Kate Romanenko, founder and President of Nature's Barefoot Hoofcare Guild, is a native of the Durham Region and now a resident of the Woodville area. Several years ago, dissatisfied with her hum drum work in administration and consumed with her love for horses, Kate made the decision to change her life. Since horses have been an integral part of her life for over thirty years, she armed herself with a certificate from the Oklahoma Horse Shoeing School in 1998, a two-year apprenticeship with a blacksmith, and began the work she loves.

Kate is a talented horsewoman who has worked at numerous racetracks and English and Western show barns throughout the U.S and Canada. In the spring of 2002 she enrolled in a hoof trimming seminar facilitated by an internationally-renowned veterinarian. This experience changed Kate’s entire concept of equine management. As a result she stopped shoeing horses and has adopted a new, non-invasive style of trimming hooves. The natural care that Kate provides brings instant relief to horses and has been found to be the key component in healing Navicular Syndrome, Founder, and bringing horses back to health – thus saving them from needless slaughter.

Proof of the positive results of these trimming principles can be found locally and throughout North America and Europe, and Kate has now become a strong advocate of natural hoof and horse care. Through information gathered through her own research and that of others, Kate has developed her own trimming method that eliminates many problems rather than covering them up, a method that is possible to use with any horse and see positive results.

In many cases Kate is the last person people come to with their horses, but so often she is the first person to fix the problem -- most often problems have resulted from ignorance, or more sadly, from "treatments" that are routinely used that merely cover symptoms instead of dealing with the root problems.

Kate has helped and continues to help hundreds of horses throughout Central and Eastern Ontario. She has recently opened a Certification Program in the Barefoot Trim, and gives workshops and seminars. Kate's love and compassion for all horses is evident not only in the diligence and love that she pours into the treatment of every horse she sees, but also in the many rescued and rehabilitated horses that live on her farm, specially designed to simulate wild horse herd life, and to encourage the natural wear and growth of the hoof.

Breck evolved to natural horsemanship and horsecare 37 years ago, and has been practicing barefoot hoofcare since then. He has taken courses in barefoot hoof trimming in the U.S. and Canada, and has brought Dr. Strasser (renowned veterinarian and pioneer in barefoot trimming) to Ontario for several clinics at his farm.

Breck is a professional Agrologist, educated in Germany, Oklahoma and Canada (the University of Guelph). He has a 20-year career in Agricultural Business, domestically and internationally, and owned and ran a large farming and ranching operation successfully for many years. He is also the ex-president of the Upper Canada Equestrian Association, and still rides with that group. He and his wife Martina are the owners of Horse World Emporium in St. Catharine's, Ontario. They make their home on an 80-acre property of bush and grassland -- home also to nine horses who enjoy free-roam of the property.

Breck is a firm believer in barefoot trimming and a natural lifestyle for horses. He is fundamentally involved with Nature's Barefoot Hoofcare Guild Incorporated, and enthusiastically supports the goals and endeavors of this group of highly-dedicated and qualified Natural Hoofcare Specialists.