Rebuilding hoof wall is no small task. There are a number of things that can, and often do, happen to make the job even tougher than it already is.

“When you do this work, it’s never going to be smooth,” says Smithtown, N.Y., farrier Gary Werner. “There’s always going to be an obstacle in your way.”

The good news is that while there will always be glitches and setbacks, you will reach a comfort level —
provided you invest the time.

“Once you do it, it’s like playing an instrument,” he says. “You feel cumbersome at first, but the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel.”

Be Prepared

The key to limiting the glitches and setbacks is planning.

“It really doesn’t become intimidating,” Werner says. “The whole thing is preparation.”

There are a number of factors to bear in mind before rebuilding a hoof wall that will put you in a good position to succeed.

Hand, eye and ear protection. These are all important to avoid po­tentially serious injuries and health problems.

“When we do this work, we always should use hand, eye and ear protection,”…