GoldHaven Studios

Why We Do

What We Do

It is our mission to provide goods and services that enhance the quality of life for humans and their equine partners while allowing us the ability to be creative and providing the means to support our family.

Kat & Gary on the trail with barefoot partners Jolly & Jax! Jax is our $1 rescue horse originally diagnosed terminally lame with "navicular disease," arriving in heart bar shoes and wedge pads.  Now gravel crunching sound BAREFOOT!  Jolly, while arriving sound and never having worn shoes, had horribly neglected hooves.  Now sports beautifully shaped NATURAL hooves!  9.09

photo by Linda Chambers

 Our Family, Our Business

The old saying that necessity is the mother of invention could not ring more true for GoldHaven Studios.  Shortly after becoming a family, our son Griffin was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Aspergers is a neurological disorder marked by challenges in the areas of social skills, motor skills, self regulation and empathy and includes obsessive tendancies, inflexible thinking combined with a higher than average IQ.  Think Einstein and Mozart for real world examples and "Monk" and Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory" for TV character examples.  When Griffin was diagnosed we had to throw out all the traditional and comptemporary parenting advice. We had to train ourselves to understand how the Asperger Mind functions in order to help him meet his challenges and utilize his innate strengths.  GoldHaven Studios was born in large part from the need to be home and available to our son at all times.  It was also born from our desire to be creative and to utilize our skills.  With an 80 acre homestead we use all the skills we have and are constanly adding more to our tool belt.  What we don't know we study until we do.  Gary can repair and build most anything and Kathleen can design most anything with an artistic flair!

Together we founded our family and our business on the ideals of Compassion, Creativity, Empowerment, Knowledge and Skill.

NEW!  14k Yellow Gold Natural Hoof Medallion EARRINGS in stock!

Natural Hoof Medallion

An original work, designed and created by Kathleen (copyright) and produced in California.  Most equine jewelry celebrates the horse with the horseshoe.  We at GoldHaven Studios celebrate the horse with the bare hoof!

Bare is Natural, Bare is Beautiful, Bare is Best!

Who We Are

Kat grooming Boris at Farm Sanctuary, Orland CA 11.08

Kathleen completed her BA and MA in Art at Chico State where she specialized in Bronze Casting and Installation Art.  Following graduation she managed a Bronze Foundry.  Yearning for the country life since childhood she bought 80 acres, designed a home and had it constructed.   Her first horse, Josie, struggled with chronic laminitis which set Kathleen on a path of caring for and living naturally with horses.  With a strong desire to keep Josie comfortable she studied diet, minerals and herbs, created a natural living environment and trained with some of the foremost Natural Hoof Care Specialists in the world including James Welz, Pete Ramey and Phil Morrare.  The Natural Hoof Medallion combines her creativity with her lifelong love of horses.