I came across a 2-year old Thoroughbred that was moved to Missouri from Florida this summer. The first farrier the lady had out recommended she call someone else. I was the one she called.

Q: I recently had a new client contact me who has racing Quarter Horses and he wants them shod with race plates. I don’t have any experience with racehorses and racing plates. I imagine they’re shod the same way — by making sure the foot is balanced and level — followed by putting the shoe on.

Q: Could someone please discuss any experience they may have had with hoof cracks that start at the hairline? What causes them and how can they best be treated when shoeing?

I was reading a hoof-care magazine the other day and ran into an article on onion shoes. Basically an onion shoe is nothing but a shoe that’s shaped to make the bars share some of the weight that the hoof wall has to deal with.