New York was my home state - the south shore of Long Island. (Believe it or not, there were still a handful of horses back then living in suburbia.) I was born with a God given, heartfelt passion for horses (and animals) to a family from The City. The only person in my large, extended family who had anything to do with horses was my late Grandfather. The extent of his experience was betting on horses at the track.

To my family, I was sort of an enigma - I loved horses so much, when I was a kid, I wanted to be one. I took riding lessons, competed at horse shows and read all the books I could get my hands on. What I could not understand was why horses were not treated better and why weren't their wild needs met. Even as a child, I was horrified by the obvious and the subtle abuses of horses. I was told that was just the way it was. Fortunately, Walter Farley's The Black Stallion and later on natural horsemanship trainers - gave me hope and inspiration that there was a much better way and that there were people somewhere who truly understood what horses wished we all knew from the horse's perspective.

In 1982, when I moved with my parents to Tennessee, it was with the promise of my own horse. I was blessed with the best first horse I could ever want - a true friend: honest, safe and full of spirit. Unfortunately, he foundered and was lame several times. Although I was told it was a "good" thing that he only lost 2 shoes in the 20 years he was with me, they caused him more pain and suffering than I realized he endured. I asked my farrier to remove his shoes, but he was uncomfortable and there were no other options. So, the shoes went back on, If I knew then what I know now.

Several years and a small herd of horses later, I began to face serious founder issues with 3 of my ponies: one that eventually foundered so badly she laid down most of the time; another one had seriously soft frogs with pockets of ooze; a blind rescue pony - who had apparently lived foundered and neglected for years, and my handsome heart horse gelding whose previous owners shod him themselves - horribly.  I thought that controlling their food intake and getting their feet maintained was working - but it wasn't. I was frustrated that conventional trimming methods were making things worse, so I searched hard, learned much, and when I realized I did not know what I needed to know to take better care of their needs, I searched for someone who could.