It’s hard to find a good buggy whip these days. It has been for quite a while. Times change, people find better ways to get things done, and their tools change with their methods.

That’s really the focus of this, our “Annual Farrier Product & How-To Issue,” as it says on the cover. Maybe it ought to read “Opportunity Knocks.”

Because even in the horseshoeing business, which stretches back through most of recorded history, fresh ideas still appear.

Along with those ideas come possibilities for farriers to do things more easily, more efficiently, more quickly or just plain better.

Tips For Today

Sometimes those fresh ideas require new equipment or adaptations of the old standby equipment.

You’ll find examples of both in this issue.

We’ve worked to fill these pages with information that might help you care for hooves differently, hopefully better, while helping the horses, reducing wear and tear on your body and boosting your bottom line.

If you’re still tackling hoof-care problems the way you always have, maybe it’s time to take another look at other ways to get the job done.

Check out “Try These Techniques.” That’s where four highly regarded farriers offer details on how they use materials like hoof hardeners and overlooked equipment such as half-round nippers to deal with challenging, all-too-common hooves that are too wet or too dry.

Another option to help cope with water-logged hooves involves a relatively new machine that could be useful in a lot of barns across…