This book should grab the attention of farriers for several reasons, even though it was written for horse owners.

The authors, two prominent hoof-care industry insiders, run headlong and unapologetically into the debate about laminitis and founder, pushing aside some common beliefs to tackle the subject with their own research and recommendations.

“Our desire is to help horse owners make informed decisions,” they state at the outset. However, farriers will also want to read Laminitis & Founder so they know what’s being told to their clients, or because the book lays out a treatment plan in enough detail to be useful for shoers, or simply because of who the authors are.

Heavyweights Weigh In

Doug Butler, PhD, CJF and FWCF, previously wrote The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3), the most widely used textbook in the farrier world.

That exhaustive text was selected in late 2005 as the basis for the curriculum to be used by the then newly formed American Farriers Education Council, which includes a large majority of the private horseshoeing schools in the United States.

Butler also owns and operates the Butler Professional Farrier School in Crawford, Neb., and often speaks on the hoof-care lecture circuit.

Frank Gravlee is a veterinarian who founded Life Data Labs and developed the popular Farrier’s Formula feed supplement that the Cherokee, Ala., company distributes along with other hoof-care products.

Butler and Gravlee don’t take long to lay their combined weight and credibility on the line. 

The introduction opens with, “There are many myths…