Jim Halverson

We bought a thoroughbred gelding, "Duke," for my daughter Anita when she was 16 or so. Besides her pet, we used the horse for demonstrations of shoes and hoof-care products over the years. Duke was not an easy horse to get along with as he thought he was a stallion when around other horses. He had relatively good feet, although the right front was a bit club footed. Anita had Duke for over 20 years and we went through several good farriers who put shoes on him, and even sometimes when the shoeing involved testing out a new horseshoe or such for our company.

As Duke aged over the years, the farriers who we called on seemed to have a harder time keeping him sound. He seemed to be lame more often than not. We called on Jim Halverson to come in a see if he could help old Duke. Jim explained that since he was an older horse now, one of the things he needed was some help and support in the hocks. Fitting some shoes with heel extensions, balancing the hooves and sure enough, right after Jim's corrections and the job done, ol' Duke paraded around the arena like he was 10 years younger. It also allowed my daughter to ride him again. Jim kept Duke in good shape and sound for several years thereafter.

Jim convinced us that he knew horses and knew how to fix them. He has been one of the very few master farriers we call on for an opinion on horseshoes, new products and to help answer important questions we get from farriers and horse owners alike. He has worked with us at trade shows and clinics explaining and showing farriers how to improve their knowledge about horses and horseshoeing. Thank you Jim!

— Ed Kinney, President
Thoro'Bred, Inc.