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About Me

ERIKA MØRUP

 

HIGH  PERFORMANCE  NATURAL  HOOF  CARE

             I grew up in Seattle, Washington in the US.  Horses and science were my two loves in childhood and still are today.   I feel very lucky to have a career that combines my two passions so well.   

             I met my now husband, Morten, while he was an exchange student at my university in 2004.  I moved to Denmark late 2006 and we were married the following summer.                                                

 

My training:

 

University:

             I graduated from Washington State University in 2006 with a degree in biology education and a minor in animal sciences.  My university education has given me a broad and deep knowledge base onto which my subsequent training has built upon.  The emphasis of my animal sciences degree was on nutrition and feeding programs for domestic livestock.  This knowledge in particular has enabled me to be successful in both recognizing and correcting nutrition problems that negatively affect hoof quality.

 

AANHCP training program:

             When I began my training as a barefoot trimmer in 2006 the AANHCP (American Association of Natural Hoof Care Professionals) had far and away the best training program around.  Nearly all of the top trimmers in the US were affiliated with the program and most were instructors in it.  However,  of late, the leadership of the AANHCP has steered the training and certification program in several (what I consider) wrong directions.  As a result of these changes most of the instructors and mentors whom I learned from left the program in 2007 and I have done the same. I am grateful to the AANHCP for the basic education that I got while I was in their training  program.  It helped to shape who I am as a trimmer and allowed me to form a network with other trimmers that continues to be a source of professional support and friendship for me.

             The following is a list clinics and mentorships I completed while with the AANHCP:

 

             AANHCP Orientation Clinic, 2 days (Pete Ramey, 2006 Helena,

                          Montana, USA)

             AANHCP Introduction to Trimming Clinic, cadaver hoof trimming

                          (Ida Hammer, 2006 Illinois, USA)

AANHCP Hoof Anatomy Clinic, cadaver hoof dissection (Ida Hammer

             2006 Illinois, USA)

AANHCP Booting Clinic (Richard Drewry, 2006 Arkansas, USA)

AANHCP Introduction to Trimming Live Horses (Richard Robbins,

             2006 California, USA)

AANHCP Advanced Horsemanship Clinic, understanding the negative

             physical impacts of stress on the horse and his hooves                                          (Bruce Nock, 2006 Missouri, USA)

 

             Spending time with seasoned professionals was and is an integral part of the AANHCP training program.  Before leaving the program I completed the first of two mentorship strings with the following AANHCP field instructors:

            

             Christina Cline (2006, Washington, USA)

             Fred Streibeck (2006, Washington, USA)

             Pat Wagner (2006, Washington, USA)

 

Continuing Education:

             I take my continuing education seriously and have made it a point to schedule in at least one hoof related clinic each time I go back to visit my family in the US.   Not only do I learn a great deal from these clinics but they are an opportunity for me to renew old friendships and make new ones. 

   

             Pete Ramey, 2 day clinic (2007 Glide, OR and again in Valley Center,

                          CA)

             Katy Watts, 1 day clinic (2007 Glide, OR)

             Dr. Robert Bowker, DVM, 2 day clinic (2007 Valley Center, CA)

 

             The practical side of trimming is just as interesting and challenging as the theoretical.  Working ‘in the field’ with other professional trimmers helps me to see ideas and techniques in a way that a PowerPoint presentation just can’t capture. This past summer (2007) I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to mentor with two of the top professional trimmers on the US west coast:

 

             Christina Cline, ESA instructor, 2 day mentorship (2007, B.C.,

                          Canada)

             Linda Cowles, AHA certified, 2 week mentorship (2007,  Northern CA)

 

Certification:

             In 2007 several of the top barefoot trimmers in the US, many of who had recently left the AANHCP, decided to create a certification program for professional trimmers who could demonstrate both excellent trimming technique and document progressive improvements in the hooves of their clients’ horses.  The American Hoof Association is still rather small but the member list is none the less impressive.  I am in the process of documenting several case studies for submission to the AHA and I hope to complete my application in the fall of 2008.