PROBABLY NO OTHER TOOL in horseshoeing can generate such widely differing opinions as hoof testers.

SOME TIME AGO, Dr. Scott Pleasant from the veterinary school at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg called and ran an idea by me.

THE REAL WINNERS from the International Hoof-Care Summit weren’t to be found in the classrooms and exhibit galleries of the Cincinnati Convention Center, or in the plush hallways of the Hilton Netherlands Plaza Hotel.

Ric Redden, equine veterinarian and farrier from Versailles, Ky., told attendees at the annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners in New Orleans in November, that the physical examination is the most important part of evaluating the equine foot.

NOTHING DISHEARTENS a farrier more than extreme neglect of a horse’s feet.