The state of Tennessee has the third highest population of horses in the United States with 190,000 head. In 1998, horse-related expenditures accounted for $406 million in Tennessee, 16 percent of all farm expenditures for the year¹. Nationally, the horse industry has a direct impact on gross domestic product of $25.3 billion and a total impact of $112.1 billion. The horse industry accounts for 1.4 million full-time jobs and pays $1.9 billion in taxes and fees annually. Of all money spent nationally on recreation and entertainment, 9 percent is spent on the horse industry². 

Lameness And Loss

Lameness is the single greatest contributor of economic loss to the horse industry. With nearly 14 percent of all horses lame at any given time³, Tennessee’s horse owners and horse owners nationally lose $11.5 million and $678 million, respectively.

The most debilitating lamenesses vention. The quality of farrier-provided intervention required to correct the lameness in these cases is often of more importance than that of the veterinarian. Currently, no minimum education or skill requirements exist to become a farrier, despite the fact that proper hoof care is a preventative measure for a variety of lameness suffered by horses. 

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the skill level of farriers and determine whether there is a…