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PHCP Member Spotlight – Sarah Albanozzo

Sarah is a PHCP intermediate student practitioner and has been a member since 2022.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in hoof care

My mission in life is to eventually be in a position and become certified to educate veterinarians and veterinary students through university programs in Malta and Europe on the importance of diet, equine management, and non-invasive trimming methods; and to create an awareness on the available alternatives (if necessary) to metal shoes.

In this pursuit, I have completed my first year at the University of Edinburgh: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, College of Medicine, in Scotland, completing the Equine Digestion and Nutrition; Equine Behaviour, Welfare and Ethics; and Equine Exercise Physiology (passed first exam and awaiting results of the second exam) modules, along with The Hock-Imaging and Treatment course and A Practical Approach in Diagnosing Foot, Pastern and Fetlock Problems course.

Last year through PHCP I took Carol Layton’s The Smart Way to Feed Horses and Dr Bowker’s On The Equine Hoof webinars. This year I have completed Dr Gustafson’s EMS (IR) and PPID: Diagnosis and Management and Carol Layton’s Feeding Special Needs Horses webinars.

I wrote How capable is that hoof of the domesticated barefoot-kept horse?, a short article for the University of Malta’s Newspoint.  You can read the article here.

Currently, I am writing a scientific paper for the barefoot study I conducted in April 2023 and hope to have it published by November 2023 at the latest.

Tell us something people may not know about you

In my spare time, I am also working on three case studies that have helped improve my analytical and trimming skills. The first case is a typical situation of a horse that successfully completed the transition period from shod to barefoot. The second case, my own 20-year-old horse Prix, had abnormal hoof wear in the left hind. And the third horse is the most pathological case I have ever seen. All three case studies include photos and radiographs.

Members can view Sarah’s case studies via the Chat Forum or the Members only Facebook Group.