Mike Stein

My farrier, Mike Stine, saved my horse’s life. When I first acquired Bates from a local trainer/farrier it appeared that he was nothing more than a washed up former event horse. The 16 year-old, 16.2 hand Thoroughbred was underweight, wormy, had horrible feet and was lame on all four legs. At one time he’d competed at the intermediate level, and to the best of our knowledge at some point in his career he’d hung his left stifle and suffered a rotational fall over a fence, possibly fracturing his C-3 or C-4 vertebrae. Years of inactivity in addition to poor farrier work had left Bates quite arthritic in both hocks, knees, the left stifle, and his neck. My first priority was to have Mike work on Bates’s feet. 

He had no sole depth, under run heels, and horrible angles, so we knew that this was going to be a long process. As Mike worked to improve Bates’s balance from the ground up, I planned a careful conditioning schedule that included intramuscular joint supplements and regular chiropractic and massage therapy. Yet after 11 months this stoic gelding still had stiffness, and was frequently lame right after shoeing. In the back of my mind I was going to give him to the end of the year (three more months) before throwing in the towel and officially retiring him. But Mike wouldn’t let me give up – he didn’t feel Bates was washed up at all, and he convinced me to give him some more time (as Mike had been sponsoring Bates for the past 10 months and had put so much of his time and money into him, I decided that if he didn’t feel it was a hopeless endeavor than who was I to question).

And Mike was right. Just one month after I expressed my concern, Bates made his debut with me on the show circuit, scoring 63% and 66% at First level at a local dressage show and winning both classes. Another month later we won a Novice Combined Test with a clean show jumping round, and two months after that Bates completed his first full one-day horse trial at the Novice level, placing 3^rd on his dressage score and completing the day sound. What’s even better is that Bates is 100% sound, all the time, and he is so completely happy to have a job again. He is still arthritic, and still requires careful maintenance, but thanks to Mike’s exacting work and proper shoeing, my horse is back to doing something that he loves.

— Trisha Dingle
Whitehaven Plantation
(Bishopville, S.C.)

My Arabian mare, Ellie, had a series of illnesses and several surgeries that resulted in Chronic Laminitis.  Following six weeks in the hospital, she came home with severe coffin bone rotation and sole depth of 1/16th inch in both front feet.  A friend told me about Mike Stine and I askedhim to come for an evaluation.  Mike assessed the dire situation and dug in immediately with custom glued on boots, wedges and impression supports.  Things got worse before they got better, with false soles, total blowout of the toe, increased rotation and Coronitis.  We have progressed through several pairs of boots and are now using custom rocker rail shoes with impression supports that are glued on with fiberglass support.  The Coronitis left an open channel down the front of one foot, which compromised the overall hoof strength so Mike customized a brace to reinforce the hoof structure and support it for new growth.  The time involved to complete this type of custom shoeing puts a great deal of stress on Ellie's opposite front foot, which generally leads to a series of abscesses in both feet.  To alleviate this situation Mike made a wench controlled sling that allows us to elevate her

front end enough to prevent weight bearing during the lengthy shoeing process.  We are fortunate to have post Coronitis hoof growth, however it is not yet 100% healthy and normal, which can put pressure on the Coronary band.  Mike comes by every two weeks to groove and shape the new growth to alleviate the pressure and encourage correct growth.  Mike's knowledge, expertise and passion for his work have brought us through 18 months of recovery despite several recommendations for euthanasia.  We have progressed from lying down 90% of the time to standing 90%.  Ellie spends time outside everyday and slowly but surely gets where she wants to go.  Ellie would not be here today without Mike's desire to help Laminitic horses.  His resourceful creativity has helped Ellie through extremely difficult situations and his dedication to his craft is unsurpassed.

— Karen Totaro (Monroe, N.C.)

My farrier puts his soul into the art he performs. He strives to continue his education learning new treatments and working with top-notch veterinarians. He not only performs very old-fashioned blacksmith work, He understands and utilizes current up-to-date treatments. I have worked him for over 15 years now and will only allow students that appren

ticed with him to come in if he is traveling. He has been flown all over the USA and New Zealand to practice his work. I find it safe to say he is welcomed everywhere. No matter what time of day or night, he is there for his customers and will come on an emergency basis right away. We as his clients try to work together to allow him to provide for us. We find the outcome well worth it. Mike Stine not only provides educational clinics using "Dolly" (an intact equine skeleton), he strives to keep his clients informed on proper hoof care during visits. I have seen him take extremely crooked legged equines and perform what I call 'bone magic'..These equines typically go on to very successful show careers. In closing I hope you find the time to let my farrier know just how much we appreciate him...(and his wife, since she rarely sees him!)

— Christine Deal,
Olde Mill Ranch

Megan Kaplan with Misty. Photo by: Dwain Snyder of Equestrian Images

I have to admit, the first time I met Mike Stine, I wondered if he would EVER finish trimming and shoeing my horses. This man LOVES to talk, but if you listen, you’re going to learn something.

Triples Te Dee (aka Misty) is a now 10-year-old Paint mare with a very successful showing career and tons of PAC (Paint Alternative Competition) points, but when we first met Mike back in 2008, Misty had everyone baffled.  We had had the vet out, the farrier out, the vet and the farrier, the chiropractor, gone to a specialized vet, and then someone suggested, “You need to have Mike do an evaluation of Misty.” 

I had already met Mike when he came over to do my friend’s horses, and I was amazed that she was relieved when it only took 3 hours to trim two ponies’ feet and shoe another mare.  I wondered how serious he was, and whether my friend was right — that Mike would be able to figure out what was “wrong” with Misty.

Mike came out and watched Misty on the lunge line and then under saddle, and I learned more in 5 minutes than I had learned in 6 years.  He checked the saddle fit to see whether we were getting proper forward motion from the entire shoulder, among other things affected by saddle fit.  He gave us a 20-minute demonstration of recommended massages for Misty and made sure we could do them, too. 

He figured out in 10 minutes what no one else had been able to figure out in over a year. Even while he was talking and joking, he was very in tune to what Misty was doing; he figured out why, explained it, and then explained how we were going to “fix it.” 

So for the next 4 months, I endured 3-hour farrier visits, learned more than I ever knew about trucks and truck engines, and I began to see a difference.  A bigger positive change occurred after each visit from Mike.  And in July, my daughter won Champion at the NC State 4H Horse Show in Equitation on Misty, and was nearly Western Pony Champion too (that story is too long and I’ll start to sound like Mike!)  Misty went on to earn certificates from her participation in PAC shows, and won Champion 3 years in a row in a local circuit.

The amazing thing about Mike is that he took a “train-wreck of a pony” and helped us turn her around and become the Champion we all believed she could be — including Mike. 

— Miranda Kaplan (Waxhaw, N.C.)