Eddie Watson, the Keswick, Va., farrier, has had a hand in helping along a lot of shoers and veterinarians during his long career — not to mention horses.

It’s hard to believe that extensive planning is already underway for next winter’s fifth annual International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. It simply doesn’t seem like 5 years ago that the American Farriers Journal staff was figuring out what it was going to take to make the first Summit a big success.

What does it mean to “Balance the Hoof?” Ask a farrier if he balances a hoof and he will say, “Yes.” Ask him to describe how he balances it and he will generally describe very convoluted ways of doing so without having any specific reference points for others to copy.