SPOTLIGHT
THE HUMBLE HOOF Alicia Harlov is changing the way we look at hoof injuries for long-term success WORDS: APRIL BILODEAU
WE’ VE ALL HE ARD THE SAYING “No hoof,
no horse.” And while every animal’s feet are going to have their individual needs, without a healthy hoof, a horse cannot function at their whole capacity. Alicia Harlov of The Humble Hoof is on a mission to take each individual horse’s needs into consideration for optimal health. As a hoofcare provider certified with Progressive Hoofcare Practitioners, Harlov focuses on the whole horse, specializing in long-term hoof care plans for horses with injuries. “There’s such a high rate of re-injury to soft tissue injuries because there isn’t enough focus on the long term support,” Harlov tells The Plaid Horse.
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THE PLAID HORSE
October/November 2023
Harlov grew up as a dressage rider but never competed in the discipline. After college, she became a public school teacher in Amesbury, MA. To continue her love of horses, she bought a BLM Mustang named Vinnie. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with navicular disease—consisting of bone changes, enthesiophytes or spurs, and soft tissue injury involving the tendon and ligaments within the hoof capsule. “The advice I was given was to manage his hoof issues until I couldn’t manage them anymore and then retire him,” says Harlov. She wasn’t satisfied with that advice, which led her to do extensive research on hoof rehabilitation, ultimately connecting with Nic Barker at Rockley Farm in Exmoor, England.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
Alicia Harlov; the grass track next to the rehab barn; the 21-acre property’s two track systems; one of the 9 horses that resides at The Humble Hoof rehab facility
