It’s a pleasant summer morning near Carthage, N.C., as Martin Kenny gets ready to go to work.

When Danny Ward discusses horseshoeing, it soon becomes obvious that his keen sense of observation and active imagination are more important to his success than any of the tools in his shoeing box or stowed behind the doors of his shoeing rig.

Hoof care for foals is really a matter of getting things started on the right foot, according to Simon Curtis, the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Famer from Newmarket, England.