Donna Meyer, a veteran Illinois farrier helps spread hoof-care knowledge among young horse owners by coordinating a limb dissection program for 4-H Club members.

We heard from readers lining up on all sides of the toe dubbing controversy after we printed the article by Oklahoma farrier and equine veterinarian Jack Roth in the January/February issue of American Farriers Journal. As is the case with many hoof-care techniques, there wasn't any agreement on what is the best approach.

Researchers examined the relationship between hoof acceleration patterns and dynamic properties of the racetrack surface. Eight clinically normal horses with accelerometers attached to each hoof were galloped along a straightaway in repeated trials. Between each trial, the track was harrowed and water was added to change surface properties. After each trial, dynamic properties of the track were measured near each hoof print for several strides.

Mitch Taylor understands what he's gotten into as a member of the AFA task force working to establish standards for farrier schools.

AFJ readers should be aware that nine resolutions were brought to the AFA board of directors at its February convention meeting in Chattanooga. Of the nine resolutions, only three, Resolutions 1, 8 and 9, were accepted.

From 1915 to 1981, Illinois was I believe the first of only two or three states to have a licensing requirement for farriers. One of the requirements for a license was having completed a 3-year apprenticeship. Most farriers I spoke with who were affected by the licensing law had nothing good to say about it. They felt that it was unfairly applied and discriminatory. If you were friends with the examiner and/or they needed more farriers at that time, you had a much easier time of passing the test and being licensed than if you were not friends with the examiner or if they did not need more farriers — no matter how good you were.

Farrier licensing adopted in the United Kingdom 30 years ago boosted the careers of shoers there, according to Simon Curtis, a prominent U.K. farrier who often speaks at conferences and clinics in the United States.

There are more than 60 horseshoeing schools in the U.S. and Canada, so it would be risky to predict their general reaction to the planned American Farrier's Association survey based on the comments of a few. Just as telling, perhaps, is that several smaller schools did not return phone calls requesting their opinion on the subject.