Mark Johnson Farrier - another way?

13/07/2026

Through human domestication, horses have strayed so far from how they are meant to exist.

As a result, we see a far higher amount of stress behaviours, health issues, behavioural problems and more in domesticated horses.

Colic rates are far greater in horses who spend a lot of time in confinement and isolation.

Stall vices like cribbing and weaving have not been documented in free roaming feral horses and are consistently seen in far higher quantities in stables horses.

Horses who lack turnout tend to be more explosive, unpredictable and dangerous to handle.

Horses who do not get space to move on a regular basis in their free time are far more prone to soft tissue injury than horses who have access to adequate space.

Isolated horses see a lowered immune response.

Study after study for DECADES has consistently painted a picture of the reality for horses:

Confinement and isolation is damaging for herd animals.

And, yet, it is still commonplace for many horses to be stabled for 18-24 hours a day.

Many horses exist without ever having access to social turnout.

One of the most core features of who they are as a species — denied.

The time for a paradigm shift is long overdue.

Many of the issues humans experience with horses could be resolved completely or reduced in frequency and intensity simply by providing more species appropriate care.

We need to do better by horses.

Now is the time to discuss how to realistically apply needed changes to promote better welfare for horses.

06/07/2026

It was a huge pleasure especially having almost completely lost my photographic mojo to be able to go and spend some time at Horses Inside Out HQ doing a bit of a photo shoot, prior to the up and coming anatomy exhibition which begins on the 14th of August.

https://www.horsesinsideout.com/events/equine-anatomy-exhibition-2026

It was an amazing opportunity to just quietly immerse in all things horse, being able to have a play with a more “artistic” slant to the images mixed in with more formal representations

Gillian’s collection is almost as vast as her knowledge and if you get a chance to visit in person, I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed and there’s always something to learn!

30/06/2026

The Shoeing Lab Home of More Aid Hoof Care And Kelvin Lymer you’re a living saint! I can’t praise the More Aid Squish pads highly enough and this little elderly, chronic laminitic Shetland seemed very happy post their application

28/06/2026

Please listen! 🙏 this episode is amongst the best of the best from the Humble Hoof, jam packed with still very relevant information and for those of you not of that era the “Pete” who keeps getting talked about is Pete Ramey, a man who had and still has for many of us some far reaching influence (for the good) and not an egotistical bone in him, that I ever saw anyway

There sure is a lot of talk lately about laminitis and founder, including opinions on the causes of these changes in the hoof and how to address them. People are getting passionate about the trim, the management, and the various reasons a horse can become laminitic. These conversations are important, and I wanted to jump in and re-publish a podcast episode we originally shared in 2020.

Dr. Debra Taylor of Twin Creeks Veterinary Services in Alabama is an absolute wealth of knowledge on laminitis; she focuses her practice on podiatry, and has done extensive work on laminitic cases. Back in 2020, she chatted with me about these three main causes of laminitis, and how to approach them. This conversation is still one of my absolute favorite interviews I've done on the podcast, and with all the talks lately (and even some drama) around founder issues, I thought a re-publish "throwback" to this episode was timely!

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2026/06/26/throwback-not-all-laminitis-is-created-equal/

27/06/2026

Right now this isn’t fun, in places we seem to be plagued by generous amounts of horse flies

If it’s the case that you can’t protect your horse and you’re in one of these high density areas, please consider rescheduling your hoofcare appointment, it’s not fair to expect a horse to stand while being tormented with these critters and can become dangerous for all concerned as they try to evade being bitten

21/06/2026

Time for some fresh bespoke caudal support pads courtesy of -

https://www.hoofbootfarriers.com/

19/06/2026

I've just had the pleasure of spending a morning with Gillian Higgins of Horses Inside Out, helping with a tiny bit of prep work for the ever growing equine anatomy exhibition, coming up very soon in August (all details on the H.I.O website)

Its just not possible when you're a bit geeky and surrounded by a multitude of various anatomical specimens and exhibits, not to get captivated by something of interest and this time it was Lulu

Lulu was a relatively young horse who lost her life to laminitis, with perforated pedal bones on all four feet
You can meet these feet in person if you attend in August along with the rest of Lulu's skelleton and if you do come and see her, make sure you pay her pedal bones some attention too, as you will be able to see the extensive bone loss she suffered prior to euthansisa

Music from (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/dan-snyder/first-light

14/06/2026

Messing around with a core balance pad while waiting for glue to dry, the horse sinks in more medially than laterally in stance, but what to do with the information?

As I’m very much one for central support with any shoes I apply these days, there is no problem for me to enhance the packing of the medial collateral groove in addition to the general packing, I can’t say for sure but my gut says this will aid stability for the limb

10/06/2026

So this is a genuine question! Especially in light of some saying how the HM protocol has supported their horses where all else has failed

The only scenario I can both understand and acknowledge (within limits) is that of a vertical or hyper positive angled pedal bone giving rise to pain within the hoof capsule and the subsequent reduction of heel height improving comfort (this could have a book written on it and I’ve no intention or interest in doing that yet)

So the question is, where the heels have been over elevated, does anyone have any pictures of horses burying their heels into a conformable surface such as pea gravel or sand while leaving the toe parallel? I can supply pictorial evidence of horses wishing to bury their toes and elevate their heels but I have never seen the reverse, but then my philosophy has never been to sustain artificial elevation beyond what the horse needs at the time and never as a matter of course without reason