acrylic scale plate was also a bit of a challenge. Problem solved!ģD-printed slider assembly prototype with test slots for sizingĭeveloping a suitable marking method for the 1/8″-thick poly methyl methacrylate i.e. After some unsuccessful attempts, I finally worked it out by placing a much shorter slider on an angle so the shorter length could “track” the widest part of the hoof. One particular problem was coming up with a way to implement a moveable slider for width measurements that didn’t require multiple mounting points in the scale plate, which meant it had to be short enough to move freely in a single slot without binding and still cover the entire required measurement range. It needed to be something I could manufacture myself in my existing shop, and the design had to be tolerant of the fairly large thickness variations in polymer sheet material.
So I began making sketches of various possible approaches, including some that proved to be completely impractical. That need was only reinforced when I began making measurements on actual horses. I’d spent much of my engineering career coming up with better ways to make various sorts of measurements – physical, electrical, and acoustical – and it was clear to me there had to be a superior way to measure hooves that didn’t involve struggling with tape measures. distributor of Swiss Horse Boots and then-Booting Clinic Instructor with the AANHCP (now with Liberated Horsemanship). The obvious need for such a product came to me in 2006 while I was attending a boot fitting clinic with Richard Drewry, the U.S. Fast, easy-to-use, and accurate, this product has been a long time in coming, and it’s finally here! But throw in a fidgety horse, and it’s a guaranteed recipe for complete frustration!Įnter my new Hoof Boot Fitting Gauge. Fumbling around with a tape measure or ruler, trying to take the “mustang roll” into account, and accurately measuring from the toe through the center of the foot to that imaginary line at the back of the heel buttresses are all challenging enough. If you’ve ever attempted to take accurate hoof measurements for selecting and fitting hoof boots, you’ve no doubt experienced how annoying it can be! And for us hoof care providers who furnish this as a service for clients on a not-infrequent basis, it can be both time-consuming and exasperating – particularly when the boots end up not fitting because of measurement errors.
More busy times ahead!Īnd if that weren’t enough, I’ve been working on a bunch of new product designs – three of which are the subject of this Post. The third clinic will be a Liberated Horsemanship Gateway Clinic (our introductory hoof care clinic), which (because of COVID-19 travel restrictions) will almost certainly be our only hoof care clinic in 2022, and there’s also the possibility of having another clinic or two targeted exclusively at zoo hoofstock personnel. Two of the clinics are planned to be exclusively for veterinarians and animal chiropractic doctors, which came about because of my involvement with the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association over the last couple of years. It turned out to be the perfect place to hold our clinics – so much so that we’ve scheduled three more clinics there for next year. Nevertheless, Liberated Horsemanship held an extremely well-attended (albeit domestic participants only) and successful Gateway Clinic in late September at the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. COVID-19 really has impacted us all in our case, it’s meant the postponement or cancellation of several scheduled clinics and other presenting opportunities (including Liberated Horsemanship clinics and, in my wife‘s case, Straightness Training clinics and in-person lessons), and made it highly impractical if not impossible for us to visit family and friends in Austria. Pardon my absence! Before I get into the substance of this Post, let me first say that it’s been a very busy few months here and I sincerely apologize for not updating the website before now.
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