Bob Pethick likes to kick off his lectures by showing an Ontrack Equine slow-motion, close-up video of hooves in action. The Califon, N.J., farrier treated the attendees at a University of Tennessee Equine Podiatry Conference to this thought-provoking movie.

To say that the equine hoof wall is an amazing structure is a gross understatement. It must withstand a multitude of destructive forces from the environment — both man made and natural — and extreme concussive forces trying to tear it apart. Given these circumstances, it’s no wonder that failures occur.

The strong association between sheared heels and a spontaneous quarter crack is hard to ignore. Although inappropriate farriery may play a role, limb conformation and the landing pattern of the horse appear to be the dominant factors causing this type of hoof capsule deformation.

If you go to a Jim Quick clinic expecting him to dictate how you should shoe a horse, you’re at the wrong clinic. Instead, the Niwot, Colo., farrier says his purpose is to not give instructions to tell other farriers how to shoe, but to share his thoughts on how he does the job. Quick did just that at Bruce Daniels Memorial Clinic in early April when he suggested points of consideration regarding medial-lateral balance.

Quicking a horse happens to the best of farriers. In most cases, the wound is cleaned, disinfected and the horse is no worse for wear. That didn’t happen when Cricket McLaren accidentally drew blood on Will, a 3-year-old Thoroughbred. In fact, it was the start of what the Eagle, Colo., farrier calls a “cascade of events” that highlights the importance of a strong veterinarian-farrier relationship, such as the one he has with equine veterinarian Courtney Diehl of Steamboat Springs, Colo.