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No Hoof No Horse!I would like to thank Lindsey for inviting me to be a part of The Mane Street and a special thanks to Darryl for managing this wonderful place where we can get together and exchange ideas, experiences and help one another in enjoying that most special of friends, the horse. After graduating from the Montana State University Horseshoeing School in Bozeman, Montana, I worked as a full-time farrier in North Carolina and Virginia before moving to Montana. Recently I have been on a temporary hiatus due to a non-horse related injury. I thought I would begin this series of articles with standard quote: No Hoof . No Horse! Such a simple thought and yet it expresses a very real fact of life. Unless your horse is lucky enough to live a lifestyle that keeps his feet in perfect shape, you will either learn to take care of them yourself or find someone else to handle this job. It is that simple and that important! Whether or not you decide to take on the task of trimming your own horse's feet is a decision that only you can make. This is not a job you want to take on halfheartedly. It is flat out too dangerous an undertaking and too important to the well-being of the horse to enter into without serious thought. Screw it up and your horse suffers. This is equally true whether the work is done by you or by a professional farrier. Wrong is wrong . lame is lame. One of the most difficult aspects to master for someone beginning farrier work is being able to hold a foot in your lap for the amount of time necessary to complete the job. I am not kidding. Unless you do this on a regular basis, you are apt to find yourself with all the necessary tools in hand; knowing exactly what you want to do, but your wobbly knees, quivering thighs and screaming back don't seem to want to cooperate. This is not all due to a "leaning" horse or one with special handling needs. No matter how easy the horse makes it for the farrier, when you are under a horse you cannot relax for one second. All it takes is for a fly to take a bite, a dog to run by, a child to shriek or something as simple as a spider on a silk thread dropping into the horse's view, and quicker than imaginable, the horse has forgotten you and leapt straight into a full blown panic. If you think this is something you want to try, then by all means find a qualified instructor and see if it works for you. Even if you decide not to do your own farrier work, you will have a far better understanding of what it takes to keep your horse's feet in a safe and sound condition. Thousands of people take care of their own horse's feet. The reasons vary. Some find it personally rewarding. They feel it brings them closer to their horse and gives them a leg-up in recognizing potential hoof problems. Others like the flexibility in scheduling hoof care at their convenience and enjoy being responsible for seeing the job is done right. Hoof care is expensive. Doing it yourself may result in substantial savings. Some people learn to take care of their horse's feet because they are either unable to find a farrier in their area or they become dissatisfied with the level of service available. They decide it is easier to learn to do the work themselves rather than put up with the current situation. So how do you find a farrier? I think the best resource is the horse owners near you who already have established a working relationship with a farrier. More than likely they will tell you who they use and perhaps just as importantly, who they don't. The Internet has listings for horse shoeing schools in most countries/provinces/states. They should be happy to tell you if any of their graduates are working near you. The same applies to contacting a regional farrier association for a listing of who works where. A veterinarian may be able to recommend someone they prefer working with in treating hoof problems. Basically, anywhere you find horses, you should be able to find someone willing to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly about the local farrier(s). Once you have located a farrier, I suggest asking for the names of satisfied customers. If someone recommends a particular individual, ask if you could observe the next time they have the farrier over. After all, your horse's well-being is on the line and you need to know if this farrier is going to treat you and your horse with respect and consideration. It takes a great deal of time and effort to train a horse and only a single swat of a rasp to erase all this good work. You have the final say of all things related to your horse. You seek the advice and services of others such as the farrier and veterinarian, but in the end, the choice of who works on your horse rests with you. Shoes or barefoot? If you are able to use your horse for whatever purpose you desire, and the horse is able to perform these functions barefoot without causing damage to himself or be a hazard to the rider then by all means go barefoot. My feeling is that you only need to shoe a horse if it is necessary to keep it sound. There is a movement afoot to get shoes off horses thereby bringing them back to a more "natural" way of going. This in itself is great, but I think you have to consider the individual situation before making that decision. The condition of the horse and its feet, the quality of feed and pasture, the terrain it resides on and the ground surface it will encounter as well as the proposed use all have a bearing on whether or not your horse is up to going barefoot. If you can . great. If what you want to do is beyond going barefoot; then have the horse shod, or use one of the slip-on shoe products and know that you are doing this for his and your benefit. Once the shoes are no longer needed they can be pulled and the horse trimmed to going barefoot again. There are any number of names attached to the various techniques describing how to correctly trim a horse's feet. Whatever the name, whatever the "special" way just recently discovered, the goal of any trim is a safe and sound horse. Call it what you want, use whatever tools and/or visual guides that work for you or your farrier, but just get it right and do not hurt the horse. If your horse is not lame before a trim, then it certainly should not be lame after one. The same goes for shoes. Shoeing a horse should not cause it to be lame for days or weeks afterwards. You should be able to ride up to your farrier, unsaddle your horse, have it trimmed and shod, and ride off into the sunset immediately thereafter with no ill effects. No blood, no "there will be pain before his feet come around," no "trim him short so he can go longer between appointments" or any other foolishness along those lines. If your horse goes lame just after having his feet worked on, contact your farrier immediately. Describe the problem and ask the farrier to come back and check to see if the lameness is related to his recent work. Your farrier will probably be just as concerned as you are to discover why your horse is lame and very anxious to correct the problem. Most farriers I know really like the work, enjoy the company of horses and they strive continuously to improve their skills through traditional educational opportunities and peer-to-peer contacts. I wish everyone the best of luck in finding a farrier who will work with them in making this absolute necessity an experience not to be dreaded, but one that strengthens the health of each horse and deepens your ongoing understanding of successful hoof care for your horses. Buz Riley - 2004 © Back To Buz Riley's Articles Home Page |
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