A client has obtained a rescue horse, which I trimmed about 10 weeks ago. At that time, the frog was gone from three hooves. I didn’t think anything about it since most horses were shedding frogs at that time.

Q. What would you suggest for dropping the angle of a patten bar shoe? How much time do you allow between adjustments and how many degrees at a time? This is a 10-degree bar on a mare who has had a lot of damage to the deep digital flexor tendon and surrounding tissue.

Shoeing allows farriers to provide five benefits to horses: protection, traction, correction, therapeutic and performance. Most horses today are used for performance and pleasure. The duties that owners ask of their horses are tough and can be physically hard on the animals. With special shoes, horses are able to perform amazing moves with less stress to the hoof and all structures supported by it.

I have been a farrier for 7 years. I have started doing endurance riding. My horse has very sensitive front feet. One of them is slightly upright. I usually put plastic pads on him for endurance rides because the footing is often very rocky and we ride pretty fast and hard.

Q: I have a horse I’ve worked on for some time who has shelly walls, no heel, a long toe, dead-flat soles and chronic laminitis. I’ve tried several things, including a Myron McLane full support pad, which didn’t seem to work due to the amount of frog pressure.

At last winter’s fifth annual International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, two veteran farriers tackled a number of the most frequently asked questions about the footcare industry.