For many farriers, the first exposure to a therapeutic shoeing situation comes unexpectedly. They arrive at a barn — perhaps after a frantic phone call from a client — and find a horse who has suffered an injury.

The arrival of horseshoe glues and hoof-repair materials more than 30 years ago revolutionized the centuries-old practice of farriery for shoers who dared take a chance on the materials. Adhesives replaced nails on many thin-walled or diseased hooves, and epoxy putties, as they were sometimes called, made rebuilding a foot possible in ways never before imagined.

Two companies, long known for manufacturing aluminum racing plates, have signed a joint exclusive distribution agreement for Werkman horseshoes in the United States. Thoro’Bred and Victory reached the agreement with Hoefizerfabriek Werkman & Co. of The Netherlands, a company that has been manufacturing horseshoes for over 100 years.

Noel Muller maintains you’re probably making a serious mistake when you decide to alter foot balance in hopes of giving your client a horse that strides straight behind.