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Notes And Ideas From The American Farrier’s Association Convention
Texas farrier Pat Burton told attendees at the American Farrier’s Association convention that proper shoeing for a barrel horse varies greatly from horse to horse.
“You have to watch how the horses approach the barrels,” he said. “Some horses come into the barrel and sit down and slide. Others don’t slide. You can’t shoe those horses the same way. Watch him and shoe him for his needs. You also need 
to be aware that when you’re dealing with barrel horses, you’re dealing with barrel racers. How they ride a horse can make a big difference in how you need to trim and shoe him.”
Burton also offered an interesting take on regrowing hooves after a major injury that might require a hoof resection.
“We’ve always been told that it takes a year to regrow a hoof,” he said. “But I think the first year we grow a new hoof and the second year we grow a healthy foot. I don’t have any real proof of this, but from my experience it often seems to take two years to get these horses’ feet back under them.”
Mark Voorhis, a certified journeyman farrier who works in the Portland, Ore., area, says when he’s going to use a pour–in pad, he finds it works best if he clinches and finishes the rest of the hoof before he injects the pour-in pad. He finds this lets the pad set up better and maintain its integrity.
Doug Corey, an equine veterinarian from Adams, Ore., told AFA convention attendees that the number of unwanted horses in the United States is increasing by 100,000 each year. The former president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners said the issue has become the single biggest one facing the equine industry over the last five years.
California farrier Gordon Haight urged AFA attendees to spend as much time developing their trimming methods as they do their forging skills.
“I’m known for the iron work I can do and for the quality of shoes I can build,” he says. “But that’s not what really makes the difference to the horse. It’s trimming and balancing the hoof that makes the difference.”
One reason that balance and trim makes a difference is that Haight keeps certain things in mind as he works.
“I shoe the coffin bone, not the hoof,” he said. “And I don’t balance the foot, I balance the whole horse. I want the horse centered to itself.”
