In my years of shoeing sport horses, I’ve found it takes as much talent to create a level foot as it does to create mechanics. The question is what’s best for the horse? If the horse needs mechanics, and you don’t apply them, you haven’t done the horse justice. Keeping the health and safety of the horse at the forefront of any trimming and shoeing is imperative

Knowing how the hoof capsule has become distorted helps determine the best course of action. Performing a thorough evaluation of the hoof, determining how the foot has been previously trimmed and shod and checking for disease, injury or other pathology influences how I’ll proceed. 

Trimming Considerations

As farriers, we all want to do the best work possible and make the hooves look good, but it’s important to always keep the horse in mind. Give yourself an opportunity to come back if the issue can’t be corrected the first time. It’s better to make adjustments slowly than over-correct and damage the hooves. 

The frog provides…