Beth Lewis

Sunapee (Sunny) is an OTTB who had what Beth Lewis tactfully calls "complicated feet" including thin walls, thin soles, hoof capsule distortion and a slight deformity of the P3 bone of his "bad foot." He also left the track with a career-ending back injury. When the vet-chiropractor said, "Fix the feet first!" I needed a farrier who could read X-rays, analyze his hoof problems, effectively trim and balance his hooves, and apply the multiple therapeutic shoeing and trimming techniques that he needed.

Fortunately, I found Beth who has all of the required skills and hoof knowledge, and was willing to take Sunny as a client. During the past 2 years she has successfully re-profiled his hooves using all her skills and dedication, including making multiple unscheduled visits when Sunny unexpectedly went lame and needed additional work. Now, both his hoof capsules and X-rays are considerably improved, and he no longer has detectable pain or inflammation in his feet.

As predicted, as his feet and movement improved, so did his back injury. For the past 6 months, I been able to exercise Sunny regularly and strengthen his back. For the first time in years, Sunny is sound, I am riding him and we are enjoying the summer riding season together. Beth's work has been fundamentally important in bringing about the transformation of his feet, which in turn has made a huge difference to his health and wellbeing, and mine.

— Lorraine Reeve
(Bedford, N.H.)

The picture featured here is of Beth and Peppy from about a week ago

Beth has been shoeing my 10-year-old Appendix gelding, Peppy, for a little over 1 year. I met Beth about 7 years ago before I even got my horse and always admired her work and wished from afar (I'm a couple hours away from her) that she was close enough to work on Peppy. As an 8-year-old in 2012, Peppy was diagnosed with bilateral navicular bone avulsion fractures and advanced navicular disease. About 6 months after this diagnosis Beth informed me that she had additional demand in Southern New England for her shoeing services and was going to start making the trek down for a handful of clients!

Since Beth started shoeing Peppy, he has developed a healthier hoof — better concavity to his soles, fatter/healthier frogs, old ridges and bruising have stopped developing and are growing out, and there was actually a line of demarcation on his hoof that showed the new growth coming in straighter instead of the flat/forward old growth that contributed to his navicular disease in the first place. The shoes Beth uses are the latest/greatest technology for navicular horses. I don't have to ever worry whether Peppy's shoeing is of the best quality and the right set up for him. Beth answers all of my questions and explains why she wants to use a particular shoe, pad or packing material. Educating her clients is important to Beth. Beth also cares about the whole horse, not just the feet, and will talk to you about ideas for maintaining their total overall health and wellness.

Most recently Peppy injured his knee, a hyper extension accident resulting in bone chips, trauma induced arthritic changes and a loss in range of motion. Beth nearly literally had to stand on her head to shoe Peppy while keeping his foot low to the ground to avoid hurting him. At 1350 lbs, Peppy isn't exactly a petite horse! Beth's patience with my horse is unending. He's not very well behaved sometimes but she is calm and we figure out together how to keep him occupied and still. She never puts him in a position that would be painful for his injuries sometimes at the expense of her own comfort.

She works closely with my vet and they communicate constantly on what's new with Peppy's shoeing needs. She will regularly send my vet an email update to let her know her thoughts on Peppy’s feet after a given visit. Beth is a proponent of the vet/farrier "team" approach which is essential with such a "special needs" horse! When Beth was out of commission with her own knee injury/surgery this winter, she still made sure we were in good hands and spoke with the covering farrier about Peppy’s needs. Not only is Beth a truly exceptional farrier, she’s also one of the kindest, most compassionate horse professionals you’d ever work with. I’m so lucky to consider her a friend in addition to having her as Peppy’s farrier.

I am also happy to report that both Peppy and Beth are recovering superbly from their knee injuries and are back in commission! We can now joke about the similarities in their knee injuries as another sign that they were “meant to be.”

— Leigh-Ann Davis
(Connecticut)