Dubbed Toes Cause Problems

I fully agree with your article “A Farrier’s Viewpoint: A Plea To Stop Dubbing The Toe.” (AmericanFarriers.com/articles/7382) I have many years of practice and have watched many horses develop pathological changes in the coffin bone, lameness in the knee and shoulder, and performance horses that lose their footing and fall down from badly dubbed off toes and squared shoes. When a squared off shoe is applied to a horse’s foot and the toe is stopped off, it dictates where the horse’s foot will break over. If the horse is extremely pigeon-toed, this puts tremendous strain all the way up through the limb.

I have always seen this as a very controversial issue since it was being developed in the early ’80s. At that time, I was putting on competitive trail and endurance rides and watched horse after horse with these squared off shoes show signs of lameness within the first couple miles of a 25-mile ride. It was very difficult for the veterinarian to diagnose where the horse hurt, but it was usually in the shoulder.

My congratulations to the author of this article and for speaking up. I’m with you 100%. And anybody who continues to practice dubbing off feet shouldn’t really call themselves a farrier.

— David Peterson, Chimacum, Wash.

Need for Farrier School

I’m disappointed after reading the article “Pacific Northwest Farrier Programs Facing the Axe” (AmericanFarriers.com/articles/10846) because there is a short supply of knowledgeable farriers. I’m an 80-year-old horsewoman, raised on a…