In the last 100 years, technology has advanced at breakneck speed. Of all the years humanity has been hunting, gathering, building and advancing, it’s only in the last few decades that we get to hold incredibly powerful computers in the palms of our hands and worry about too much blue light exposure.

One fun fact I like to use to illustrate the divide between the speed of modern technology and the scope of human history is ancient Egypt. Did you know that when Cleopatra was alive, the pyramids were already about 2,500 years old — that’s farther removed than we are now from the birth of Jesus. Cleopatra actually lived closer to the moon landing than she did the building of the pyramids by about 500 years. And the computer responsible for the lives of the Apollo 11 crew had about 30 times less capacity than a TI-84 calculator.

People have been wary about the rapid pace of technological development for ages. If you’ve read any of these books, watched any of these movies or ever used the phrase “Big Brother,” you know that we’ve always worried about technology surpassing humans.

• Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Brave New World
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (the book Blade Runner was based on)
• I, Robot
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Terminator
• The Matrix

Check out this article from 1863 by Samuel Butler in Christchurch, New Zealand, speculating about the eventual domination of mankind by machines.

All that to say, fears about artificial intelligence (AI) are not new. Comparing some dystopian books and movies to today, it’s easy to say that AI domination has not come to pass. However, people are raising real fears about the future of their jobs. As AI tools continue to improve, marketing teams, software developers, data analysts, graphic designers, video producers and editors among others are all in AI’s crosshairs. Even customer service jobs are at risk (have you noticed more “Order Here” contactless kiosks in fast food restaurants?).

Thankfully, there doesn’t yet exist a machine that can shoe your horse. Farriers are largely exempt from AI concerns. Robots that can walk without failing miserably are a long way off, let alone one that can get under a 1,000-pound animal and take a knife to its foot.

Though, AI tools have been inching into farriery and veterinary medicine for years. The Horse reported that AI has been used to evaluate eventing horses at FEI competitions. The American Veterinary Medical Association has said it’s likely to transform veterinary care, which you can read more about here. The Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine hosted its second annual Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine this spring.

Software such as TTcareEquine, Emble and Sleip, which partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, offers lameness diagnostics through gait analysis and biometric data. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority partnered with Amazon Web Services in 2023 to enhance equine safety by analyzing factors contributing to injuries. In 2021, Paso Robles, Calif., researcher John Craig took to the virtual stage at the International Hoof-Care Summit to talk about AI and hoof measurements. You can watch his presentation here.

These can be helpful tools for horse owners and equine professionals to aid in care decisions. However, they’re not fool proof. AI is known for “hallucinating” data and not citing sources, making it a helpful tool but not completely reliable today, especially in equine care.

A 2025 study analyzed the accuracy of AI on various equine topics. Chat GPT, Microsoft Co-Pilot and Extension Bot were asked a series of beginner, intermediate, advanced and “hot topic” questions about general care, facilities management, nutrition, genetics and reproduction. According to the study, each answer was evaluated for accuracy, relevance, thoroughness and source quality. Scores varied between AI models, each with their strengths and weaknesses.

“Overall, the AI programs struggled with complex topics and were inconsistent in their strengths,” the authors say. “This research demonstrates that although AI tools may have potential as resources, they currently fall short of expertise and knowledge that can be offered by equine extension specialists.”

I’m sure you’ve seen the AI videos of a disembodied hand trimming (I use that word loosely) a vaguely equine-looking foot with its leg pointing the wrong direction. Here’s a good example. I also chuckle at this one.

AI cannot take away the physical labor of farriery, nor can it diminish the expertise of farriers with years of hands-on and interpersonal experience. Though as they improve, these tools could be an aid to hoof-care professionals. Input your finances, and Chat GPT can budget your year for you. It could also help calculate hoof angles, predict what one shoeing package might do long-term over another or give step-by-step instructions on how to build a complex shoe. For farriers, are these uses worth it when the same end result can be achieved with a phone call to a friend or a visit to a mentor? Maybe it’s situational.

Though Chat GPT cannot do the physical work of a farrier, as veterinary use of AI improves — maybe faster than farrier use — how will it affect equine care? It’s impossible to say. Will vets rely on farriers less for shoeing prescriptions or work better together if veterinary knowledge of shoeing improves?

The bottom line is that AI is not going anywhere, and it will continue to rapidly improve. Whether it helps or hurts us down the road is ultimately up to us. For now, I’ll continue to poke fun at AI hoof-care videos (“care” being a generous interpretation).

Share your thoughts on AI and its impact on the hoof-care world in the comments below.