French equine veterinarian Philippe Benoit says one of the keys to dealing with situations that require opening up the heels is to promote proper heel expansion. He told attendees at the 21st annual Farriers Conference at Cornell University that one way to do this is by trimming the edges of the frog with a hoof knife to open the edges in a narrow V-cut, even cutting the bars. Benoit believes there can be problems with a loop knife or a hoof knife with a hooked blade, since you may not get deep enough to allow the heels to expand. He uses a straight knife.

In the current world of shoeing fads and gimmicks, it has become quite easy for younger farriers to move away from traditional practices

Q: I need some advice with a shoeing problem. I hot shoe all my horses, as I have found this cuts down heaps on lost shoes. I have one horse, however, that constantly loses his front shoes. The shoes usually hold for the first 3 to 4 weeks, then they almost always fall off. This happens only on this particular horse that most often is ridden on rocky trails.

Editor’s Note: Bob Peacock, a master farrier from Hamilton, Ohio, believes that many cases of navicular syndrome have as much to do with the rider as they do with the horse.