Our 2025 Licensed Introductory Course Instructors

Chris Huppe, ADAEP
USA

Chris Huppe’s passion for horse health and welfare is undeniable. Graduating from the Institute in 2008 and our Advanced level study a few years later, Chris thoroughly enjoys sharing her knowledge as our US instructor. With a background in teaching and nursing, and while continuing to operate successful holistic horse health and Applied Equine Podiatry practices, Chris’s courses are a wealth of insight and information. Chris believes that whether you trim your own horse or not, every horse owner can, and should, be armed with the knowledge they need to advocate for their horse’s optimal health and foot care. Chris’s life mission is to help horse owners help their horses to live comfortable, joyful lives in domestication.

Solveig Pletscher, ADAEP
Switzerland/France

Solveig Pletscher est podologue équin appliquée à plein temps en Suisse. Elle a obtenu son ADAEP en 2021 et devient instructrice en 2023. Elle est passionnée par les chevaux depuis sa plus tendre enfance. Sa maman n’était pas contente avec la manière dont ses enfants apprenaient l’équitation au poney club local, si bien qu’elle les a inscrits chez une pionnière des équitations dites alternatives, laquelle soulignait déjà au début des années 2000, la possibilité de faire fonctionner les chevaux pied nus. Après diverses formations dans le domaine du parage et en parallèle à ses études universitaires en sciences de la terre, Solveig entreprend les stages pratiques de la podologie équine appliquée. Ses recherches pour mieux comprendre les chevaux et améliorer leur quotidien l’ont également menée à la rencontre des chevaux de Przewalski lors d’un stage d’éthologie, à un diplôme d’iridologue équin et à une formation en shiatsu équin. Elle participe désormais à la diffusion des principes, philosophies et méthodes de la podologie équine appliquée dans le milieu francophone par la traduction des documents et des stages. Et se réjouit de vous accueillir aux stages d’initiation sur 2 jours.

Siobhan Dillon, ADAEP
United Kingdom

I’m from a non-horsey family, but became fascinated by horses as child when being looked after by a friend’s mum during school holidays. This allowed me a huge amount of freedom growing up looking after and riding my own horse. Naturally I wanted to work with horses and so did professional training. As is often the case, I have drifted in and out of full-time work with horses. Other areas of my life have included sports coaching and teaching secondary science. The possibilities of shoeless riding came to my attention around 2000. Finding KC’s work and theories made a lot of sense to me and still do. I gained my Diploma in 2006 and have continued on with all the courses offered. It has been a fascinating journey. I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing on my own shoeless horse at DIY facilities. We are as capable as any of the shod horses in negotiating the rides around us and more. I am now full-time with horses, mostly with foot care, but I do have a couple of other modalities to offer. The philosophies and principles of AEP have a great deal of resonance in many walks of life. I find the theories and models so powerful to help understand what is going on with horses’ feet. Teaching and sharing these with people is a always a joy and a privilege. I love the fresh perspectives that are brought along to the courses by the participants. We are all teaching and all are learning.

Silvia Gamboni, ADAEP
Switzerland/Italy

Silvia has always been passionate about horses, which in early childhood brought her to the Italian show jumper Luca Moneta, who become her instructor. As soon as she finished the school, she immediately started working at Moneta’s stable, following his philosophy for horse’s training and overall welfare, including horse’s feet. The big change arrived when Applied Equine Podiatry reached the stable through Sebastiano Piazza, an ADAEP and, obviously, KC La Pierre. The possibility to help the horse’s feet thanks to a deep understanding of foot function, inspired Silvia to the point to continue her studies and education at the Institute. Her wish is, through education, to help creating positive changes in the today’s horse world, trying to do the best we can to ameliorate horse’s life.

Laura Hoehn, ADAEP
Switzerland/Italy

Laura holds her degree in Advanced Equine Podiatry and became an instructor for the Institute in Autumn 2023. In 2021 she also got her MSc degree in Biology. Since she was a kid, horses fascinated her and she’s always been around them. She has two horses and the three compete together in showjumping and some dressage competitions. Laura started the in-depth study of the equine foot to be able to give the best care to her horses. She began this path out of need and it became a passion. She highly values the fact, that her journey brought her to a place, where she can apply her scientific training onto the horse’s foot and its welfare.

Kent Wiberg, DAEP
Sweden

I am a former mechanical engineer and have worked in automotive industry for 20 years. My interest in horses started in the mid-90s due to my wife (surprise), we kept our horses in traditional horse husbandry but didn’t really feel comfortable with that. In 1999 we participated in a Natural Horsemanship course. This opened my eyes and I really started to enjoy being around horses. My wife went on to become an instructor in Natural horsemanship My experience of riding is trail raiding in the forest, as this is the element, I enjoy the most. In 2005 I started to educate me to be a barefoot trimmer, ended my carrier in automotive industry and became a barefoot trimmer full time. I became a Certified Practitioner AANHCP February 2006. I worked for several years with helping horses to transform from shod to barefoot with varying success. In 2007 I graduated as Equine Massage therapist just to get a better understanding of the whole horse. In 2017 I started study Applied Equine Podiatry and here I found knowledge that made me understand the horses feet’s better and gave me excellent tools to use to better understand and help the domesticated horse. In 2019 I graduated as an DAEP and in 2023 I became a licensed instructor for the institute. My will is to help horse owners understand how we can maintain and improve the horse's hoof health, not by masking problems but by strengthening the horse.

Linda P. Bergsten, DAEP
Sweden

Linda P. Bergsten has been a horse person since early childhood and is also a DAEP (since 2022) and a licensed instructor for the institute (since 2023). Linda was first introduced to Applied Equine Podiatry in 2017 when she had to search for other approaches in order to deal with hoof problems in her own horse, which farriers could no longer manage in an efficient manner. She took her first course through the institute in 2018 and received her diploma in 2022. Since then, Linda has combined her main profession as a teacher, with helping horses and their owners towards better hoof health, and when she was offered further training as an instructor, she was not slow to accept.
"I have a previous degree in both pedagogy and tutoring, so having the opportunity to use these skills in teaching the basics in AEP is of course a privilege".

Henrik Alling, DAEP
Sweden

Henrik has helped horses’ feet since 2019, graduated as a DAEP sept 2023 and became a licensed instructor with the institute November 2023. Henrik started western riding 2003 and have since competed in trail, pleasure but mostly in team sorting and team penning. The barefoot journey started with an American Paint horse bought in 2016. She introduced Henrik to barefoot and taught him a lot about equine podiatry. As many other DAEP the journey included an injury that she recovered from barefoot. Henrik work full time helping and rehabilitating horses and love teaching other horse owners about hoof care. He enjoy working with horse care professionals, veterinarians and fellow alumni in Sweden to promote the principles, philosophies, and methods of Applied Equine Podiatry.

Solène Corrard, ADAEP
France

Solène est cavalière depuis l'enfance et ancienne cavalière de CSO amateur. Ingénieure de formation, elle a découvert la podologie équine appliquée par curiosité suite à des problèmes avec son propre cheval de concours. Solène a passé tous les diplômes; DAEP en 2017 puis ADAEP et enfin instructrice en 2023! Elle a maintenant ses chevaux à la maison. Solene s'est passionnée pour le fonctionnement du pied équin. Podologue active, notamment pour les chevaux de sport, elle a maintenant à coeur de partager ses connaissances et son expérience.