This year marks the 50th anniversary (and 32nd year at Lessiter Media) of American Farriers Journal covering the farrier trade. We’re asking hoof-care professionals for a few words to include in a “From the Audience” section of our coverage – in the December edition.

Cody Ovnicek, senior vice president of Equine Digit Support System in Penrose, Colo., shares his thoughts on the hoof-care milestones over the past half-century.

Q. When you look back at the last 50 years of new technologies, what were the biggest defining moments that forever changed farriery and equine health as we know it today?

A. Active sole support, frog support and load sharing using dental impression material (DIM) or urethane packing revolutionized how lamenesses like navicular syndrome and laminitis were treated.

Prior to 1993, very few applications involved actively using the frog and parts of the sole for support. Most treatment options included shoes that primarily put the wall as the weight bearing for the horse. Bar shoes and heart-bar shoes had some success because they passively held or caught part of the frog in the load-bearing state, but when impression material was introduced to more evenly distribute the load bearing of the horse, and actively load and unload the frog during movement, even treatments with heart bars and bar shoes improved their success.

When you combine these active load-sharing products with pads and shoes designed to actively use the frog, (like the EDSS treatment system and frog support pads), there was increased success in a wider variety of cases. Now, 30 years later, sole support materials (DIM, impression material, urethane sole support, etc.) are some of the fastest-growing products by many companies, frog support pads and shoes that incorporate frog support are leading the way in new product development. That market didn’t exist until EDSS introduced and pioneered the development of not only these products but also how they can be used successfully.

Leverage reduction (“breakover”) was a four-letter word when Gene Ovnicek first started talking about it being a part of most shoeing applications. Prior to 1993, the use of rolled-toe shoes or rocker-toe shoes was limited and primarily used on certain types of hind feet applications. The Natural Balance Shoe was one of the few manufactured rolled-toe shoes to gain traction in the marketplace and started a movement of shoes having leverage reduction as a standard feature.

Now, 30 years later, there isn’t a manufacturer in the U.S. or abroad that does not have at least one (if not several) of their shoes that have leverage reduction or breakover built into their shoes, and those shoes’ popularity and use has grown exponentially as more manufacturers introduce more of these types of shoes.

Ovnicek is responsible for two of the most widely criticized concepts of hoof care practices in the past 50 years that have turned into some of the most widely used and common applications for lameness treatment and performance improvement.

Q. What are some specific ways that American Farriers Journal magazine impacted your business and staff?

A. The American Farrier’s Journal was not a “friend” of EDSS for the first 5-6 years of our business, as we brought quite a bit of controversy to the industry. However, things started to change when the International Hoof-Care Summit was launched and we began to develop a more personal relationship with both Frank Lessiter and Alice Musser.

Although we have been a continuous supporter and advertiser with the AFJ for 25 years, the most positive impact that Lessiter Media has brought to EDSS is the Summit and the opportunities it has afforded us through personal interaction with farriers from around the world, exposure to other manufacturers and farrier supply stores, and the many opportunities given to present educational content.

We will always be thankful to Frank for the opportunities and for Alice and Amy Johnson for their personal attention and friendship.