I’ve been at this a long time (35 years) and have only truly understood the hoof (as all farriers should) in the past few years. At first, it was disturbing to come to the realization that after all those years thinking I knew what I was doing, that I really had no idea at all.

You look at the foot and there it is: a weak heel that you suspect might lend itself to the development of a foot with long-toe, low-heel syndrome. The bad heel might have been caused by trimming the heel too low or by a naturally weak heel prone to collapse. Or it could be caused by excessive wear at the heel that, studies have shown, can be brought about by a shoe, especially one that’s too small, that exposes only the heel to wear.