Farrier jay Knapman AWCF

02/07/2025

Prefabricated bar shoe from the van today to try and make this fella feel more comfortable.

He has side bone, which is ossification to the lateral cartilages located either side of the pedal bone.

I’ve worked the ground surface on the lateral branch of the shoe to soften his landing.
I’ve kept away from nailing near the heel on the outside as the foot is very upright and I’m trying to promote expansion in the heel area.

16/06/2025

Trimming and then trimming some more 😳
Today I visited this lovely 20 year old mare who has been "not neglected” but let’s say in the wrong hands for some time!

So today I worked with James at Hallum vets.
The X Rays James took was absolutely crucial for me to work against.
Excuse my reflection in the X Ray photo! 🤣

As you can imagine the amount of dorsal wall to come off this mare, this lead to a whopping laminar wedge. This is basically tissue that has become necrotic and needs to be removed.

Extensive sole was removed and as I worked further towards the p3 (pedal bone) I came across 4 layers of bruising 😬

The great thing about having James there wasn’t just for the X Rays but for giving the mare the sedation so I could work efficiently and safely for me and the horse.

We were pleased with the end result and now will wait to see how she gets on.

Thanks for looking 👀

25/04/2025

"A different approach “
First time shoeing this lovely mare. I’m not saying the previous farrier was wrong but this I feel needed to sit on a broader section of steel, and anyhow that would have taken great effort to fit the previous shaped foot! 😳

The foot was distorted at the toe and contracted the medial branch of the foot. However bit of foot to remove also which helped me make the change. The medio lateral balance wasn’t too far off.

I was pleased with the end result and the horse trotted up nicely after the shoeing with level foot fall.

Happy Friday everyone, have a good weekend 😎🔨🔥

13/03/2025

Meet Ted. Ted is a new one under my care as from today. He’s not had fronts on for a long time, however stones up the white line is making him foot sore and keeping him and his rider from what they love to do!

Nice to meet you Ted 😀🔨🧲👍🏼

07/11/2024

⚠️Laminitis ⚠️
Even though we are in November, don’t let that put you off guard ! With these above average temperatures for this time of the year, the grass is still good and growing.

25/09/2024

Using the red horse products in this chaps frogs before the dim is applied has really made a big difference in the health of his frogs. 😀👍🏼

21/08/2024

Race pony going really well after intermittent lameness. Now shod with a spider plate and impression material with a wide web mustad Libero 👌🏻

25/12/2023

Merry Christmas to all my brilliant customers.
I’ve been overwhelmed with lovely gifts this year! But seriously not just that but thanks for your continued support. 🙏

Have an amazing day wherever you are today and have a happy New year 🥳

18/12/2023

The Christmas rush is definitely in full swing! Thanks for your patience and continued support merry Christmas all 🎄🎅🏻🔨🔥

05/10/2023

Been a long road for this fella and his owner! But today we had a very nice sound walk 😀🤞🏼
He had hoof wall separation, which is a bacterial and fungal degenerative condition and attacks the white line and hoof wall.

As time went on the cavity in the hoof capsule got bigger, so the only way forward was to remove the outer wall so I could get to the degenerative material.
Problem he has then was feeling the pinch due to the amount of wall I had to remove. So that’s when I fitted a spider plate and impression material so we could spread the weight bearing load around his hoof.
A couple shoeings in he’s still not 100% but now after having X Rays we are happy there is nothing sinister underneath, so I can cover that area with resin. Pro-Glu Ltd.

Today he’s striding out so let’s keep our fingers crossed 🤞🏼

04/04/2023

“Big Harley”
Was nice to have the time to get a pair of 3/4 fullered handmades on today.
15 inch’s of 30x10 🔨💪🏾🔥

21/03/2023