Owning a horse is a huge responsibility. One of the most important issues of ownership is the prevention of lameness. If your horse comes up permanently lame the fun is over. Vet bills, therapy, wasted time in rehab, can all take the fun out of owning horses.

Correct horseshoeing is an absolute must. Finding the right Farrier is crucial if you want to exercise “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and keep your equine friend free from lameness throughout its life.

Horses chew, we all know that, but if you’ve ever watched horses out in pasture they’ll perform types of grooming and bonding rituals with their teeth. Take a look sometimes and you’ll notice many times horses standing together while one is almost seemingly biting the flesh of the other. They’ll grab a little bunch of flesh and in a careful way kind of nip away with a little tug of the skin. This is very common and it’s a cooperative event where one horse allows the other. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t discourage such behavior amongst horses.

Bowed tendons on a horse can be murder. The deep flexor tendon between the knee and the pastern joint blows due to excessive stress and stretch. It’s a long recovery process sometimes leaving a blemish.

There can be several elements that can all contribute to this problem. Hard work is surely one while incorrect shoeing the other. A quick look at race horses and how prevalent bowed tendons occur can give you some clues to a deeper understanding into this issue. Race horses are definitely worked hard – at the end of the race horses are completely exhausted. In this condition of exhaustion and fatigue the muscles of the body are not carrying the horse in the most optimum manner-hence a breakdown.

Do you wonder whether or not your horse should be hot shod or perhaps what if any are the benefits or advantages of hot shoeing and maybe even if it’s necessary at all?

Hot shoeing is the application of heat to the shoe then pressing the hot shoe onto the hoof wall of the horse. Like many things related to horseshoeing hot shoeing is a controversial subject. A usual question about hot shoeing is “Does that hurt the horse”?

When it comes to shoeing and Farrier talks one of the least understood topics is the discussion of hoof balance. Ask half dozen different Farriers the meaning of hoof balance and you’re likely to have half dozen different answers. While hoof balance is so misunderstood it’s also most crucial to avoiding permanent lameness to horses. Put those two ingredients together and you have a recipe for disaster. Until hoof balance is completely understood there’s a 98% chance a horse will remain at serious risk. Let’s discuss balance and reduce the risk.

It took me a long time for this one to come to me. What are the criteria used to choose your Farrier? Interesting question isn’t it?

Over the 16 years of my career as a Farrier I have heard several times from people “My Farrier Specializes in Lame Horses”. For some reason I’ve always felt a bit inferior from hearing this, as if because I didn’t work with a lot of lame horses my abilities as a Farrier didn’t measure up. How wrong I was for thinking such a thing. Truth is I know how to work with lame horses and I understand lameness and I’m a good craftsman and trust the quality of my work.

Having a horse is fun, but a major responsibility, so be thorough on your research of barns to board it at. It pays to choose a place that is close to where you live, has facilities that are well maintained and most importantly, gives its horses proper care and nutrition. Each barn has its own atmosphere, is it one you can live with? If you want to participate in horse shows, it may be a good idea to choose a barn that frequents the kinds of shows you want to be in. If you live in a cold climate, make sure the barn has a large indoor arena for winter riding.

Farriers can have it very tough. The occupation is very physically demanding and there are risks of injury. Being kicked by a horse is not to be taken lightly, I personally know of Farriers who have died from kicks and others having broken bones. Nails in horse’s feet will rip through the farriers flesh as easy as a hot knife through butter. Horses jerk legs while working on them and sit and lean and try everything sometimes in an effort to dislodge the Farrier from his work.