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Moderators
2024 Conference round table moderators
Track Systems and Lifestyle
Alicia Harlov
Most people know Alicia from her invaluable hoof care podcast, The Humble Hoof. Alicia is an PHCP mentor and practitioner and also owns and operates The Humble Hoof Rehab Facility in Amesbury, MA, while running a full time hoof care trimming business. Alicia believes that getting a horse sound is often a matter of finding the right pieces to the puzzle such as diet, environment, trim, and biomechanics.
Ruthie Thompson-Klein
Ruthie emphasizes hoof health in concert with overall equine wellness and looks for ways to get every horse thriving, not just surviving. She graduated Montana State University with an all-around farrier education but the real education began after school. Ruthie took a major detour into whole horse hoof care after years of trimming and shoeing competitive and pleasure horses, and instead began studying and applying the work of Jamie Jackson, Pete Ramey and Dr. Bowker, among others. Ruthie is a PHCP mentor and has been maintaining her track system for 15 years.
Tool Selection and Maintenance
Philip Himanka
Philip is a PHCP mentor, practitioner, and clinician and owns Not Only Barefoot. His specialties include performance and rehabilitation hoof care, and he utilizes boots and glue on hoof care protection when necessary. Philip believes in continuing education and attends seminars and clinics throughout the year. He strives for excellence in every challenge and believes in self-honesty and the ability to admit when making a mistake and to have the courage to change.
Sara Hunt
Sara started down the barefoot rabbit hole in 2006 with her first horse, Prophecy, who was facing retirement. Instead, with the benefit of barefoot hoof care and booting, Prophecy spent another 10 years enjoying the trails (and is still enjoying life at 36). After years of helping others with their horses on the side, Sara started offering her expertise professionally. She is an PHCP practitioner and operates Spectrum Equine which offers barefoot trimming, rehabilitation work, and hoof protection (glue on shoes and booting), along with BEMER therapy and saddle fitting of Ghost Treeless Saddles.
Donkey Feet
Jeannean Mercuri
Jeannean has been rehabbing horses barefoot since 2001. She is a PHCP mentor, practitioner, and clinician and serves on the PHCP Board of Directors. She has traveled to Canada, Italy, Spain, Aruba and all over the US to teach horse owners and hoof care professionals. Jeannean’s love of donkeys started when her horse Cricket needed a companion. In walked Chispa and let’s just say life was never the same. In a good way.
Cayce Brockwell
Cayce started Dare to Be Different Long Ear Hoof Care after meeting a foundered mini donkey named Doris who taught her how important it is for us to advocate for donkeys, and all animals. Cayce strives to help donkey owners understand specific dietary, handling, and environmental needs for donkeys. All of these things trickle down to the donkey’s feet. Cayce’s goal was to have two donkeys in her herd; now she has eight donkeys!
Avoiding Burnout
Christina Krueger
Christina’s hoof care profession began in 2012 after completing Ida Hammer’s Whole Horse Hoof Care Certification program. She became a PHCP practitioner in 2017 and achieved mentor status in 2019. Christina’s From Hoof To Heart practice focuses on maintenance, rehabilitation and performance hoof care. As the current PHCP President, Christina aims to continue helping the organization grow its membership and to educate hoof care professionals and horse owners about the importance of a holistic approach to equine hoof care.
Melody O’Brien
Melody founded Whole Health Hoof Care & Trimming in 2010. She believes that healthy hooves depend on consistent, non-invasive trimming, proper and balanced nutrition, and plenty of movement, and strives to educate and empower horse owners to care for their horses in a way that optimizes their overall health and well-being. Melody is a PHCP mentor, practitioner, and clinician and offers maintenance trimming, rehabilitation, and glue on shoeing when necessary.
Trimming Performance Horses
Maia Chaput
Maia has been trimming since 2011 and is a PHCP mentor, practitioner, and clinician. Her clientele consists of healthy maintenance trims, rehabilitation cases, and performance horses. She also has a passion for educating horse owners. Maia’s goal is to raise the standard of equine care by teaching preventative and proactive strategies for strong healthy hooves, optimal biomechanics, and the use of boots and composite shoes as alternatives to metal shoeing. Visit Metta Equus to learn more.
Gabrielle Goulet
Gabrielle started the PHCP program in 2019 to learn about trimming her own horses. She was coaching and training for 6 years when she finally decided it was not the right fit as a career path and realized that her passion was hoof care. She is currently an intermediate student practitioner and started her hoof care business in 2022. Gabrielle has been lucky to have amazing mentors and her aim is to keep learning so she can continue to help our equine friends.
Hoof Pathologies
Lorie Fleenor
As an 8th generation Tennessee farmer, knowledge of animal welfare and whole horse hoof care has always been a passion for Lorie. She has been trimming since 2007 and with the help of her husband and two children, runs a 265 head cattle operation and boards and cares for 75 horses. Lorie is a PHCP mentor, practitioner, and clinician and also teaches riding lessons and offers training at her farm. With so many horses on her farm, Lorie sees a variety of interesting hooves and pathologies.
Alicia Harlov
Alicia is a PHCP mentor and practitioner and owns and operates The Humble Hoof Rehab Facility in Amesbury, MA. She believes that getting a horse sound is often a matter of finding the right pieces to the puzzle such as diet, environment, trim, and biomechanics. Offering rehab via her track system has exposed Alicia to even more hoof pathologies and mystery lamenesses.