American Farriers Journal
American Farriers Journal is the “hands-on” magazine for professional farriers, equine veterinarians and horse care product and service buyers.
Pain in the hocks, stifle, knees and joint pain will affect shoe wear more than hoof problems. If the shoe wear changes, but nothing else has changed, it’s an indication of soreness, Steve Stanley says.
Warning Signs of Shoe Wear
Paying attention to unusual patterns or changes in this area can help you head off potentially serious soreness issues
Farrier Takeaways
Uneven or unusual shoe wear is a result of the horse trying to compensate for something that is making it uncomfortable.
Shoe wear issues are most likely due to a horse not being balanced to its conformation, lameness or soreness issues, or problems in the trim or shoe placement.
Unusual shoe wear is more likely to be due to problems above the hoof rather than in the hoof itself. It’s important to get a veterinarian involved in these situations.
A change in the regular shoe wear patterns of a horse should be a red flag for any farrier.
When experienced farriers check the wear on horseshoes they’ve just removed from a horse, it isn’t just to see whether they can reset them. They’re also looking for valuable information.
Four veteran farriers took time to share some of what they’ve gleaned from studying the wear patterns on horseshoes over their careers. They include:
- Blake Brown, a retired farrier from Penryn, Calif., who was the staff farrier at Loomis Bay Veterinary Clinic for more than 20 years and whose career spans more than half a century.
- Dave Farley, an International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame member, who shoes a wide variety of top show horses around Wellington, Fla., and Coshocton, Ohio.
- Dean Moshier, who shoes a wide variety of horses in his Balanced Hoof and Horse Inc. practice of Delaware, Ohio.
- Steve Stanley of Versailles, Ky., who shoes at the Red Mile harness racing track in Lexington, Ky.
All four of…
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American Farriers Journal is the “hands-on” magazine for professional farriers, equine veterinarians and horse care product and service buyers.
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Top Directory Listings
Doc Foal's | The Black Pads
At Doc Foal's, we manufacture The Black Pads and The Black Pads PLUS (featuring embedded magnets and copper). Our hybrid pads work seamlessly with your choice of conventional horseshoe, combining metal for structure with polyurethane for exceptional comfort and shock absorption.
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Sunrise Farrier Supply
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Equilox International
Equilox International Inc. specializes in equine horse hoof adhesives. Developed in 1988 after many trials and extensive research at leading universities and equine centers throughout the U.S., the Equilox Adhesive Hoof Repair System was originally used to treat competitive horses. Now, Equilox Adhesive is used by farriers, equine centers, and horse owners — as well as various zoo and wildlife centers — throughout the world.