Sometimes just a few golden moments make a lot of effort all seem worthwhile.

We actually had a lot of those moments during the first International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati during early February. But I heard one exchange that seemed to sum up the entire three-day event.

“We’re all unsure in what we’re doing,” said Rich Redding, an equine veterinarian who was leading a roundtable discussion on improving veterinarian and farrier relations. “We all have to recognize that we question what we are doing. We should recognize that that’s healthy. It’s when you run into the guy who says he’s sure about what he’s doing every time that you know there’s something wrong.”

Open Forum

It was a remarkably frank and open statement by the North Carolina State equine veterinarian, one of the more than 40 presenters at the Summit. But Redding’s attitude and honesty were typical of the more than 500 hoof-care professionals who made the trip to Cincinnati and helped to make the event a rousing success.

From the moment we first conceived of the idea of the International Hoof-Care Summit, our twin goals were education and communication. From our years of extensive interaction with farriers, equine veterinarians and other hoof-care professionals, we were convinced that there was a real hunger out there for knowledge and an opportunity to interact with others in the field.

Right Attitudes

If the Summit was a remarkable event, it was made so by the remarkable attitude of the attendees. They came with…