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ACTHA Spotlights, with Dutch Henry

Cavallo Horse and Rider Inc. Carole Herder

Howdy Folks,

A lifetime of questioning. That's how Carole Herder, founder-owner of Cavallo Horse and Rider Inc. answered when I asked, "What drove you to start a business that designs and patents hoof boots and saddle pads?" Carole explained that even as a child she was compelled to look deeply at situations and often struggled to seek better ways to do things. "I just was never satisfied with the status quo." She laughed.

Putting to good use her College Degree in Business Administration and the skills she gleaned attending the University of Alberta where she majored in Economics, Carole built a fashion design business from the ground up which she sold in 1992. After that she gathered up her two children, left city life behind and finally realized her lifetime dream of living in a world with horses. She started taking lessons with a marvelous horse, Rocky.

Rocky took Carole under his wing and taught her all he knew about barrel racing. He showed her how much love a horse has to give, too. He taught her some other things as well. Rocky had been in the barrel racing world for more than a few years and little by little Carole began to notice that sometimes Rocky would seem a bit, "off." Of course coming to the equine world with, "A clean slate," as she put it, "I simply was not willing to accept the old axiom that, 'horses have good and bad days.' I'd always had a love for horses but until acquiring Rocky, the idea of horse ownership had only ever been a dream." Watching Rocky and other horses closely caused her ever inquisitive mind to work overtime and question many of the things horse owners did routinely.

Not quite able to shuck the business world, especially fashion design, Carole started the predecessor to Cavallo in 1993 and began to design and market rider garments. "They were really fabulous and I loved it but rider garments was actually doing nothing towards the betterment of our poor stoic companions. I ditched the garments and went into R&D for backs and hooves."

"Saddles are not balanced," Carole said. "Horses tend to favor one side over the other and I don't know about you, but I'm not 100% balanced. So take these dynamics, put a rigid structure on the horse's back and ask for balanced movement. Hmmm?" Carole explained that watching horses exhibit signs of sore backs caused her to design and patent the technically advanced Cavallo's Total Comfort Systems Saddle Pads. "This was gratifying and I was very happy with the increased comfort our pads provided, however my eye was becoming very discerning and the horses I saw still appeared to be in a level of discomfort."

The years of barrel racing had given Rocky arthritis and ringbone. Carole began to notice more and more the signs of discomfort and that fed her urgency to a quest for knowledge. "It became apparent to me that a very real problem for horses was the long time practice of nailing metal horseshoes to their feet." Carole explained that by nailing shoes to the hoof we not only inhibit nutrient rich blood flow to the hoof by restricting natural expansion and contraction, but the metal also transfers the shock of each step normally absorbed by healthy, free to flex hooves, to parts of the foot, leg and shoulder never designed to accept such abuse. "It's like putting metal soles in your running shoes."

A woman in Germany had a similar idea. Dr. Hildrud Strasser was on a mission to get the metal off horse's feet. As pioneers often are her radical and controversial ideas were just too drastic for the average horse owner, but not for Carole. "She taught me a lot, but I knew that to be accepted the program must be at a level the regular rider could grasp." Carole said.

Carole just could not help but contemplate the trouble metal shoes can cause so she became the first Canadian distributor, and later the North American Vice President, for the Australian company that developed and marketed Old Mac Boots. They were a fascinating new concept, but unfortunately due to the difficulty to size, fit and put on people were not satisfied. Research indicated that 89% of the primary markets were women and 73% were between the ages of 35 - 64. They did not want a difficult procedure, but rather a simple to fit, simple to size, simple to use boot that stayed on and was a reasonable price.

So Carole went to work and in 2006, Cavallo launched the world's first front opening multi-purpose all terrain riding boot for horse's hooves. "My role as crusader and convincer is coming to fruition." Carole beamed. "Barefoot and booted is an entrenched new trend. It has taken time to sell, but this new phenomenon is now worldwide. Cavallo is sold in 23 countries around the world!"

Always on the lookout for ways to spread the word about horse comfort and care Carole was excited to become the major sponsor for ACTHA. Cavallo is also the official hoof boot and saddle pad of ACTHA. "Their philosophies and ours at Cavallo are perfectly in sync." Carole said. "We believe the trail horse is deserving of accolades, and recognition and ACTHA has programs in place for that. I wanted to bring more attention to trail riding as something people can do as a competitive sport. They don't need to be out there jumping four foot fences and in some cases competing to the point of damaging their horses. Whereas a trail horse can have a long healthy life doing what the ACTHA program is set up to do. And the fact that we collectively, ACTHA, its members, Affiliates and sponsors donate to horse rescues is a fabulous thing. My husband Greg, and all of us at Cavallo are so grateful that we are in a position to help with the dynamic and progressive goals of ACTHA."

Carole travels world wide to convey the experience and results that support the barefoot and booted paradigm. Next month, after attending the SPOGA horse trade show in Germany, Carole will be hosting a European conference in Denmark where the Cavallo Distributors will have the opportunity catch up on all the latest developments at Cavallo, and collectively share their news and success stories. She will also present at the Cavallo Distributor in the UK, and will be a key note speaker at the Functional Hoof Conference in Australia in Feburary 2011.

To find out more about Cavallo visit www.cavallo-inc.com .

In addition to traveling for Cavallo, Carole enjoys time with her husband and two children. She is still bitten by the barrel racing bug and competes as often as possible, using many of the techniques Rocky first introduced her to. Thank you Rocky, for all that you taught Carole.

Gitty Up

Dutch Henry

Dutch Henry is a freelance writer and novelist who resides in Virginia with his wife of 35 years, horse, dogs, cats and chickens. He is also a staff writer for the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA).