*Christine explains the sole corium 3D model to a young girl at the 2026 Horse Expo*

We just got back from the Red Deer Horse Expo and honestly… it was a really good show.

There were tons of people through this year, and a huge number of them stopped by the Hoof Geeks booth. We had so many people saying things like:

“This is the most fascinating booth here!”

And really, that’s because people don’t often get the chance to actually SEE what’s inside the hoof.

The 3D Printed Digital Cushion & Sole Corium Display

One of the biggest hits this year was the new 3D printed digital cushion and sole corium model. I was able to preserve a real specimen from a healthy hoof and then work with a fellow in Winnipeg to create an anatomically correct 3D version showing the exact size, shape, thickness, and how it actually fits onto the coffin bone and around the navicular area.

People were blown away seeing how delicate and important these structures really are!

A lot of horse owners don’t realize just how much the health of the digital cushion, sole corium, cartilage, and back of the foot affects the entire horse.

And when people could actually hold it and see it in 3D, suddenly things started making sense.

Common Questions About Laminitis, Founder & Navicular

We had so many conversations around:

laminitis
founder
navicular
toe-first landings
sore horses in the spring
inflammation
horses that “just don’t move right”

One really interesting thing this year was how many people were already starting to pay attention to movement patterns.

We had lots of people saying: “My horse lands toe-first… how do I fix that?”

Honestly, we never heard that 10 years ago.

People are starting to understand how important a healthy heel-first landing is and how much the hoof can tell you long before a horse becomes seriously lame.

Why Horses Become Sore in the Spring

There were also a lot of questions about laminitis.

I spent quite a bit of time showing people the different stages, from early inflammation all the way into more chronic changes, and explaining how the hoof capsule itself tells a story.

Those rings on the hoof wall matter.

When you see multiple rings, it often means the horse has been dealing with repeated inflammatory events throughout the year. Many horse owners had never connected those changes to things like spring grass, stress, hauling, showing, illness, breeding, vaccinations, or other inflammatory triggers.

One thing we talked about over and over at the expo was that by the time a horse has obvious navicular changes on x-rays, a lot has usually been going on for quite a while already.

That’s why catching the early signs matters so much:

how the horse moves
how they land
changes in the hoof capsule
changes in comfort
subtle posture shifts

Those things matter.

And honestly, it feels like more horse owners are really starting to understand that now.

Conversations About Horse Soundness & Hoof Health

We also met some really interesting professionals over the weekend, including a veterinarian who told us we were “a breath of fresh air in the horse soundness community,” which was pretty encouraging to hear, especially from a vet!

We connected with an osteopath from Alberta as well and had some really good conversations throughout the weekend.

Overall, it just felt really good to be back at the Expo again.

Huge thank you to everybody who stopped by the booth, asked questions, shared stories, and signed up for clinics. We appreciate every single conversation.

If you want to learn more about hoof anatomy, soundness, trimming, laminitis, digital cushions, or healthy barefoot function, join our video membership or come join us at one of our 2026 clinics across Western Canada. 👣🐴

Know someone who would love a Hoof Geeks clinic?

If you refer someone who signs up, you’ll receive a $100 credit toward your own clinic tuition. Refer two people? That’s $200. Three people? $300.

We really appreciate our students helping spread the word and building this community of horse owners wanting to learn more about hoof health, movement, and soundness.

And if paying in full upfront is a challenge right now, we’ve connected Klarna to our clinic registration, but if you don’t wish to use Klarna or don’t qualify… email Francine. We REALLY want to make this education accessible for everyone!

— Christine & Francine xo

UPCOMING CLINICS