The Pocket Anvil Shoe Shaper isn’t exactly a new product — it’s been around for more than two decades — but Janet Bernson, who manufactures and markets the device with her partner, Max Middleton, think it is a tool that may become more popular as horseshoers age and look for new ways to save wear and tear on their bodies.

When Don Tritz, a farrier from Genoa City, Wis., got tired of dealing with wet hooves a few years ago, he started looking around the barns he was shoeing at to see if there was anything that might help him out.

What does it mean to “Balance the Hoof?” Ask a farrier if he balances a hoof and he will say, “Yes.” Ask him to describe how he balances it and he will generally describe very convoluted ways of doing so without having any specific reference points for others to copy.

Farrier Tom Edwards has been shoeing for 23 years. He doesn’t use pads all that often, but when he does, he uses his own hand-made pad cutter.