Sarah Albanozzo

Intermediate Student Practitioner

3 credits completed in 2022

Equine welfare on our tiny island is in great need of improvement and has not changed much in all my 40 years as an equestrian. There is no such thing as positive re-enforcement training methods here and to add insult to injury, many conventionally-trained vets still normalise harsh approaches besides other harmful traditions. Around 95% of horses in Malta are those with a career in standardbred harness-racing. My rescued, standardbred harness-racer initially had both behavioural and physical problems including founder. This is when a new door opened wide to the barefoot world and to much more! Although it’s been a very long and lonely journey having to self-educate myself through books, webinars, online trimming courses and with the help of a barefoot trimmer in the UK, it has not stopped me from wanting to progress further. I have been trimming my own four horses and those of a few friends for 5 years now and have just completed a mentorship in Scotland with Dawn Saunders. This was a great experience and a real pleasure to be among “hoof nerds” :)) My mission in life is to eventually be in a position (become certified) to educate veterinarians and veterinary students through university programs in Malta and in Europe, on the importance of diet, management and non-invasive trimming methods, and also to create an awareness on the available alternatives (if necessary) to metal shoes. I was recently accepted by the University of Edinburgh: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies – College of Medicine (will start a 6-year course in September 2022), where I hope to explore pathology in hoof necropsies of shod horses – something which is of particular interest to me and where I hope to specialise. In the meantime, I am happy to advise anyone on any valuable literature which I found extremely helpful during my period of self-learning 🙂