Soapbox

I seldom lack for an opinion, and I seldom pass on an opportunity to voice those opinions, so this page will be my "bully forum." If I stay too high on the soapbox for too long and get a nosebleed, pull me down and medicate me. BTW, the opinions forwarded here will generally have their origin on my blog, so drop in there and see what's going on:
Foxtail Forge & Farriery Blog

Did you ever consider asking?!?
It just flat out amazes me that folks don't ask; instead, they tell the farrier to put on four shoes, to ‘just' trim, to shoe the fronts and trim the hinds, to put aluminium on the front, to put Pumpkin on a six-week schedule, etc., etc.

How do you make these decisions, and why do you feel so confident about them that you don't consider asking the professional standing in front of you?

I used to just accept it and, unless I was concerned about it harming the horse, I would do what the client asked. But I've reached a point in my career where I pretty much tell you what I think whether you ask or not. As a result, I trim a lot more horses and use a lot fewer “specialty” shoes than I used to. Hmmm… maybe I should go back to nodding my head and letting people spend their money willy-nilly.

Good farriery does not come in plain black and white boxes. Hoof care is unique to each horse. There is no generic program to be applied to every horse. Don't trust anyone who says s/he shoes every horse the same way. Every horse does not need a rockered toe; every horse does not need trailers, etc...

A good farrier is a maintenance worker. The farrier can't be blamed if he's not called. Hoof care must be a regular, scheduled maintenance activity. Put your horse on a schedule with a competent farrier.

The idea that "the shoe should be shaped to fit the foot" is misleading bunk. Good farriers are seldom content to live with what's there; instead, we "sculpt" the hoof capsule. In many cases, we will use the appliance (usually a shoe) to obtain shape or symmetry. Why anyone would shape a shoe to fit a mis-shapen or wry hoof, or why anyone would be content with a front hoof that looked like a hind, or other such foolishness is beyond my ken.

Short shoeing is bad shoeing. Most of the problems I see with farriery are a result of not providing sufficient caudal (heel) support.

Establish a reasonable toe length for the conformation and usage of the horse.

The"ideal angle" is a wrong-headed idea that should die. Despite all the ludicrous statements that you'll find in various treatises on horseshoeing, there is no generic, ideal angle. I've seen all kinds of prescriptions, most of them ridiculously low, but the ideal angle is one which is appropriate for the individual horse. Most saddle horses trotting around the countryside will fall somewhere between 52 and 58 degrees. If one is to make an error, it's best to make the angle a bit too high rather than too low. I've not seen any horses that I felt should be at less than 50 degrees.

There's no law that says all horses have to be shod .
There are only three valid reasons for shoeing:
Protection --if a horse's rate of hoof wear exceeds his rate of hoof growth, or if he's being asked to work on rough or variable terrain, his hooves must be protected in some manner.
Traction --the horse's usage will sometimes dictate that we take away traction (e.g., reining horses) or provide additional traction (e.g., pulling horses).
Gait alteration --a farrier will try to change an animal's way of going for one of two reasons: either to stop the horse from hitting (interfering in some way) or in an attempt to modify a particular gait to better meet an arbitrary standard, usually related to a particular breed.

Balance is essential
For some reason it is difficult for people to look at a hoof and determine if it is balanced. Skilled professionals should have a trained eye. Horses that are not balanced are not sound.

The hoof is plastic, not elastic.
It changes shape, but it does not regain its shape; it's plastic--not elastic. Subsequently, even an expert should find it extremely difficult--virtually impossible--to evaluate a trim or shoe job after even a short period of time has passed. Don't let someone tell you that your farrier has done a poor job unless that person watched the shoe job take place or evaluated it shortly after completion.

Where a farrier went to school or who s/he schooled with is virtually irrelevant unless s/he's new to the trade. The farrier industry/trade is not static. The basics are essential, but technology and technique are rethought daily. The most important measure of a farrier, then, is not where he went to school, but whether he goes to school every day. If he's not taking advantage of continuing education--reading books and periodicals, attending clinics and seminars, participating in local, state, regional, national, and international organizations--he's not educated. There's a big difference between having ten years' experience and having one year's experience repeated ten times.

Trainers are called trainers because their job is to train... not to shoe, not to do vet work .

Likewise, horseshoers are called horseshoers because their job is to shoe horses, not to train them, not to vet them. Establish a good working team of equine professionals (trainers, farriers, veterinarians, dentists, chiropractors, etc.) and make sure that they can work together and that you facilitate their working together by calling upon the appropriate person for the task at hand. As the owner, you're the coordinator.

All horseshoeing is not the same. Yes, the anatomy is the same, but gaits and usage vary radically, even within breeds. The end result that you desire is more specific to usage than to breed or type; subsequently the farrier you select should be familiar with the discipline or activity you are engaged in. In effect, don't expect a walking horse shoer to work on your dressage horse, and don't call the dressage shoer to shoe your walking horse. Good farriers don't necessarily specialize, but they'll have a range that they want to work within.

If you drive on a flat tire, you will ruin the rim. If your horse is lame, acknowledge it, work with your veterinarian and farrier to correct it; don't try to force the horse to work his way through it.

No matter how good the farrier is, he'll occasionally find himself standing in a pool of blood. It doesn't matter how good you are or how experienced you are, you're occasionally going to take a nail too close or a knife too deep, especially when working on bad-footed or bad-mannered horses. This does not mean that you're dealing with a bad farrier (unless s/he tries to hide it from you). It simply means that the tolerance limits for shoeing are much closer than the average person is aware of. Tolerance limits for properly driving a nail are in the range of 1/60,000 of an inch. It's amazing that farriers don't quick more horses than they do.

Shoenailers look at feet; real farriers look at horses.
You can look at a horse statically, you can look at a limb, you can look at a hoof capsule, but you've got to look at the whole horse to do things properly, and you've got to see that horse in motion . Good horseshoers will often evaluate a horse dynamically without the owner or the casual bystander even knowing it: they may watch the horses in the paddock as they drive in, they may watch the horse moving down the alleyway as he's being brought to the shoeing area, or they may simply be listening (without looking) to the cadence and rythm of the horse's footfalls as he's being brought to the shoeing area--but they're paying attention and evaluating that horse in motion.

You can take a crowbar and straighten anything, but some things can't stand the strain. If a mature horse has angular deviations, you optimize what you've got and live with it; you don't crank on it. You do not screw around with it.

Foal hoofcare is essential. Regular maintenance at this most important time is preventative maintenance. Furthermore, good farriers can recognize problems in foals, recognizing angular and/or flexural deformities while they're manageable.

The height of the nail has nothing to do with whether the horse is going to be quicked or not. High nails are generally good nails. They help because they're not on an acute angle, so if the horse rips a shoe off, he's not as likely to rip hoof wall away with it. And they're usually into more substantive hoof wall.

“Cutting doughnuts” is tough on your tires, your shocks, your tierods, and your rearend... Hotwalkers and longe lines are useful tools, but it concerns me that they're often used to excess. Although longeing has become a “training” tool of choice, I suggest that longeing be kept to a minimum. It creates repetitive uneven weight loads on the fetlock, pastern and coffin joints. Since--more often than not--longeing is used as a quieting aid for horses that are too “high,” there's often a lot of stress placed on the horse's head, pulling him back into the pattern, which places stress on his back and spinal process.

Of course, if you longe a horse properly (working the horse in large circles, using a surcingle and driving set, or longing the horse “free”), it's not a problem.

FEATURED EVENT!

27th & 28th, Clinician, Therapeutic Shoeing Module, Kentucky Horseshoeing School, Mt. Eden, KY

______________

Designed by a member of