What Type Of Shoes Do You Use Most Frequently In Your Footcare Work?

Some 100% of surveyed farriers apply steel shoes while 80% use aluminum shoes. 

Plastic/synthetic shoes are used by 35% of farriers, rubber shoes by 5% and titanium shoes by 4%.

— 2017 International Hoof-Care Summit attendee survey

How Do Owners Utilize Their Horses?

Here is how 10,662 surveyed owners use their horses:

  1. for pleasure riding and/or trail riding.
  2. have horses that are idle, retired or otherwise not being worked.
  3. use their horses for dressage.
  4. use their horses for lessons or training.
  5. use their horses for natural horsemanship.

— American Horse Publications survey


Friday's Farrier Facts & Figures is brought to you by Markel Insurance.

Markel Corporation (NYSE – MKL) is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, and investment operations around the world. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and founded in 1930, Markel reports its ongoing underwriting operations in three segments, and products originate from four insurance divisions and one reinsurance division. Markel Ventures, a subsidiary that makes strategic investments in companies outside of the insurance marketplace, is another important component of our business.


In each of our businesses, we seek to deliver innovative products and responsive customer service so that we can be a market leader. Our time horizon is long-term, our underwriting approach is disciplined, and our focus is on continuously improving the quality of the customer experience. Our financial goals are to earn consistent underwriting and operating profits and to combine those profits with superior investment returns to build shareholder value.