EquineAir Farrier Service

04/25/2024

You know this guy?

04/10/2024

07/19/2023

Equineair.com

ANY HOOF CAN BE SCARRED BY SHOEING AND TRIMMING.... INEVITABLE It can take a period of shoeings or trimmings to appreciate the changes that occur over time. Those changes may or may not suit the individual horse. The time it takes for the farrier to recognize that a problem is developing will dete....

03/14/2023

NEW HORIZONS....PERSISTENCE

When the view becomes this obvious, it doesn't take long for someone, anyone, to point it out. The decisions that have to be made are how to trim this hoof back into balance and find the cause that took it out of balance. Rebalancing and finding out why are definitely keys to the future performance of this horse. Persistence is what will get you back to a balanced foot. It is highly unlikely this hoof can be brought back into balance in one shoeing or trimming. Put this horse on a 3-week schedule for the next few trimmings and take note of the growth and balance each time. Write down and take pictures of the changes from subsequent trimming, and predict the next shoeing improvement on the horizon. There are numerous questions to ask your team about this horse, from the way she feels to the rider to how she looks to the trainer. Keep asking questions, and the answer will become obvious.

06/11/2022

If for some reason there is little to no growth each time you come back to shoe a horse, you must determine what happened at the time of the shoeing(s). There are many possibilities for little to no hoof growth. Let's check out one of the most common causes. The hoof is trimmed too short and this causes low grade inflammation. Inflammation is the enemy of the hoof. The tissues within the hoof expand causing vascular constriction because the hoof itself cannot expand due to the rigidity of the hoof wall. When the inflammation subsides the hoof generally returns to a normal growth rate. It may take several weeks for this to occur. If you have a shoeing period of 5 weeks and the hoof requires two weeks to recover from the trim, there will be only three weeks of growth when the 5th week comes around. The growth is weaker in nature, setting the stage for lack of hoof quality. The fix for this can be a change in the trim, allowing for your horses sensitivity. In the previous shoeings, this problem has been missed or overlooked. The horse will not look lame because both fronts or all 4 feet have the same sensitivity making her look short or apprehensive and less willing to go. Another common occurrence is your horse has or developed a shallow sole depth and the horse just doesn’t have the movement that she once had. Generally trimming is the reason this occurs but consistant work on hard surfaces can be the culprit as well. This case is not usually discovered immediately unless you just started working on the horse. You may have been asked to evaluate the horse. Because it takes time for the sole depth to diminish, this situation occurs with subtle signs. I have these scenarios brought to me on a regular basis and the fix is not complicated even if you have to do more than change the trimming or address shoe applications.

05/08/2022

EquineAir.com

04/08/2022

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/army-report-finds-horses-that-carry-the-caskets-of-americas-heroes-live-in-unsatisfactory-conditions-after-2-die/ar-AAVXFUH

The military horses that carry America's heroes to their final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery are living in unsanitary and potentially life-threatening conditions, according to a US Army report reviewed exclusively by CNN, consuming poor-quality feed, suffering from parasites and stand...

11/22/2021

Case of The Shorts: 11.17.2021

If for some reason there is little to no growth each time you come back to shoe a horse, you must determine what happened at the time of the shoeing(s). There are many possibilities for little to no hoof growth. Let's check out one of the most common causes. Generally the hoof is trimmed too short for this horse and this causes low grade inflammation. Inflammation is the enemy of the hoof. The tissues within the hoof expand causing vascular constriction because the hoof itself cannot expand due to the rigidity of the hoof wall. When the Inflammation subsides the hoof generally returns to a normal growth rate. It may take several weeks for this to occur. If you have a shoeing period of 5 weeks and the hoof requires two weeks to recover from the trim, there will be only three weeks of growth when the 5th week comes around. The growth is weaker in nature, setting the stage for lack of hoof quality. The fix for this can be a change in the trim allowing for your horses sensitivity. In previous shoeings, this problem has been overlooked. The horse will not look lame because both fronts or all 4 feet have the same sensitivity making her look short or apprehensive and less willing to go. Another common occurrence is your horse has or developed a shallow sole depth and the horse just doesn’t have the movement that she used to have. This case is not usually discovered immediately, unless you just started working on the horse, because it takes time for the sole depth to diminish. I have these scenarios brought to me on a regular basis and the fix is not complicated even if you have to do more than change the trimming or address shoe applications.

04/23/2021

Traction can be your horses enemy and yours as well!