When providing hoof care for hunters and jumpers, a farrier is focused on the fundamentals of improving performance — but how does our work positively or negatively affect our clients’ chances in the show ring? I have been shoeing horses for more than 30 years, but I’ve also spent some time as a show judge. In that role, I’ve learned how the decisions we make as farriers can influence scores, what judges are looking for and what we can do to help our clients experience show ring success.

At no other time in the history of horseshoeing have farriers had more hoof-care options than they do right now. What they can’t buy, talented farriers can custom build at the forge and anvil, or create from their own ingenuity using modern materials. As a result, it is tempting to look to shoes as the be-all-end-all answer to hoof-care problems. Blanchardville, Wis., farrier Martin Roche prefers to look to the horse.

Get Your Affairs in Order Regardless of your age or financial circumstances, everyone needs an estate plan. Dera L. Johnsen-Tracy, an estate planning attorney and co-founder of Horn & Johnsen SC in Madison, Wis., recommends that farriers having at least the following basic estate planning documents in place:

After a client invests $40,000 on footing for their arena, it’s hard — maybe impossible — to convince them it’s ruining their horse’s feet. Uxbridge, Ontario, farrier Dave Dawson had a client express concern that their horses were frequently tripping and stumbling.

The second confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was in Chicago — about 60 miles southeast of Marengo, Ill., home and headquarters of MVP’s Farrier Service, Inc. Like in many other states, it was around mid-March that the governor issued a disaster proclamation. First schools and dine-in restaurants were closed and restrictions were imposed on large-group gatherings. Eventually, this gave way to a shelter-in-place order.