this post as well as a link to the podcast. This Friends on Horses episode is available here or from you fav podcast app.
We look forward to 2021 and are working on scheduling clinics at these locations:
St. Andrews Manitoba = mid April
Lloydminster Alberta = May
Edmonton AB =May
Paradise Hill SK = early June
Kelowna British Columbia = mid June
Edgewood BC = June
Courtney BC = Late June
Dawson Creek BC = June
Prince George BC = June
Parry Sound ON = July/August
Bruce Mines ON = August
These locations and dates are still tentative but as they are finalized, they will be posted here on our website and facebook page.
BC we ❤️🌈 you - and all your beautiful people and horses! Here are some highlights from our time out west…
Kelowna August 1, 2020
Training For Courage Centre a big thank you to Paul Dufresne and Zelda Bogert Webber for hosting our hoof trimming clinic in Kelowna. They went above and beyond to help us stay cool in his shop (it was 37C and above!) while we shared our information about trimming with a great group of students.
It was great to have such a keen group who wanted to learn everything they could to help their horses. Rachel Gedaliya, Franco Cloete, Sandi Billingham Peters and Paul helped with all the newbies. Having seasoned trimmers with diverse backgrounds at our clinics helps us immensely to give each student more individual attention if needed. Plus we gained a new perspective from multiple disciplines — a trainer, a saddle maker, a body worker — on the importance of having a balanced trim…fantastic!
A special thanks to Rachel for doing the cadaver dissection and showing everyone how the internal structures of the hoof are all connected and how they function together.
We love to start new communities of like-minded people so they can help and support each other.
Trail Aug 6, 2020
Little Oasis Equine Matters - Casino, BC (up the mountain outside of Trail, BC).
A big thank you to Leah Maisonneuve-Hope and her husband Dave and daughter Alex for being such great hosts. It’s a gorgeous property with beautiful views and lots trees for shade - which we definitely needed!
A super group of students for the clinic — newbies and veteran trimmers — all had lots to contribute and also had some “aha” moments from absorbing the info we had to share. It really does take a community to help each other do the best we can for our equine partners.
Thank you to our skilled hoof trimmer friends; Gabi Mayrhofer, Janine Gerrand, Roy Kyte, and Leah for helping us help the newbies with their newly acquired skills while helping them do it safely as well. We are so proud of you guys and gals! Keep up the great work and never hesitate to ask us anything! Keep helping each other out — that’s how we all get better! It was also great to see Franco Cloete and Jai Sequoia (our web designer) for a brief visit.
Powell River August 14, 2020
It was sunny and hot, and we had a great place to have it in - thank you Tammy for hosting us and Heather Dickson for helping to organize.
Great group of ladies - lots of fun with this bunch! Even the veteran trimmers had some “aha” moments - just goes to show if you attend with an open mind you can always learn something. These gals were a great example of this principle.
We really enjoyed the ocean and hiking around the area… beautiful!
Campbell River August 21, 2020
Mystic Woods Equestrian Centre - Campbell River, BC
So last, but definitely not least...our Campbell River clinic was awesome...great facility, beautiful location, and a bunch of keen students...it doesn’t get better than that! Thank you to our host Corinne Matheson for providing a beautiful facility, and to Lexy Mills for helping organize the event.
We were thrilled to have such a big group of people wanting to learn alternative ways to help make their equine partners’ lives better. Everyone did a wonderful job trimming their horses on the 3rd day. We look forward to coming back to see everybody‘ a progress!
find a trimmer
These are Hoof Geeks Grads and professionals we trust.
In the future we hope to venture east — Ontario, the Maritimes and Quebec... here we come!
Can’t find a trimmer in your area? Contact us and we’ll see if we know of someone close to your area. Are you missing from this page? Let us know!
Did you know you can attend any Hoof Geeks clinic for FREE after your initial clinic if you bring a friend? Yup! You just pay for any cadavers you need for the clinic. More info HERE.
If you haven't already, join us in the Hoof Geeks Facebook Group to stay connected with us and other students and barefoot trimmers who post additional educational material, challenging cases, success stories and more.
All the best to everyone during the holiday season we know it may be a strange one for some. All we can say is… go walk your dog, pet your cat and kiss your horses. We wish you, your families (yes including your fur babies) a happy healthy and safe time.
xo Francine & Christine
