Many farriers diversify their hoof-care practices across multiple disciplines. The disparity often leads to a variety of shoeing modifications that are incorporated into one’s everyday work, and Doug Corey is no exception

The Morrisville, N.Y., farrier provides hoof-care at two colleges, a breeding facility and private clients in the area. Cazenovia College Equine Education Center is predominantly hunters and dressage horses with a small contingent of western mounts.

“They have a few good connections where they get former show horses,” Corey says. “I get them when they’re 10 years old, sometimes teenagers. If they hold together, we’ll use them in the school program. A lot of my time is spent just trying to keep these horses comfortable and get some more years out of them. It’s a good deal for the horse and the program.”

The horses he shoes at State University of New York (SUNY) Morrisville is nearly all western horses, such as reiners, pleasure horses and horsemanship-type horses.

“They have a summer internship program with students who show,” says the Cornell Farrier Science Program graduate. “They also have a large western breaking and training lesson program, so I…