Greetings!
Thanks for being here.
Here's a little bit about me in case you're wondering!
The short story:
I have been a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner since 2011 and am a certified Practitioner, Mentor and Clinician with the Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP). I give thanks to Sally Hugg, proprietor of California Trace, for encouraging me to enroll in the PHCP training program. Since I began this journey, I have gained a depth of experience in the field, combined with ongoing education through webinars, clinics, and conferences with teachers and mentors such as Pete Ramey, Dr. Robert Bowker, Dr. Debra Taylor, Dr. Kerry Ridgeway, Dr. Cindy Nielson, Dr. Tomas Teskey, Sally Hugg, Carol Layton, and Eleanor Kellon, among many others. I continue my education each and every year, and the longer I am in this field, the more humbled I am. I feel that above all else, the horse is my greatest teacher when I am still enough to listen.
My intention is to advocate for horses by educating and empowering horse owners in Whole Health Hoof Care: An approach to trimming that emphasizes that healthy hooves are a result of proper nutrition, an active lifestyle, and frequent, non-invasive trimming.
The long story:
Horses have been my passion from a very young age, and I was fortunate enough to live in a rural area where horses were aplenty and to have parents who supported my obsession. At age 4, I started riding a Welsh pony named Mystic Buttercup who was owned by a teenager who lived nearby. On my 6th birthday, Buttercup was walked to my house for pony rides and was then gifted to me at the end of the day. Words cannot describe my gratitude for Buttercup's presence in my life and the time we spent together. She lived a healthy life until the age of 32.
When I was 8, Ann Ramage and Jim Morgan, both accomplished equestrians, moved to a stable in our area and I began formal riding lessons and showing. When I was 12, Ann and Jim sanctioned our purchase of a 7-year-old appendix Quarter Horse, Dox Leo Sox (Arnie). Arnie's energetic temperament and amazing jumping abilities improved my riding abilities (partly due to how often I fell off after jumps) and we came together as a team and did very well in equitation, hunter/jumpers, and 3-day eventing. He suffered a coffin bone fracture that ended our showing career, but we were a trail riding pair until his death in 2012.
As many horse lovers can relate, I wanted to become a veterinarian from a young age. I began volunteering for a local vet when I was 12 and then worked for several veterinarians during high school and college. When I was a teenager, close family friends encouraged me to re-consider the vet career path, and long story short I decided to change my plans.
I decided to pursue architecture and so for the first 3 years of college I attended Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo for architectural studies. Upon realizing that a desk job may not be the right decision for me, I decided to study abroad in Australia for a year to gain life experience and expand my horizons. There I studied environmental science and naturopathy. During my year abroad I also traveled to remote villages in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, which changed my perspective tremendously. I also travelled solo throughout much of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, hitchhiking and working as a WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms).
After returning home to the U.S. I attended Chico State, where I met my husband, John. I graduated with a degree in Geography and Planning, with a minor in the Geosciences, and in 2004, after both graduating, John and I moved to the small town of Quincy where we still reside with our 2 children, Bodhi and Tara.
After Arnie passed, I didn't go long before welcoming Brynja, an Icelandic cross mare, into our family. At this point I was working as a hoof care practitioner, so it wasn't hard to find horses who were in need of a home. Sam, a quarter horse gelding from a rescue, came next. They both live on a small track system here on our property, and I ride and hike in the woods with them as much as possible.
I am also an herbalist, and co-founder of the Wild Mountain Herbal Collective. The Naturopathy program at Southern Cross University in Australia introduced me to medicinal herbs, and when I became a mother in 2004, I began the growing herbs and making my own medicine. I love to share this passion, as it is incredibly empowering to practice this craft. My Plant Medicine Mandals marry my passions for herbalism and drawing mandalas.
I'm also a student of astrology, and I am very engaged in the topic of healing and transformation (and that's a whole other topic)
Thanks for reading!
Cheers and I wish you well,
Thanks for being here.
Here's a little bit about me in case you're wondering!
The short story:
I have been a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner since 2011 and am a certified Practitioner, Mentor and Clinician with the Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP). I give thanks to Sally Hugg, proprietor of California Trace, for encouraging me to enroll in the PHCP training program. Since I began this journey, I have gained a depth of experience in the field, combined with ongoing education through webinars, clinics, and conferences with teachers and mentors such as Pete Ramey, Dr. Robert Bowker, Dr. Debra Taylor, Dr. Kerry Ridgeway, Dr. Cindy Nielson, Dr. Tomas Teskey, Sally Hugg, Carol Layton, and Eleanor Kellon, among many others. I continue my education each and every year, and the longer I am in this field, the more humbled I am. I feel that above all else, the horse is my greatest teacher when I am still enough to listen.
My intention is to advocate for horses by educating and empowering horse owners in Whole Health Hoof Care: An approach to trimming that emphasizes that healthy hooves are a result of proper nutrition, an active lifestyle, and frequent, non-invasive trimming.
The long story:
Horses have been my passion from a very young age, and I was fortunate enough to live in a rural area where horses were aplenty and to have parents who supported my obsession. At age 4, I started riding a Welsh pony named Mystic Buttercup who was owned by a teenager who lived nearby. On my 6th birthday, Buttercup was walked to my house for pony rides and was then gifted to me at the end of the day. Words cannot describe my gratitude for Buttercup's presence in my life and the time we spent together. She lived a healthy life until the age of 32.
When I was 8, Ann Ramage and Jim Morgan, both accomplished equestrians, moved to a stable in our area and I began formal riding lessons and showing. When I was 12, Ann and Jim sanctioned our purchase of a 7-year-old appendix Quarter Horse, Dox Leo Sox (Arnie). Arnie's energetic temperament and amazing jumping abilities improved my riding abilities (partly due to how often I fell off after jumps) and we came together as a team and did very well in equitation, hunter/jumpers, and 3-day eventing. He suffered a coffin bone fracture that ended our showing career, but we were a trail riding pair until his death in 2012.
As many horse lovers can relate, I wanted to become a veterinarian from a young age. I began volunteering for a local vet when I was 12 and then worked for several veterinarians during high school and college. When I was a teenager, close family friends encouraged me to re-consider the vet career path, and long story short I decided to change my plans.
I decided to pursue architecture and so for the first 3 years of college I attended Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo for architectural studies. Upon realizing that a desk job may not be the right decision for me, I decided to study abroad in Australia for a year to gain life experience and expand my horizons. There I studied environmental science and naturopathy. During my year abroad I also traveled to remote villages in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, which changed my perspective tremendously. I also travelled solo throughout much of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, hitchhiking and working as a WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms).
After returning home to the U.S. I attended Chico State, where I met my husband, John. I graduated with a degree in Geography and Planning, with a minor in the Geosciences, and in 2004, after both graduating, John and I moved to the small town of Quincy where we still reside with our 2 children, Bodhi and Tara.
After Arnie passed, I didn't go long before welcoming Brynja, an Icelandic cross mare, into our family. At this point I was working as a hoof care practitioner, so it wasn't hard to find horses who were in need of a home. Sam, a quarter horse gelding from a rescue, came next. They both live on a small track system here on our property, and I ride and hike in the woods with them as much as possible.
I am also an herbalist, and co-founder of the Wild Mountain Herbal Collective. The Naturopathy program at Southern Cross University in Australia introduced me to medicinal herbs, and when I became a mother in 2004, I began the growing herbs and making my own medicine. I love to share this passion, as it is incredibly empowering to practice this craft. My Plant Medicine Mandals marry my passions for herbalism and drawing mandalas.
I'm also a student of astrology, and I am very engaged in the topic of healing and transformation (and that's a whole other topic)
Thanks for reading!
Cheers and I wish you well,
