by Rachel Gedaliya, president
The “barefoot trimming” movement is still young, with fewer than 40 years as a recognized term.
At the beginning of this movement, barefoot trimming professionals were either reliant on farriery education or were self-taught individuals motivated by the research findings on the benefits of barefoot trimming.
The CEHCA is born
In today’s Internet and social media world, where anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a professional, Canadian barefoot trimmers found it urgent to gather practitioners into an association and begin to self-regulate. Barefoot trimmers were voicing concerns about a lack of professionalism, lack of education, and the future of our profession.
In 2021, a group of 15 barefoot practitioners from across Canada began to meet monthly. A year later, the Canadian Equine Hoof Care Association (CEHCA) was born.
Our goal is to encourage Canadian professional hoof care providers, as well as aspiring trimmers, to unite, work together and demonstrate the highest professional standards. We also strive to help horse owners better understand our profession and, especially, to know what level of service they should expect from a hoof care professional.
Standards document
Creating standards and guidelines for our profession was no small task. During a full year, we studied standards developed by other professions and hoof care associations such as The Equine Podiatry Association in the U.K. and Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP) in the U.S. We also compiled a list of high-level educational courses.
CEHCA’s Standards document defines scope of practice and standards of practice and includes a code of ethics. It outlines education standards and provides a list of approved training programs. We’ve also included a list of approved nutrition courses, since nutrition is a critical factor for healthy hooves.
Membership levels
CEHCA has established three levels of membership:
- Student: Anyone enrolled in a program of hoof care education
- Practitioner: A practitioner who has satisfied the minimum requirements of education and practice as defined by CEHCA’s Standards document
- Educator: A practitioner who has a minimum number of years of practice as well as extended education, such as dissections
CEHCA activities
CEHCA organizes an in-person conference every two years – “The Evolution of Whole Horse Soundness”. Our next conference is May 9-10, 2026, in Orangeville, Ontario. We invite speakers who can share evidence-based knowledge. We give attendees a hands-on experience during the wet lab day. The conference is open to the public so that horse owners and other professionals can attend.
Next steps
We encourage all hoof care practitioners – especially barefoot trimmers – to join CEHCA so that our fledgling association can develop a strong professional voice and raise our sector to the highest level of professionalism. CEHCA membership will allow practitioners – who may be isolated today – to connect with other practitioners across the country, have an opportunity to validate their work with their peers, receive support on challenging case studies, and more.
info@canadianequinehoofcare.com
https://canadianequinehoofcare.com/
https://canadianequinehoofcare.com/2021/09/barefoot-trimmer-standards-canada/