Sara Allin

Growing up, I knew part of having horses was just to "have their feet done." I was always leasing or taking lessons, so I never thought too much about the "who," "what," "how" and "why" of it all. I knew some horses had shoes, some didn't and that was about it. Over the years I did become more enlightened and was always learning. After some time of equestrian studies in college, I bought my first horse — a Thoroughbred mare named "Life With Jane." She wasn't anything but a scrawny, lame, little 3-year-old, but I saw the beauty and potential in her; a real diamond in the rough.

I did all the right things by her: A great feeding program, slow training and, of course, seeing the farrier every 6 to 8 weeks. As time went by, I noticed some changes in her feet. In addition to those changes, her attitude also changed. Things went from being simple with the farrier to challenging. Looking back, I know now it was a pain response. We worked through it but I did change farriers several times. At one point, my (at the time) new farrier asked me if I had ever done X-rays on her hooves. I hadn't and asked, "Why? Should I?" He suggested possible founder. I was heart broken. How could I have not known?

Fast forward to August 2013, and I was to the point where I exhausted all of my options. I would literally cry over these hooves. I didn't have any kind of answers for my horse. All I wanted was the best for her.

On a routine visit to a local tack shop, I stopped to look at the message boards where one farrier's business card caught my eye. I'd seen it before, but never thought anything of it. Finally, I visited her website and Facebook page, where the things I saw changed my life.

Enter Sara Allin of All-In One Trimming&Training. Sara takes a "whole horse" approach to looking at hooves, something I feel is very overlooked by other farriers. On our first meeting in September 2013, we consulted not only on Jane's hooves, but also her feed, supplements, dentistry, chiropractic, exercise, etc. No other farrier had ever asked these kinds of questions. Together we created a plan for how we can improve my mare's hooves.

I went from needing to drug my horse for farrier work, to today where she is barefoot and more sound than she has ever been. Everything from hunter paces to horse shows, she is happy, healthy and sound. We have a true diagnosis (club feet), and are trimming her according to what she needs.