For more than two decades, the bright yellow “Briefings” page that regularly appeared in American Farriers Journal was among the publication’s most popular features. Now, we’re bringing back this valuable content that offers 4-5 quick-to-read items on the AFJ web site. “Hoof-Care Briefings” will be coming your way on the last Monday of each month, and highlight farrier tips, industry news, maybe a bit of shoeing history from time-to-time and insights of special interest to footcare professionals.
— Frank Lessiter, AFJ Editorial Director
Genetics May Offer Answers on Whether Horses Need Shoes
Farriers, owners, and racetrack trainers often rely on trial and error when deciding whether a horse should wear shoes, as clear evidence-based guidance is scarce.
But recent research with Standardbred trotters suggests genetics may hold the key. Scientists have identified five genes linked to the ability of horses to race successfully without shoes, pointing to a potential genetic basis for hoof strength and resilience.
Horse owners have long recognized that hoof quality varies among breeds and individuals. Some horses simply have stronger, healthier hooves than others.
“Hooves with thin, shelly walls that chip, crack, split easily or grow slowly are considered unhealthy. The differences we see among horses hint at a possible genetic component to hoof strength,” says Kathleen Crandell, a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research.
To investigate this believe further, researchers collected hoof wall samples from the coronary groove, which is the area responsible for hoof wall growth among Standardbred trotters. The study included 11 horses that regularly raced barefoot while 7 others were unable to do so due to excessive hoof wear.
After extracting and analyzing the genetic material, researchers identified five genes that were expressed differently between barefoot-capable and shod horses:
ACCS – Involved in metabolic processes and ammonia accumulation.
SLC35F3 – Contributes to thiamine transport and modulates blood flow.
TRAPPC6A – Facilitates intracellular vesicle transport and plays a role in skin pigmentation.
IRX2 – Regulates gene transcription and type of keratins produced.
MT2A – Binds to fats and minerals, including copper and sulfur.
All five genes were expressed at lower levels in the barefoot horses compared to those that required shoes. The authors suggest reduced expression of these genes could provide adaptations to reduce hoof wear or improve hoof response to injury.
“These findings may help explain why certain nutrients — such as biotin, iodine, zinc, and methionine — are effective in improving hoof quality and supporting hoof wall growth,” Crandell notes. “Therapeutic levels of these nutrients could influence gene expression in a beneficial way.”
The Top 8 Things Keeping Farriers Awake at Night
Written in 2011, this American Farriers Journal “Frankly Speaking column still applies to farriers today.
While footcare is only a part of your life, the daily challenges of running your farrier business still make you lose the most sleep. With many changes going on in today’s equine industry, it’s no wonder farriers have many sleepless moments wondering about what tomorrow’s most critical challenge is going to be.
To compile a list of the major challenges keeping farriers awake at night, more than 160 attendees at last winter’s 2011 International Hoof-Care Summit took the time to share their concerns. Here’s what they told us.
- Rising Costs. This includes dealing with rising costs for farrier supplies, fuel, insurance, charging enough to survive in business and dealing with clients who can’t afford to schedule footcare at the proper intervals.
- Client Education. This relates to confronting bad advice from “so-called Internet experts,” convincing clients of the need for therapeutic work, handling customer unwillingness to learn about the importance of hoof-care, getting clients to invest in preventative footcare and tackling today’s lack of horsemanship skills among owners, trainers, riders and grooms.
- Farrier Education. This includes finding ways to stay up-to-date on the latest research regarding trimming and shoeing techniques, the rising cost of attending clinics, avoiding complacency in your work and always striving to improve your hoof-care skills.
- Tackling The Economy. This boils down to adjusting to the financial constraints of clients, not losing valuable clients, effectively balancing work, time and family (especially during the busy summer months) and knowing when to avoid taking on new horses.
- Staying Healthy. This means taking care of yourself, finding ways to keep energy levels high during long work days, getting proper exercise, planning for longevity in the farrier business and worrying about how unfortunate work place injuries may lead to a loss of both income and clients.
- Professionalism. This kind of late-night worrying means thinking about being undercut on price by other shoers (especially by younger guys coming into the field and charging less), dealing with a lack of professional behavior on the part of other farriers and the conflicts that arise among farriers, vets and barefoot trimmers.
- Serving Clients. This includes day-to-day dealings with customers, adding value to your footcare work and doing whatever it takes to retain customers.
- Effective Scheduling. This includes developing strategies to keep customers on a regular schedule, developing ways to show clients the importance of winter footcare work, finding mile-saving ways to handle costly travel and dealing with clients who reschedule or cancel appointments.
No Need to Raise Racehorses like “Hothouse Flowers”
In the recently released Death of a Racehorse book, highly respected central Kentucky trainers Seth Handcock and John Williams say the majority of track horses today are “light-boned.” This is a reference to thinner bones that can normally be observed in the lower leg.
Both trainers blame the racehorse sales industry for neglecting durability in favor of speed and bulk. This has led to as high-priced horses and broken bones later, with a definite market incentive to raise horses like “hothouse flowers.” This means keeping them blemish-free by restricting the running and rough housing that young horses need to build durable bones.
Other trainers point to corrective surgery to straighten crooked legs as a contributor to the continued breeding of crooked legged horses.
Author Katie Bo Lillis writes that breeders are perpetuating the flaw in the genetic pool, as these horses are still going to breed crooked-legged horses and it also means often messing with the horse’s natural gait.
Late-Breaking News & Views
61% of farriers say they have a good working relationship with equine veterinarians ... Over the past 25 years, farriers have increased prices for trimming and nailing on four keg shoes from $69.54 to $187.76, a 44% increase that well outperforms an annual 2.5% inflation rate … Half of practicing equine veterinarians leave working with horses within 5 years of veterinary school graduation…The U.S. Army recently shut down three ceremonial horse units in California, Arizona and Oklahoma while keeping units at Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Riley in Kansas.
Q&A with Harness Racing Farrier Georgia Gaudet
Georgia Gaudet is among the few women farriers involved in harness racing. Born and raised in the beach area of Toronto, Ontario, she was unsure of what career to take after high school. For some reason, shoeing horses caught her eye. Because of zero horse experience, she enrolled in the University of Guelph taking up equine care and management in 2020.
After college, she worked as a groom at the Woodbine track where she met her farrier mentor Stewart Mcaulay.
“I spent 2½ years apprenticing with farriers Felix Marion and Stewart Mcaulay. I still work with Mcaulay, as one can never stop learning new things in the trade. After working with these farriers and learning as much as I could, I decided to go out on my own.”
Many blacksmiths end up with severe back problems. Is there anything you do so that this doesn’t happen to you?
“I’m lucky so far, but my Mcaulay taught me to stretch before I start in the morning and to take good care of my body. I always do that and it certainly helps.”
How do you handle the difficult horses who can’t or won’t stand still?
“With a lot of patience and empathy. The horse has to trust me and realize I am not there to hurt but help them. Some horses come to me with sore hooves and once the horse sees I am helping him, he will relax. When I get a horse that is impossible to work with, he may need a tranquilizer.”
What do you find is the biggest problem with racehorse hooves?
“Thoroughbreds can have brittle, thin-walled hooves. And a Standardbred can be very tricky, for making even the slightest change can alter their gait.”
How do you detect a hoof or leg problem?
“I use hoof testers, watch how the horse walks and jogs and feel for the pulse and heat in the hooves. I also find it important to work with the veterinarian and watch how the horse races..”
