Sheila Reithmayer NPHCP (Natural Performance Hoof Care Professional)
As a kid I always wanted my own horse but my parents said our tiny backyard was too small. Eventually when I was in my teens my parents finally moved to an acreage and we bought our first “Green Broke” horse, man was that dumb..lol. A few years later I went to an auction and purchased a weanling colt and when he was three, we broke him. I worked so hard to get him going nicely but we struggled with picking up our right lead, long story short, and many years of frustration and lameness he was diagnosed with Ring Bone. I tried many different farriers, shoes, wraps and anything else I could think of, but he only proceeded to get worse. After a few years of this I discovered a Natural Hoof Care company in Albert called Equinextion and after that I was hooked. I threw away the shoes and took a number of different courses over the next few years. This was back in 2010 and I have been trimming my own horses as well as a few family and friends horses ever since.
I now live on an acreage East of Sherwood Park with my husband, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cows, 2 cats and 7 horses (but 4 of them are minis so they only count as 1 right?).
A few years ago I purchased a little pony named Diesel for my Daughter, he is our “heart” horse…or at least one of them. He is so sweet and kind and truly the best pony in the world. He has struggled for quite a few years with founder, Cushing’s and insulin problems and although I was doing a barefoot trim on him, I was not having much success at keeping him sound. In the summer of 2017 he took a turn for the worse, I mean really the worst. The vets had tried so many different medications and nothing was working, by the time winter came along I was seriously thinking I was making him suffer by keeping him alive any longer. As a last resort, I decided to contact a lady on an ad I had seen on Kijiji advertising Natural hoof care and an apprentice with Success with Horses. She came out and introduced me to the Success with Horses team. The team has helped me get his situation under control and Diesel is now kicking and bucking and running with my herd. I now realize it’s more than hoof care that makes the difference, it’s diet, exercise and hoof care all combined.
In October 2018 I joined the SWH team as an apprentice and now I’m so excited to be starting a new career as a trimmer and helping others the way this great group of people have helped me.
Contact
Sheila Reithmayer NPHCP
Sherwood Park, AB
780-504-0569