The Hoof Book was an absolute delight to read. Heather Beauchemin’s writing style is fun and refreshing. She has a conversational style of writing that is informative, witty and, at times, downright funny. She incorporates all of these elements in her writing while keeping on point, and this book is chock full of points

When I was first asked to review this book, I sighed, thinking this was going to be a book for horse owners to micromanage and complain to their farrier about everything the farrier was doing wrong. Well, I was wrong! It is remarkable in that it is a book on educating the horse owner and not a book on making the horse owner a lay farrier. The Hoof Book is not a treatise on how to tell if your farrier is doing a good job. Instead, it is a book for horse owners to, as Beauchemin states, help them demystify what we do as farriers, so owners can make informed decisions. A side aspect of this book is that it also shows the owner the depth of knowledge a professional farrier is required to master to care for their horse.

In Section One, “Anatomy — What’s Going on in There?” are chapters devoted to each of the structures of the foot that has relevance to our work as farriers: the coffin bone, hoof wall, frog, sole, etc. Each chapter is complete with everything the horse owner would love to know about what the farrier is doing.

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