Margie Lee & Don Gustafson
For about 18 years, Margie Lee, Don Gustafson and their team at Performance Horseshoeing have been attending to the hooves of a very special group of horses. Tasked with an incredibly challenging job, these horses spend their days working with children and adults with neuromuscular, cognitive and sensory disorders. They’re therapy horses at The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT), and without the careful attention of Margie and her crew, they couldn’t help the countless individuals who come to NCEFT for horses, hope, and healing.
From a miniature horse named Roxy who pulls a cart for schoolchildren, to Beau the Clydesdale who works with wounded veterans, no horse is too small (or big) to get great individual care. It tends to be an all-day affair at the facility, with the farrier team steadily rasping and fitting their way through 14 horses, all while patiently accommodating the 
working schedules of each equine therapist.
When it comes down to it, they aren’t just our farriers, they’re part of our team. Every six weeks they show up bright and early, unloading hoof stands and barn dogs and taking a moment to catch up with staff. They know each horse’s name, breed, age, and history, and have patiently walked us through abscesses and mysterious lameness issues. They find time to answer questions from curious children waiting for their therapy session to start, and always seem to have a spare horseshoe on hand for each little boy that asks. In return they ask for nothing, donating their time to both the horses and the people they help. They’re our farriers, and they’re making a difference one hoof at a time.
— Shayna Fogleman
The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy
(Woodside, Calif.)
25-year-old Sparring Partner is a unique individual to say the least. An impeccably bred Thoroughbred sold at Keenland, he was supposed to go on to an illustrious racing career.
After 3 less than spectacular starts, it was clear that this was not in the cards. At the age of 3, it was decided that there would be a career change and his new job description was that of a Conformation Hunter. He had a grueling show schedule for such a young horse, and a lot was asked of him mentally and physically...far more than he could give. He was so foot sore that
he would stand for hours on end in ice water just to get to the ring, and be asked to jump 4' fences which somehow he did. However, at the age of 7, his soundness issues caught up with him and he was retired from the show ring.
A Thoroughbred through and through, he had, and still has energy to burn, and is super-sensitive making him a "special needs" horse in more ways than one. Don began shoeing Spar 10 years ago, and
I can't imagine anyone else taking the time and putting forth the en
ergy Don has on my one and only retired horse. Spar has Cushings Disease as well as hocks that have been fusing for what seems like a lifetime. Don and his team take the time needed to deal with a different "issue" in each hoof as well as aches and pains that require the horse to rest often, making shoeing him a laborious task, but you would never know that Don had another horse to do, or another appointment to go to.
As you can see from the photos below taken recently, he is as sound, and airborne as ever, and we (Spar and I) have Don and his team to thank for that. Spar's quality of life would be nowhere near what it is today without Don Gustafson, and for that I am eternally grateful.
— Alden Corrigan
(Woodside, Calif.)
