Below are key farrier takeaways from several of the features found in the January/February 2026 issue of American Farriers Journal.
Understanding the Equine Palmar Digital Nerve
- Tucson, Ariz., farrier Paige Poss finds the palmar digital nerve runs deep into the hoof capsule, which correlates with hypersensitivity in some feet.
- Bar and frog architecture help identify potential pain points.
- Horses might indicate sensitivity with hoof packing if it impinges the palmar digital nerve.
Pain & the Equine Orthopedic Patient
- Recognition of pain is part of a farrier’s responsibility.
- Aversive behavior should be taken seriously, and appearance of pain should be excluded as a reason for a horse’s behavioral changes.
- Bilateral asymmetries in timing parameters between left and right limbs can be used for an objective monitoring of pain levels and functionality of the limbs.
Rebuilding Hoof Stability After Abscess Bout
- A firm frog pour in conjunction with packing helps reestablish caudal support, sole protection and moderate shock absorption while Jackson emerges from a bout with an abscess in his right front foot.
- Sidebone and podotrochlear issues continue to influence Jackson’s movement. The removal of the toe in the glue-on shoe and setting the shoe back limit leverage, while the sole pack reduces rigidity.
- The change in seasons offers Jackson relief from anhidrosis.
13 Rules of Equine Movement
- Seven gaits stand out as most important and most likely encountered by farriers.
- The rules of equine biomechanics form the basis for understanding gait variations.
- Gaits have a multitude of variations, some of which help sustain healthy and well-shaped hooves.
Clearing Up Biomechanical Confusion in Equine Hoof Care
- Any length that’s measured as part of a lever that a horse must utilize for force absorption or propulsion can become a mechanical advantage or a mechanical disadvantage.
- Not all leverage is bad leverage since lever design is important to isolate and understand when those levers are working and the class they are in.
- Forces generated from movement are a summation of body mass and potential energy kinetics and kinematics, and most are not modified by farrier techniques.
