One of the more emotionally difficult parts of my job is working with horses who are experiencing pain. It is especially challenging when they are suffering from chronic pain. I get to see a wide range of horses every week and have the opportunity to observe many things, even with horses who I don’t actually work on. I worked with two horses recently who had “the pain face.” Both have been dealing with chronic pain for a long time. Both tried very hard for me during their trims, but it was obvious they are in pain. That is the kind of experience that weighs on you long after you leave the appo ..read more

When I first started trimming, I was taught by someone who was dogmatic, abrasive, and didn’t allow for much curiosity. I perpetuated that for a bit before I learned to do better. When I first started trimming, I thought: I have answers that no one else had. I have incessant questions. I was doing an awesome trim. Traditional farriers are ignorant + uneducated. Steel shoes are bad. Barefoot is best for *every* horse. Any trim cycle longer than 8 weeks is wrong/bad. You should do X and never do Y and don’t even THINK about Z. Now that I have had more time to process and learn, I have changed se ..read more

I wrote this as a Facebook post a few years ago and wanted to re-publish it, adding some thoughts. ?A Perspective Shift? We wake up, eat breakfast, get ready for our day, spend our hours working, taking care of our families, or if you’re lucky like me, working outside with horses all day. We finish up, eat dinner, relax if we have the time, and go to bed to start all over again the next day. And as we go about our days, we notice all the little aches and pains, an impending cold, and anything else that might be happening in our bodies. We might take medicine for our headache or cramps, add a n ..read more

I’m a firm believer in the knowledge and understanding of horse owners. I’ve always been passionate about educating my clients, because they’re doing the daily hands on care. They know when something isn’t right, especially if they are in tune with themselves and their horses. I can’t tell you how many new clients have pointed to a hoof and said, “it just doesn’t look right!” Even when we don’t have the technical language, we can notice. Nothing is more fun than me getting to validate that – “you’re absolutely right! What you are seeing is…..” HOWEVER. I am confident in the hoofcare and trimmi ..read more

Hello there, Congratulations on deciding to start your own farrier business! Working for yourself will be the best, most exhausting and thrilling thing you may ever do! In the words of Kelly Kapoor… There is a lot that you will learn in the first few years of your farrier business. So many of the environments we work in vary wildly depending on the day. People and horses coming and going. Different hooves, rehab cases, maintenance trims, tricky feet that you aren’t quite sure about. Over time, you will discover how you want to run your business instead of letting it run you. If I could share w ..read more

In which I discuss statements that used to make me mad. Only one still bothers me.... The post Things That Used to Make Me Mad appeared first on Sole Purpose Hoof Care ..read more

Brene Brown always asks her podcast guests this question: “What is the best or worst piece of leadership advice you have received?” I wondered what is the worst trimming advice I have ever been given? What are the worst trimming rules that I see commonly followed? For the sake of being concise, I will just pick one. Worst Most Common Trimming Rule My least favorite trimming rule that we have all heard is that we are supposed to trim the heels to the widest point of the frog. First of all, just because you read something in a book or someone told you to do something doesn’t make it true. Or at ..read more

This topic has been brewing for a long time, but sometimes I feel like I should just stick to sharing photos of hoof anatomy and trimming. It is less controversial sometimes…. However, my personal life will always bleed over into my professional life and that’s something that I’ve fought for a long time. I like putting on my professional “outfit” and going to work. I enjoy doing something I’m good at and connecting with horses and clients. I’ve slowly allowed my personal self to become more integrated with my professional self. Life is easier that way when you feel more present and open at wor ..read more

This is a resource to share with my clients, but hopefully it is helpful to anyone! For context, I am located in the PNW where we have mud and rain most months out of the year. When to Use Hoof Armor: I recommend Hoof Armor for horses who have thin soles, are transitioning out of shoes, have soreness on gravel/hard footing, or horses who are stalled too many hours of the day and dealing with persistent thrush. Hoof Armor helps protect and thicken the sole. One ingredient is an anti-microbial, so it is also very helpful for deep central sulcus infections, white line infection, toe cracks, and t ..read more

You are likely reading this because you are a new client to me or interested in becoming one. Thank you for your interest in partnering together! You can email me at corriemannion@gmail.com to inquire about getting on my regular schedule. Business Philosophy Communication and safety are my top priorities. It is important to me that you, your horse, and I are on the same page for how our appointments should go and what progress we would like to see. I schedule our next appointment with you, will follow up with a text about appt time, and will send a reminder text 24 – 72 hours before our schedu ..read more