Achaina Inc.
Holistic Equine Services
Kathy Ladendecker
About Me
I grew up in a small town in northeastern Massachusetts. For my 11th birthday, I got a pony! (I know, best parents ever.)
Heather was the most adorable little brown dappled Shetland pony with a long flaxen mane and tail and the most perfect star on her face. She was previously owned by a large family, and their seven kids had learned to ride on her, so she knew every naughty pony trick in the book.
At our first Pony Club dressage show, Heather jumped right out of the arena twice and we had to be hand-led through our dressage test. It was hardly the debut that I had envisioned. I was completely mortified and cried myself to sleep that night. Beginnings can be very awkward.
It all started with that precious little peanut, and I have now owned horses for over 40 years straight and cannot imagine a life without them.
Barefoot Hoof Care
The barefoot movement was just starting in 1999, along with the birth of the internet. I devoured all of the information that I could find. I purchased Jaime Jackson's books and training videos, and I began using his methods to trim my horses.
In 2004 I purchased a Spanish mare that became my best teacher... Many Spanish breeds are genetically predisposed to insulin resistance. Shortly after she arrived from being shipped across the continent, she was diagnosed with severe laminitis. Radiographs revealed coffin bone rotation in one front hoof, and a complete sinker in the other. (The hoof wall had completely detached from the coffin bone and lateral cartilages, and the bone structures had "sunk" to the bottom inside the hoof capsule.) That was beyond my trimming capabilities at that time, so I enlisted the help of a professional barefoot trimmer who rehabilitated her. And thus my education in insulin resistance and laminitis began and I took over her trimming again when she was on the mend. Sadly she had another severe bout of laminitis ten years later, and I was able to rehabilitate her again myself. I have lived through the hell of having a beloved horse with laminitis, rather than just trimming and leaving. I truly understand how painful it is to the horse and the owner. I also experienced first hand how dedicated treatment can prevent more severe damage and return a horse to soundness.
Healthy happy hooves have become an obsession for me, and the hoof's ability to heal continues to amaze me.
My training has included:
-Studied extensively the work of internationally recognized barefoot rehab specialist Pete Ramey, and attended multiple trimming clinics.
-Shadowed with Geri White as she worked on horses, and attended her Trimming and Cadaver Dissection clinic. Geri is a Field Instructor for the Equine Sciences Academy (ESA), and the current President of the American Hoof Association (AHA), of which Pete Ramey is one of the founders.
-Private mentorships with Jeannean Mercuri and completed her Anatomy, Dissection, & Trimming and Booting, Casting, & Grinder Trimming clinics. Jeannean is a mentor, clinician, and Director of Education for Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP) and on the AHA Education Committee.
-Private PHCP mentorships with Patrice Sager, Anne Buteau, and Christina Krueger.
I am a member of PHCP, and my education continues with more private mentorships and clinics. I love transforming hooves for the better and making horses more comfortable.
I also enjoy Classical Dressage and Natural Horsemanship.
In 2004 I attended the Parelli exposition of the Love, Language, and Leadership tour and was completely blown away. I completed the Level 1, Level 2, and Liberty and Horse Behavior home study programs. I also received an enormous amount of information through their Savvy Club, and rode in clinics with Parelli instructors Christie Rains and Kathy Baar.
In 2005 I saw an ad for a clinic with Mark Russell. I signed up and trailered my young mare a few hours to Mark’s first-ever clinic in southern Connecticut. I knew immediately that Mark was to be my mentor. His gentle energy and infinite knowledge were perfect for my sensitive mare. I attended clinics and rode with Mark as often as possible until his passing in 2016. I spent literally hundreds of hours watching him teach his art. Mark was both a trainer and a farrier. I would have him check my trimming, and he would wink and tell me that I should be teaching farriers how to trim. I am eternally grateful for his words of encouragement and wealth of knowledge through the years.
In 2015 I joined Marijke DeJong’s Straightness Training program, and then her Mastery program in 2016. Her work has been the perfect segue to Mark’s work after his tragic death, as I delve even deeper into classical work and biomechanics. I’ve had the amazing experience of attending two clinics with Marijke, two clinics with ST Instructor Rebecca Gilbert from the U.K., and one clinic with ST Instructor Zaneta Georgiades from South Africa, with more to come as I follow this path.
I absolutely love working with horses. I live for those first few steps of something new, of developing communication and rapport with the horse, and of the beautiful progression as physical ability and communication improve.
It is safe to say that I am always learning, every single day. I insist on learning from the best, and I bring that knowledge to the horses and their people.
Heather was the most adorable little brown dappled Shetland pony with a long flaxen mane and tail and the most perfect star on her face. She was previously owned by a large family, and their seven kids had learned to ride on her, so she knew every naughty pony trick in the book.
At our first Pony Club dressage show, Heather jumped right out of the arena twice and we had to be hand-led through our dressage test. It was hardly the debut that I had envisioned. I was completely mortified and cried myself to sleep that night. Beginnings can be very awkward.
It all started with that precious little peanut, and I have now owned horses for over 40 years straight and cannot imagine a life without them.
Barefoot Hoof Care
The barefoot movement was just starting in 1999, along with the birth of the internet. I devoured all of the information that I could find. I purchased Jaime Jackson's books and training videos, and I began using his methods to trim my horses.
In 2004 I purchased a Spanish mare that became my best teacher... Many Spanish breeds are genetically predisposed to insulin resistance. Shortly after she arrived from being shipped across the continent, she was diagnosed with severe laminitis. Radiographs revealed coffin bone rotation in one front hoof, and a complete sinker in the other. (The hoof wall had completely detached from the coffin bone and lateral cartilages, and the bone structures had "sunk" to the bottom inside the hoof capsule.) That was beyond my trimming capabilities at that time, so I enlisted the help of a professional barefoot trimmer who rehabilitated her. And thus my education in insulin resistance and laminitis began and I took over her trimming again when she was on the mend. Sadly she had another severe bout of laminitis ten years later, and I was able to rehabilitate her again myself. I have lived through the hell of having a beloved horse with laminitis, rather than just trimming and leaving. I truly understand how painful it is to the horse and the owner. I also experienced first hand how dedicated treatment can prevent more severe damage and return a horse to soundness.
Healthy happy hooves have become an obsession for me, and the hoof's ability to heal continues to amaze me.
My training has included:
-Studied extensively the work of internationally recognized barefoot rehab specialist Pete Ramey, and attended multiple trimming clinics.
-Shadowed with Geri White as she worked on horses, and attended her Trimming and Cadaver Dissection clinic. Geri is a Field Instructor for the Equine Sciences Academy (ESA), and the current President of the American Hoof Association (AHA), of which Pete Ramey is one of the founders.
-Private mentorships with Jeannean Mercuri and completed her Anatomy, Dissection, & Trimming and Booting, Casting, & Grinder Trimming clinics. Jeannean is a mentor, clinician, and Director of Education for Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP) and on the AHA Education Committee.
-Private PHCP mentorships with Patrice Sager, Anne Buteau, and Christina Krueger.
I am a member of PHCP, and my education continues with more private mentorships and clinics. I love transforming hooves for the better and making horses more comfortable.
I also enjoy Classical Dressage and Natural Horsemanship.
In 2004 I attended the Parelli exposition of the Love, Language, and Leadership tour and was completely blown away. I completed the Level 1, Level 2, and Liberty and Horse Behavior home study programs. I also received an enormous amount of information through their Savvy Club, and rode in clinics with Parelli instructors Christie Rains and Kathy Baar.
In 2005 I saw an ad for a clinic with Mark Russell. I signed up and trailered my young mare a few hours to Mark’s first-ever clinic in southern Connecticut. I knew immediately that Mark was to be my mentor. His gentle energy and infinite knowledge were perfect for my sensitive mare. I attended clinics and rode with Mark as often as possible until his passing in 2016. I spent literally hundreds of hours watching him teach his art. Mark was both a trainer and a farrier. I would have him check my trimming, and he would wink and tell me that I should be teaching farriers how to trim. I am eternally grateful for his words of encouragement and wealth of knowledge through the years.
In 2015 I joined Marijke DeJong’s Straightness Training program, and then her Mastery program in 2016. Her work has been the perfect segue to Mark’s work after his tragic death, as I delve even deeper into classical work and biomechanics. I’ve had the amazing experience of attending two clinics with Marijke, two clinics with ST Instructor Rebecca Gilbert from the U.K., and one clinic with ST Instructor Zaneta Georgiades from South Africa, with more to come as I follow this path.
I absolutely love working with horses. I live for those first few steps of something new, of developing communication and rapport with the horse, and of the beautiful progression as physical ability and communication improve.
It is safe to say that I am always learning, every single day. I insist on learning from the best, and I bring that knowledge to the horses and their people.
Kathy Ladendecker - Achaina Inc.