Considering the Farrier-A Better Relationship And A Better Job

G’day folks.

First and foremost thank you for joining while I lend my hand at attempting this internet ‘blog’ business to impart my experience to a tricky topic-farriery. Being a farrier who loves my job with a passion and an open mind, I find this an excellent outlet for talking on my favourite subject, and hopefully helping you find the information you’ve been seeking.
Now for my first blog I thought it ideal to talk on the dynamics between owner and farrier, and the confusions that can ensue from the new farrier doing things differently to the previous and the sometimes unbridled bagging between farriers. A lot of you have probably been through the experience of one farrier shoeing a horse a certain way and completely having convinced you it is correct, and then another farrier will come along and say the horse should be shod the complete opposite way, and is just as convincing. Alright difficult position yeah? Lets look at a few common differences in shoeing jobs, why they are done and why both sides of the fence can be right and wrong at the same time.

Firstly, some jobs are scrutinized as being to short. Now in the ideal shoeing the heels of the shoe will come a little over the buttresses of the hoof(pic right), providing good support while not being easily pulled off. From my experience, horses working in heavy sand, especially competition horses, are prone to pulling shoes even when shod in this ideal way. But when you shoe the horse just 'short' of the buttresses it greatly reduces the instances of horses pulling shoes. I especially notice this when working at racehorse stables training in heavy sand. Shoe them ideal or god-forbid 'long' and you will have a good few tack-ons every week. Shoe them short and you have zero lost most weeks. So where as one farrier may bag shoeing short, you must stand back and look at the circumstances. What conditions is the horse working in? Is the horse a frequent shoe puller and frustrating the owner who just wants to keep riding? Or is it just lazy workmanship? In any case shoeing short has it's time and place.

Then you have the polar opposite of shoeing short-the farrier who shoes them 'long' or what is called 'hanging-out'. This does make the horse more susceptible to pulling shoes, and you will be fairly guarnteed to lose them in heavy going terrain on most horses. But there is the advantage of support. Now more length in the heels is more support and this is great for some horses, especially those with long sloping pasterns. See in theory, the ideal place to have the heels of your shoe end is under the line of force of the limb. It is a straight line down the leg that continues through the centre of rotation of the pastern joint to the ground. For example run your hands down the cannon bone where it is widest until you reach the fetlock joint. This is the approximate centre of rotation and a line directly down from this theoretically the heels of your shoe should end.

Now this is the theory behind support-that the shoe should end under the line of force of the leg. Okay it's technical mumbo-jumbo but the fact is-you and the horse can alter the way he holds his pastern. So if his pastern joint is held lower, your measurement of the force-line changes, and the same if it is held higher. For example, look at the angle of your horse's pastern. Now apply pressure to his shoulder, shifting his weight to the opposite leg more. Notice how you've altered the pastern angle so easily? In fact the pastern angle will be different on each foot! And numerous factors can effect how a horse holds himself at a given time. Injury-old or recent, uneven ground, uneven skeletal structure, back pain, any pain, etc. See how hard it is to take an objective measurement? Most of the time, your farrier is the bloke who has the most experience with shoeing, the angles and possible changes that can take place. Thus he is most often the one to trust. But then of course another farrier will come along when the horse is under a different set of circumstances and will evaluate the horse differently, bagging the previous farrier. But either could be right or wrong. Your getting a headache already? The best remedy in this situation is to do your research and keep an open-mind. An open mind will always be your greatest tool, especially when it comes to horses.

Okay well the time is dragging on, and I've only just scratched the surface on what I was hoping to cover. However I will continue tommorrow with farrier's trimming toes and heels to different levels and the bagging that ensues. And cover the correct way to do it. Anyway thankyou for your time folks, I wish you the best of luck with your horses and I wish myself the best of luck with tommorrow's work.