Among many of the challenges a farrier must deal with are sheared heels. Scott Morrison, the veterinarian and farrier who leads the Podiatry Department at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, Ky., says this problem is usually the result of less than ideal conformation. Usually the horse toes in or out, putting more stress on one side of the hoof wall (and heel) than the other. When a horse develops sheared heels, the stressed heel becomes jammed upward, the hoof symmetry is distorted and one heel is bearing most of the weight.

Dean Moshier knows that it seems a little odd to hear him greet a client with, "So how's the horsey doing today?"

It's not unusual for a farrier or veterinarian to be trapped between the welfare of the horse and the welfare of the rider. Kent Carter, a member of the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame who is on the staff at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, says the dilemma can arise when what's best for the horse conflicts with the rider's needs to have the animal ready to work - whether on the racetrack, in the show ring or on a cattle ranch.

Mitch Taylor is trying to raise the bar on horseshoeing education.

Just about all farriers and hoof-care professionals acknowledge that the trim is the foundation of good hoof care. There isn’t much argument about that.