One of the most valuable benefits of attending the 28th annual American Farrier’s Association (AFA) Conven?tion in early March in Lexington, Ky., was the tremendous amount of education that shoers received.

From new formulas for building shoeing business profits to the corrective shoeing of hock injuries, farriers were treated to a wide range of topics presented by some of the most respected hoof care experts in the world.

Requesting Radiographs

Farriers who come across severe lameness in horses need to know when it’s appropriate to request that X-rays be taken to help diagnose lameness causes. Michael Bowman, a Simpson?ville, Ky., equine veterinarian who specializes in lameness cases, outlined the necessary steps in conducting a lameness exam to help determine which bones or joints to X-ray.

“When a horse is lame enough to warrant taking X-rays,” he says, “the farrier and the vet need to work together to determine the best treatment plan to make the horse sound. What you learn at this stage will help you understand the physical damage to the lame horse’s bones or joints that has taken place.”

Tackling DIP Joint Concerns

Veterinary anatomy professor Jean-Marie Denoix of Maisons-Alfort, France, introduced a term, collateromotion, that he uses to describe passive movements in the frontal plane of the horse’s leg.

“Collateromotion of the digital joints,” Denoix says, “is a passive movement induced by asymmetric foot orientation. In the DIP joint, it’s accompanied by a narrowing of the joint space on the side of motion and opening on the…