Cortona, Italy, veterinarian and farrier Hans Castelijns has worked with foals throughout his career. In this session, the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame member will share how this case was particularly challenging with multiple and severe angular deviations. It illustrates the techniques employed in detail and the results you can obtain with perseverance and commitment. This case also has a happy ending.

Compared to other areas in equine health, the hoof and lower limb are not as frequently studied in research. Who better to conduct the hoof research than those who pick up the horse’s foot every day?

Farriers face an uphill grind to maintain soundness in a horse that has navicular disease or palmar/plantar heel pain, particularly with those mounts that are expected to continue working for a living. In this presentation, Vernon, Texas, farrier Blane Chapman reviews the work he has completed, as well as discusses the practical management solutions he's used to help the horses in his practice.

Australian farrier Wesley Stewart has been a farrier for more than 3 decades. With a commitment to continuing education, he has developed a book covering New South Wales and Victoria, and a variety of horses. In this session, he'll share his experiences in providing hoof-care for a variety of horses, ranging from dressage to reiners. In addition to sharing what running  a successful operation in southeast Australia is like, he'll also provide tips he's developed over his career.

In this presentation, Canonsburg, Pa., farrier Josh Sanders will discuss the merits of the dynamic and static assessment of the equine for performance. This presentation will show videos and pictures to describe a system of assessment and show the merit of both assessments. Also, Sanders will survey what each style of assessment can offer to the farrier and veterinarian and how these play a role in developing a shoeing or trimming protocol to benefit the horse.

In his practice, Dr. Hans Castelijns travels throughout Europe. This gives him the chance to see varied farrier work and shoeing trends. In this session the Cortona, Italy, farrier and veterinarian will share some observations about work he has seen throughout Europe.

Farriers often examine external features to understand what is going on inside the hoof capsule. For example, does the direction of growth of the hoof wall have a correlation with the coffin bone orientation? In this session, presented by Soft-Ride, Moreno Valley, Calif., farrier Tim Shannon presents his research that investigates this question. He will survey his work and share his findings, some of which will be surprising.