Carole Herder of Roberts Creek is off to Toronto next week to be honoured at the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
Herder has been nominated for a Trailblazers award for her product Cavallo hoof boots, which replace traditional metal horseshoes, providing comfort and protection for horses' hooves without the need to nail. While metal horseshoes have been the norm for many years, Herder explains they are actually detrimental to a horse's health.
"Metal does not provide any shock absorption, and by nailing a horseshoe onto a horse, you are not letting the hoof circulate properly, which causes all kinds of ailments," Herder said.
She came up with the idea for Cavallo hoof boots in 2005 after seeing the benefits of similar boots manufactured in Australia.
"I actually became the vice president of marketing for the product out of Australia, but it needed some improvements," Herder said.
She got to work designing her own hoof boots and soon started selling them through her website at www.cavallo-inc.com to rave reviews.
Herder's dedication to creating a superior product and the impact she has made on the equestrian world are now being noticed.
She is one of three finalists for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Trailblazer award. Her competition includes Janice Parente of Ethica Clinical Research and Sally Daub with VixS Systems Inc.
The purpose of the awards is to provide national recognition to Canada's women entrepreneurs, whose successful business and achievements contribute so much to the Canadian and global economies as well as to their communities.
To find out more about the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards, see www.theawards.ca.
