I’ve been at this a long time (35 years) and have only truly understood the hoof (as all farriers should) in the past few years. At first, it was disturbing to come to the realization that after all those years thinking I knew what I was doing, that I really had no idea at all.

But then after looking around and evaluating the farrier industry as a whole, I began to feel less disturbed. I came to believe that the problem was not that I had been amiss in mastering the craft, but instead that my profession was amiss in not understanding the very thing it deals with (the hoof capsule) in a manner that it should have.

The Hoof Capsule

If the industry truly understood the hoof capsule, many of the problems that the equine community is plagued with would not be at the epidemic proportions we see daily. I am referring to hoof capsules that fail to withstand the rigors of daily life (white line disease, chipping and cracking walls, seedy toes, flat soles, long toes, low heels, flared walls, etc.). These things have been around for centuries. Why have we not figured out how to correct them?

I also feel that many of the issues that the vet industry deals with are a direct result of the farrier industry’s inability to correctly deal with the hoof capsule. Evidence of that would be the need for joint injections at earlier and earlier ages.

I carry American Farrier’s Association…