There is no shortage of horseshoes, in size, style or material. It will take no more than a few minutes inside a well-stocked supply store to convince anyone of that. Jeff Ridley, a farrier from Leighton, Iowa, recently was struck by that fact during a clinic at Anvil Brand’s headquarters in Lexington, Ill. The clinician was Shayne Carter of West Mountain, Utah.

Performance horses, by the very nature of the work they are asked to do, are more prone to injuries than horses that are being used primarily for recreational riding. There are a number of studies that offer evidence that certain injuries are more likely to occur with certain disciplines, but an informal survey of several experienced farriers indicates that across disciplines, more common injuries such as sore feet and abscesses are the culprits that farriers most often have to deal with.

There’s something satisfying about watching a cutting horse doing its job well. The speed, agility and balance of the horse to mirror a cut cow as it desperately tries to return to the safety of its herd is mesmerizing and thrilling all at once.

In modern brain research, scientists say it takes 10,000 hours to become really competent to where your hands and your mind are all working together, where you don’t have to think about every move you make.