Something happened in my practice recently that has occurred at least a hundred times before. One of the latest shoeing products, a good product, was applied incorrectly and the horse that I was working on was suffering for that reason.

I’ve been shoeing horses for 37 years and have worked with a large veterinary equine practice for 24 years. This opportunity has let me learn much about the therapeutic experiences that have been sent my way.

Over the years, 20 percent of work at the clinic has been cases where a horse has injured itself, has laminitis or involved gluing shoes on foals with angular deviations. The other 80 percent are horses the vets say are lame because they weren’t shod properly.

When they say these horses are not shod properly, let me give you some examples of what they are talking about:

• The feet do not balance with the horse’s conformation.
• The shoes are too small.
• Prescription shoes and pads recommended by the vet are the same size as the horse came in with several weeks ago, which caused the lameness in the first place.
• A therapeutic shoe was not used properly.

Preventing Problems

One horse I worked on today could not even be transported to the clinic. I had to go out to the ranch with a vet who had to block the horse’s feet so I could remove the shoes. Lying down, he was in such pain that you could hardly touch his feet without hurting him.

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