Danny Ward, the late farrier from Martinsville, Va., might have been as well known as a "tool guy" as he was a horseshoer. But the member of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame, maintained that at least some of his penchant for tool repair and maintenance was a matter of necessity.
Farriers come into the business in many different ways and from many different fields. But Matt Frederick, who shoes in Napa Valley, Calif., may come as close as any to having a unique beginning.
There are many shoes used by farriers in therapeutic work and not all of them are specifically designed to treat an injury. Rather than simply reaching for a heart bar shoe for a laminitis case, or a straight bar shoe for palmar heel pain, it’s important to first think about what you want the shoe to do and why.
Your first career therapeutic shoeing situation is likely to be a surprise. You're called in to tack on a "lost shoe," and discover that the shoe has taken a pretty big chunk of the hoof with it. Or you discover a horse doesn't want to bear weight on a front foot. The owner - who is new to the horse world - can't understand it. The horse seemed happy enough when it was chowing down on all that lush green grass in the pasture a few days earlier.
Farriers are aware that theirs is a potentially hazardous occupation. Anytime a significant part of the workday is spent standing underneath animals that can weigh well over 1,000 pounds, while picking up one of its feet, there's obviously a chance that something could go wrong.
Greg Martin, CJF, of Boerne, Texas, takes the unique approach of marketing his hoof-care practice with a Christmas parade float in Boerne and Comfort, Texas. The award-winning float boasts a variety of surprising features.
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Kawell develops and produces copper alloy horseshoes and inserts, giving horses the care that they need to fight issues associated with white line disease, seedy toe and thrush.
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