Horses in endurance races will be ridden from 50 to 100 miles. During those miles, the horses will be required to walk, trot, canter and gallop through a variety of trail conditions and surfaces.

“That means you better check your ego at the gate,” Jeff Pauley, a farrier from Burnsville, N.C., told an audience during a presentation at the International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. “You have to keep an open mind and be willing to change the horse for what he needs for that race.”

Pauley, who served as a farrier for the World Endurance Games held in Germany during August, first began working with endurance horses about 7 years ago. He enjoys the challenge this type of shoeing requires.

“For me, the most complicated equine athlete to shoe is the endurance horse,” he says. “There are no quick fixes and the horse must stay sound for as much as 100 miles over inconsistent and tough terrain.”

In addition to there being no quick fixes, Pauley says there’s no one right way to shoe endurance horses. He says that his choice of materials and style of shoeing has to take into account…