Sophie Thorsen, EqDT

I have had a love for horses my whole life. I had my first pony ride at 2 years old, started riding lessons when I was 6 and bought my first horse 'Smoothie' when I was 18. Initially I went to grooming school to be a dog groomer so I could work with my mom and sister at our family grooming salon. I still groom today and donate a few Saturdays a year doing nail trims at my local dog food store raising money for dog rescues and food pantries. Working on all these different dogs with health issues and allergies from poor quality food, sparked my passion to learn about canine nutrition. Seeing the changes proper nutrition made in my own dog taught me how important nutrition is, which led me to want to study equine nutrition as well. As much as I love working with the dogs, I have always dreamt of having a career helping horses. 

A few years after I bought my first horse, I started having problems with her. Her behavior changed, she got very head shy, and didn't want me to put a halter on her. Shortly after I noticed these issues arising, a woman at the barn I boarded at mentioned she had a dentist coming out for her horse and asked if I wanted to get on the list. At the time I had no idea of the importance of dental work on horses. So, I put my horse on the list and that's when I met Lisa Schaefer. I liked that she used hand instruments, Smoothie had her head in a natural position, very light sedation was used, and the horse was very receptive and did not seem stressed at all. Lisa then put my hand in my horse's mouth to feel how sharp her teeth were and that's when I knew I wanted to be an equine dentist. I felt so bad not knowing what my horse was living with, her cheeks had ulcers, and TMJ's were very reactive. After that, I knew I wanted to help horses and help educate owners that don't know the importance of routine dental care.

In 2017, Lisa referred me to an equine dental school in upstate New York to attend the Center of Natural Balance Dentistry. That is where I learned that dentistry consists of more than just filing off sharp points and that the teeth affect the whole horse. 

In 2019, I went to Michigan for 4 weeks to attend the Midwest School of Equine Dentistry. Here, we worked on a lot of Amish farms and of course with Amish farms comes puppies, so that is where I got my dog 'Slushie', the best golden retriever in the world!

In between going to these schools, I apprenticed with Lisa Schafer for over 2 years, and we still work together today.

In 2021, I decided I wanted to learn how to trim hooves and learn more about the correlation between wear patterns on the teeth and feet. So, I took Ida Hammer's certification class in IL. At the same time, I was taking Dr. Kellon's equine nutrition class. Definitely a year of intense learning!

In 2022, I became a member if the International Association of Equine Dentistry and go to continuing education yearly at the IAED conventions. I also attend Ida's advanced professionals' classes.

I feel continuing education is a must in the horse industry. Things are constantly changing, whether its teeth, feet, nutrition, or training. New studies are always coming out and the old ways of doing things are advancing. Everything is connected, so I try to learn as much as I can about the whole horse and each piece of the puzzle.