Ian Whatley

I would like to say that i found the perfect job, however it would be more accurate to say that the perfect job found me.

My journey was like all good stories, boy finds great horse, boy buys horse (without getting vet check), horse turns out to be crippled with 'under-run' heels, no one has any answers so boy is forced to start asking a few fundamental questions.

Having quit my job I travelled to America and trained as a farrier. I returned to my native country of Jersey in the channel isles and worked as a farrier for five years using an array of 'remedial' horseshoes in an attempt to resolve many of the 'common' hoof issues that plague domestic horses, I achieved some considerable success but never found a system or shoe that would cure all problems.

Still convinced that the answer to good hoof care lay in human intervention I begrudgingly attended a lecture by KC La Pierre and was surprised by the scientific approach that underpinned many of his principles and methods.

 Convinced that i could incorporate these into my own trimming techniques i began to compare different methods along side the conventional ideas that I had previously been taught. Time after time I found that 'protection' proved less effective than 'correct stimulation'.

In 2008 I was invited to become the first European Instructor for the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry.

I currently combine caring for clients in four countries (France, Denmark, Jersey and UK) throughout Europe with giving lectures on the merits of 'shod or unshod' horses and educating students in Applied Equine Podiatry under licence through the Institute.

Though i do truly believe that i have the 'Perfect job' the path hasn't always been perfectly simple and for every question answered we uncover a dozen more, however slowly we are establishing a fundamental understanding of how nature intended the equine foot to function and more importantly how it reacts to external stimulae.

I no longer fit horse shoes as a profession, however still recognize that  they have served and continue to serve a worthy function and often protect horses from the excessive demands placed upon them by a modern society.

The key to improving the way we care for our horses lies in recognizing the developments in our understanding of 'correct hoof function' and the costs of excessive 'protection', then making an informed decision as to what is best for our very individual and precious horses.