Achaina Inc.
Kathy (Ladendecker) Coleman
PHCP Certified Hoof Care Practitioner
My training has included:
-The full PHCP hoof school curriculum (Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners)
-Studied extensively the work of internationally recognized barefoot rehab specialist Pete Ramey
-Private mentorships with PHCP instructors Jeannean Mercuri, Geri White, Patrice Sager, Anne Buteau, and Christina Krueger
-Attended Training Clinics:
Pete Ramey - 3 clinics
Jeannean Mercuri - Trimming, Anatomy, & Cadaver Dissection
Jeannean Mercuri - Hoof Protection & Power Tools
Geri White - Trimming & Cadaver Dissection
Dr. Stephen O'Grady - Hoof Casting
The Humble Hoof Podiatry Clinic with Yogi Sharp, Stuart Muir, Derek Poupard, and Paige Poss - lectures, troubleshooting pathology on live horses, evaluating radiographs, casting, and cadaver dissection
Dr. Allison Williges - Reading Radiographs for the Hoof Care Practitioner
-Attended ECIR's "No Laminitis" Conference with presenters:
Robert Bowker, VMD, Phd
Kathleen Gustafson, PhD
Dr. Eleanor Kellon VMD
Elaine Norton, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM-LA
Paige Poss, APF
Shannon Pratt-Phillips, MS, PhD, PAS
Pete Ramey, PHCP Practitioner/Clinician
-Attended Webinars:
"Hoof Distortion and Secrets Inside the Hoof" with Paige Poss of Anatomy of the Equine LLC
"Performance Hoof" with Nic Barker of Rockley Farm hoof rehab center
"What the Founder" with Jeannean Mercuri
"Donkey Handling, Psychology, &Trimming" with Megan Hensley The Donkey Trimmer
"Foal Trimming and Handling" with Kirsten Proctor
"A Whole Horse Approach to Club Feet" with Christina Cline
"Reading Radiographs" with Dr. Allison Williges
"IR/PPID" with Dr. Jaini Clougher
"Understanding & Reversing Sinkers & Hoof Capsule Rotation with Pete Ramey
"The Smart Way to Feed Horses" with Equine Nutritionist Carol Layton
-Completed the following 10 week courses with equine nutrition, IR, PPID, and laminitis expert Dr. Eleanor Kellon:
"NRC+" (Advanced Equine Nutrition)
"Nutrition as Therapy"
"Equine Cushings & Insulin Resistance"
"Reading Radiographs"
-I remain actively involved with PHCP and serve on the Board of Directors as the Director of Education. I also serve on their Enrollment Committee and host educational webinars.
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 dappled chocolate brown Shetland pony with a long flaxen mane and tail and the most perfect star on her face. It all started with that precious little peanut, and I have owned horses nonstop since 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.) And thus my education in insulin resistance and laminitis began. 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 hooves have become an obsession for me, and the hoof's ability to heal continues to amaze me.
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.
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.) And thus my education in insulin resistance and laminitis began. 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 hooves have become an obsession for me, and the hoof's ability to heal continues to amaze me.
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.