Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Yes, a farrier CAN change the way a horse moves.  But that may not be the desired

result when it comes to distance riding.  We're taught in farrier school to shape to the white line, the white line and the outside hoof wall do NOT always grow the same.  Meaning, that just because there is flare in one area, that the hoof wall is doing the same.  So, you trim the hoof, and shape the shoe to fit the white line....as you see it from the bottom of the hoof when you pick it up.  You tack the shoe on, and take everything off that sticks out.  Now, of course you can take some creative liberties with this to fix something a little more.  But that is the basics. 

 

A farrier straight out of school is running on what they have learned in the weeks that they spent there.   A farrier IMO needs to have many hooves of experience behind them to successfully shoe a distance horse.  Yes, they are not going to do somethings by the book...but there is probably a good reason for it.

 

Jody

 

PS.  Keep your tools....sounds like your going to need them. :)

Kathy Mayeda <kathy.mayeda@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

After firing many farriers - I believe that the farrier can make a big difference in the way the horse travels.  I've seen a mild confomation issue with my mare, for instance, become a total uneven-ness because the farrier says that's just they way she is, rather than trying to do something to make her travel more even.  The net result had been a progressive unbalancing of that limb.  She does tend to grow a flare on that toe, but a good farrier would manage it, and an unaware farrier would just blame her conformation.

 

She does much better when I keep that flare trimmed down.  I don't like trimming hooves that much, but I decided that I knew more about how to keep my horses even than most of the farriers who totally have attitudes, so I've got the nippers, knives and files in my toolkit now.  Hopefully if I ever need a farrier again, a worthwhile one would appear miraculously.   The best farriers I've had were those fresh out of farrier school, and a few shoeings later they become "creative" and it starts going downhill from there and I end up firing them.

 

K.

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Jody Rogers-Buttram

To: rides2far@xxxxxxxx ; raneller@xxxxxxx

Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 8:02 AM

Subject: Re: [RC] Farriers

JMHO Angie.  Your right, in that a person can only do so much with some type of travel/conformation issue.  If you try to correct it completely, you may vary well cause other problems, putting stress on joints/soft tissue that because of how the horse is made, he isn't as capable of tolerating.....not at our sport.  So, what I have done, is work with what I have, correct it enough so that I can stand to look at it, but not sweat the fact that it isn't perfect.   They can still be balanced at a stand still, and then that *something* happens when they hit that big trot, etc.

 

Jody

 

PS.  I have been working with Cash Pony, Dr. Waldron has recently convinced me that aluminium shoes will hold up.  I tried them and loved them.  But, the point is Cash has a constance balance issue on his rt. front.  I knew this from day one, I have been fighting it every shoeing, the lighter shoe does help him, (hoof flight follows weight).  So, even IF I don't get him perfect, the lighter shoe helps to minimize his hoof flight....which if you haven't seen Cash trot, just imagine a TWH with pads on the front end....sort of.  He does this big funky swinging thing...but he is 1/2 TWH  !!!!

 

rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:

it is the horse's fault...is there something a farrier can do that would
be a help to the horse or do you consider that just a part of the horse?

Angie

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

---

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

---

Be a better pen pal. 
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.