Most farriers come to your barn, stick your horse in the cross ties, and pull out a rasp.
That leaves your horse with a trim and a set of shoes that looks almost like every other horse in the barn.
I do things differently. The first time I see your horse, I’ll ask you to walk and trot your horse in-hand. I may even ask you to put a saddle on him and hop on for a few minutes or take her out on the longe line. Almost like you would expect in a lameness evaluation from your veterinarian.
Why Do This When I’m Just Putting a Shoe on a Hoof?
Horses will tell you what they need if you pay attention to the relationships between conformation, movement patterns, and joint alignment. Evaluating the horse’s movement gives you much more information about the trim and shoe a horse needs than just looking at the lower leg and hoof.
My mentors Tony Gonzales and Clyde Caldwell taught me to look at the whole picture, including rider position and tack fit.
An issue in the hind end could be why your horse’s shoulder is so over-developed – and why your saddle never fits quite right. On the other hand, a pinching saddle could be the cause of that hind end issue.
I use what I see in your horse’s gaits and body to make decisions on how to shoe your horse.
Contact Me If Your Horse:
- Has an ongoing issue like a chronic quarter crack that continues to split your horse’s hoof even though your horse is on good ground and gets adequate nutrition
- Suddenly isn’t performing as well as he used to and yet is sound
- Has an overdeveloped shoulder or hip that doesn’t even out despite hours of flatwork
- Struggles with lead changes…or the half pass to the right…or drifts hard to the left between fences…or any other training problem that hasn’t gone away despite time with your trainer