Welcome to Simply Natural, My name is Cherie.
A bit about me:
I have been a horse lover since before I can remember. Early memories include walks with my mom to visit the horse down the street, being thrown from my aunt’s Shetland pony at age two and wanting to get right back on and refusing to do any assignment in school that did not involve horses in some way. I was born loving horses.
When I was 13, I was given a little Standardbred gelding named Whiskey and my passion grew. Whiskey and I attended college at Meredith Manor in Waverly, West Virginia. There, I earned a Riding Master 6 in the western discipline as well as a teaching 2 certificate. I was on my way to becoming a horse trainer... or so I thought.
In 1991, I took a job as head trainer on an Appaloosa breeding facility in western PA. I soon discovered that the horse show world was not for me and training show horses was not quite the life I had envisioned for myself.
In 1993, I was married and settled down to a horse life that was a bit more usual, just keeping Whiskey and the Appaloosa that belonged to my mate. |
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In 1995, I pulled my horses’ shoes and began trimming them myself. My horses were sound and happy trail horses, but I thought I just had horses with good feet. The Standardbred was 26 years old and had always worn shoes... the Appaloosa was six and had been in shoes since he was three.
In 1999, my husband passed away and I became a one horse person. I was still trimming him myself, still having success and not really knowing why. I just followed the sole and let the horse do the rest. It seemed too simple to be real. That little horse continued as a barefoot trail horse until the age of 35. He died in 2005, about 6 months past his retirement. Then, I met Baby.
Baby is an off-the-track Standardbred mare. She had been barefoot for several years but was still tender footed. She had long toe, low heel syndrome. I began to really look at hoof care and what I had been doing. I talked to farriers in my area, and one pointed me down the natural hoof care road. I did more research and, in 2005 discovered the world of barefoot horses and hoof care. I was entranced and have been rather obsessed with hooves ever since.
(learn more about Baby in...)Story and pics to be provided.
Baby is now a sound barefoot trail horse. She occasionally requires the use of hoof boots but has improved remarkably and is continuing to heal and improve.
In 2007, I was urged by several friends and fellow trimmers to go professional. There are few barefoot trimmers out there, and I am not aware of any in the Pittsburgh area. I began to take on more horses and continued to discover the love for this work. I can make a difference in the lives of the animals I love!
To date, I have succeeded in rehabilitating several horses. Horses that were not sound, in or out of shoes. Horses that once "needed" their shoes are today happily barefoot. I hope your horse will be the next horse I am allowed to help using this method, which is based on studies of the natural horse. Examples of the horses I work with can be seen in the testimonials section.
Please take the time to explore the links I have provided. Learn as much as you can about the barefoot method and decide whether it will fit into your life. When you are ready to take the next step, give a call or drop an email. I would love to meet you and your horse and help you on the road to barefoot performance.
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