When a well-clipped shoe is applied correctly, it sure looks sharp on a horse’s hoof. Some farriers will even go so far as to call them sexy. Proclivities aside, they serve an important function. “Clips are mainly used to improve the security of the shoe on the foot and relieve stress on the nails,” says Tucumcari, N.M., farrier Jim Keith. “They can be applied anywhere around the wall perimeter, but usually only in the anterior half due to their ability to constrict wall movement. They may be used to contain wall flares.”

Attracting clients can be difficult for any service-oriented business. Plying your trade in a relatively small niche market, such as equine hoof care, can make those challenges even greater — especially when you’re launching a new practice or starting over in a new area.

Pal is always lame. He was taken off a slaughter truck about 10 years ago and bought by James Work, a small animal veterinarian in Greenfield, Wis.

RW’s job was done and his shoes were pulled. After years of racing around barrels in cloverleaf patterns, it was time for the sorrel Quarter Horse with a white blaze to take it easy and enjoy the good life in Southwest Tennessee.

Hoof balance is one of those topics that many footcare professionals want to learn more about, but don’t necessarily want to lead the discussion. “Hoof balance are two words that we learn not to use as much as possible,” equine veterinarian and farrier Mark Silverman told attendees at the 2016 International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. “It’s almost impossible to come up with a consensus on how to go about addressing this issue.”

There’s nothing routine about hoof avulsion. There is a wide range of types and severities of hoof avulsions that a farrier might be presented with. They might be a result of trauma or because a farrier had to resect hoof wall to rid it of white line disease. They might come as an acute injury or be chronic in nature.