The practice of farriery is one firmly based in tradition, yet modern solutions have provided farriers with more options for helping horses. Nailing on a steel shoe made from bar stock remains a helpful option for many hoof-care needs, but so do adhesives, urethane shoes and other contemporary tools.
Thoroughbred Racehorse Fatality Rate Increases Slightly
The rate of fatal injury of Thoroughbred racehorses increased slightly in 2017, according to an analysis of Equine Injury Database (EID) statistics.
The AVMA Should Reconsider Farrier Exemption Exclusion
It is my belief that horsemanship is an art, not a science.
This point of view shapes my concern about the proposed modifications to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Model Veterinary Practice Act (MVPA), especially regarding the farrier exemption elimination.
Czantis appears to be like any other equine athlete. Make no mistake, though, this 11-year-old gray gelding is rare.
While Czantis has found modest success competing as an amateur hunter-jumper, the warmblood’s greatest achievement is that he’s in the ring at all.
Looking back, Mike Chance believes he didn’t have the typical make-up to be a successful farrier. And maybe he wouldn’t have become a horseshoer had he acknowledged that.
“It never occurred to me that I couldn’t be successful in this trade,” he says. “Maybe I was lacking in some areas, but I was determined to be a farrier.”
Shoeing performance horses don’t require bells and whistles. Quite the contrary, says Lexington, Ky., farrier Bobby Menker.
“Just keep it simple,” he told attendees at the Wisconsin Equine Clinic & Hospital in Oconomowoc, Wis. “We start at the coronary band and then try to build a base all the way down. This is what I like to build for.”
Prospective horse owners depend on pre-purchase exams to uncover issues that could potentially affect a horse’s performance — particularly hidden lameness. Adam Pendleton, an equine veterinarian and farrier, discussed a pre-purchase exam he conducted on a 10-year-old Quarter Horse mare during which he utilized an interesting method to determine the mare’s soundness: the Equinosis Q with Lameness Locator.
When looking at the general horse population, Grant Moon views what he calls the “big middle.” Many of the horses in this populace have been assigned jobs that they just aren’t suitable for to achieve at high levels. But in reality, when the farrier arrives to shoe that horse, his or her opinion on the suitability of the horse to its newly assigned job is irrelevant.
In the sport horse world, certainly at higher levels, problems with the suspensory apparatus have grown. Through his conversations with equine veterinarians, farrier Dave Farley says that they estimate about 80% of the sport horse lameness issues they encounter are somehow related to the suspensory.
Farriers have a lot of tools in their proverbial toolboxes that help them be as versatile as possible in their hoof-care work. Yet, there’s one tool that’s available to every farrier that’s under-utilized — glue-on shoes.
Equine canker is a disease in search of a definition since the cause has not been determined. It could be described as a pathological response to an insult to the foot’s horn-producing tissues. Equine canker has been defined as an infectious process that results in the development of a chronic, hypertrophic, moist pododermatitis of the horn-producing tissues, generally in the palmar / plantar sections of the foot.
1996 Article Overview
Phil Fisher of Hastings, Neb., approached this article with a straightforward purpose: inform readers about how to shoe reining horses. At the time Fisher wrote this article, he was shoeing a few successful top reiners. This motivated him to share his own methods to farriers who might not be as familiar with reiners.
It’s not uncommon to observe minor asymmetries in any horse’s feet. But when there is a significant difference between a pair of hooves, typically the front, the unevenness may be attributable to club foot. Club feet are estimated to be present in 5% to 20% of the equine population.
The highly respected and beloved farrier Danny Ward passed away March 22, 2018, at the age of 73. Owner and operator of Danny Ward Horseshoeing School and a third-generation farrier, Ward was known for his superb farrier abilities and his commitment to education.
Keg shoes typically come with a crease in the ground surface, but are they worth the effort to craft into your handmade shoes? And if so, what are the keys to proper fullering?
Chad Chance, a veteran farrier in Pilot Point, Texas, 30 minutes north of Dallas, creases 95% of his shoes and says, “I’m fullering every day.”
Legendary Farriers Start Pink Apron Charity
Billy Crothers and Myron McLane have started the Pink Apron Charity to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Both farriers solidified the plans for the Pink Apron Charity at this year’s American Farrier’s Association (AFA) convention, which met in Reno, Nev.
The information, ideas and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Follow-Up On Walking Horse Study Publication of a study reviewed in the March 2018 “Research Journal” sparked a letter to the American Journal of Veterinary Research, as well as a response from the authors.
Horsemanship is a difficult subject to tackle in magazine articles or conference presentations. I feel like it is impossible to explain to the uninitiated what horsemanship is in a 30-minute presentation. It would only serve to confuse.
Czantis appears to be like any other equine athlete. Make no mistake, though, this 11-year-old gray gelding is rare.
While Czantis has found modest success competing as an amateur hunter-jumper, the warmblood’s greatest achievement is that he’s in the ring at all.
Looking back, Mike Chance believes he didn’t have the typical make-up to be a successful farrier. And maybe he wouldn’t have become a horseshoer had he acknowledged that.
“It never occurred to me that I couldn’t be successful in this trade,” he says. “Maybe I was lacking in some areas, but I was determined to be a farrier.”
When looking at the general horse population, Grant Moon views what he calls the “big middle.” Many of the horses in this populace have been assigned jobs that they just aren’t suitable for to achieve at high levels. But in reality, when the farrier arrives to shoe that horse, his or her opinion on the suitability of the horse to its newly assigned job is irrelevant.
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Greg Martin, CJF, of Boerne, Texas, takes the unique approach of marketing his hoof-care practice with a Christmas parade float in Boerne and Comfort, Texas. The award-winning float boasts a variety of surprising features.
Life Data Labs Inc. is a dedicated product manufacturer committed to producing premium quality animal nutrition and health products through continuous product improvement and new product development. First-class ingredients, fresh products, consistent high quality and scientifically proven effectiveness are the principal features of Life Data Labs animal health products. And that's why they've produced the #1 recommended hoof supplement by farriers for 12 consecutive years.
Kawell develops and produces copper alloy horseshoes and inserts, giving horses the care that they need to fight issues associated with white line disease, seedy toe and thrush.
From the feed room to the tack room, SmartPak offers innovative solutions to help riders take great care of their horses. SmartPak was founded in 1999 with the introduction of the patented SmartPak™ supplement feeding system. The revolutionary, daily dose SmartPaks are custom-made for your horse, individually labeled and sealed for freshness.