Steele Horsemanship and Farriery

01/01/2025

Happy new year everyone! Thank you to all of my clients for your business and support throughout 2024, can’t wait to see what 2025 brings! 😄

12/03/2024

In everyday work, I rarely build shoes at the horse. I’m just not efficient enough for it to make sense throughout the work day unless a therapeutic case needs something specific (a bar shoe usually, and even then I often use my little welder). However, now that I’m working on my journeyman, I’m making time to become more efficient. 🔨💪🏼

Also in preparation for the journeyman test, I’ll be competing for the first time in January. Will I get absolutely smoked? For sure! BUT it will be great practice forging under pressure and I’ll get valuable feedback on my work. 📝 Plus, it’ll be a guaranteed good time regardless 🤣

11/18/2024

Putting those convention tips into practice this evening.

11/17/2024

What an awesome week in Chattanooga at the AFA national Convention! I didn’t take as may pictures as I would have liked, but I learned a ton, made even more friends and left with some really cool new teaching and forging tools. I also left convention with my CTF (Certified Tradesman Farrier) and am officially embarking on the Journeyman portion of my adventure. Thank you to everyone that has helped me along the way!

This community continues to amaze me with their warmth and willingness to share their hard earned knowledge. 🐎❤️

Congratulations to everyone who competed and those who were recognized for their certifications! 👏🏻

Also, shoutout to Triple Crown Feed for this sweet 2 1/4 Beanie hammer! Companies/sponors like you make it possible for the AFA to continue to further this industry.

10/24/2024

The ever popular “geriatric setting”

Horses love it.

Chiropractors do not.

Getting older isn’t for the faint of heart, so we just make it work! 🥰

📸 Constance Gambrell

10/24/2024

The grinder had to earn its keep yesterday, heel checks on the size 12’s! 🤣 Constance Gambrell working late AND snapping some pictures 🙌🏼

10/18/2024

Hank is a lucky horse to have landed in Kristen’s capable hands. So proud of the progress he’s made in just a handful of appointments. Sharing his story as a little bit of hope for those horses that have gotten a bad rep amongst farriers. Our safety is paramount, but there are ways to work towards “normalcy” in the long run. ❤️

10/10/2024

Is your horse currently on Prascend?

It's not uncommon for owners to take the tabs out of their original packaging and place in baggies for easier dosing. However, pergolide (the active ingredient in Prascend) is unstable in light and air. The pills are individually packaged in nitrogen-filled blister packs that keep out all UV light and air.

Prascend starts to degrade as soon as it is removed from its pack and can't be guaranteed effective if exposed to the environment for greater than 24 hours.

09/29/2024

What an amazing week in the heartland! It’s incredibly motivating to be surrounded by people who are so driven and genuinely cheering you on as you pursue higher education together. I learned so much this week thanks to the guidance of the Gregory family and these awesome farriers! 🔥🐎

09/26/2024

Still going on day 3, but on the tail end. It’s been fun day full of handmades, toe clips, and emotional support sheep 🥰 oh, and caffeine. 🤣 Heartland Horseshoeing School

08/27/2024

07/26/2024

Before➡️ After

Looking forward to keeping track of this one’s progress as we wrangle in the distortion.

07/12/2024

Chipping and Cracking: the current hottest topic, behind worries about hay

Let's talk a little bit about your horses' feet and the environment most of us are in right now: drought.

**First, I'd like to add that the photo is for attention; the state of this foot was not caused completely by environment.**

We all went from really wet, to REALLY dry, basically in one cycle. Feet grew fast, flies came out, horses started stomping. This means cracking and chipping, in some cases, extensive. I've been telling all my clients, especially barefoot trims, that I'm purposely leaving extra sole to help prevent foot soreness, aside from the fact that in these circumstances, most feet are like trimming concrete at this point. That said, optimistically speaking, WHEN we get rain, that sole will most likely exfoliate/slough off and that's normal.

Some things for you to consider:
1. Staying on and/or shortening your cycle by one week. Get ahead of it.

2. Fly boots.
I personally, and the majority of my clients, prefer the Shoofly brand. They help tremendously with stomping and save on fly spray as well. You can sometimes catch them on sale on Chewy, mine are on their third season and still going strong. Stomping is a huge contributor to foot soreness, loose clinches and lost shoes. I sometimes spray the boots themselves with fly spray and/or permetherin to repel ticks.

3. Keeping horses up during the day if possible.

4. For the peeps that looooove topicals: it's your time to shine! Hoof conditioner can help. Everything in moderation and please not right before the farrier arrives.

5. For the proactive, ambitious horse owners, consider having your farrier show you how to bevel edges so you yourself can help prevent forest fires.... just kidding! But you know what I mean! Again, MODERATION, is key here. Something else to consider: learning how to tighten clinches. The handier you are, the better off your horses are.

6. Buy Cloud boots or get good at wrapping feet. This is a great help to both your horse and your farrier! It's a wise preventative measure as well- if your horse does get foot sore, and/or has a loose or lost shoe- until your farrier can get there.

It's the busiest, most exhausting time of year for farriers. The heat is, as my friend says, life and soul-sucking. SHADE is imperative, air movement/fans are a HUGE help both with the heat and the flies. Have you considered that pulling and stomping because of flies is not only hard physically on your farrier, but also dangerous? A kick at the belly could land on a forehead. A tail in the eye can cause a horrible, severe infection.

Put down your phones and help! Swishing the lead line around the legs to keep flies off while your farrier works is one of the most helpful things a client can do this time of year.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, and thank you to my awesome clients!

Your,
Red Headed Farrier

07/11/2024

Lilac Rose Photography thank you!!😃

07/09/2024

Happy Farriers Week to all of my fellow hoof care providers! Thank you for your hard work, compassion, dedication, and willingness to share your knowledge with others (including myself). 🔨🐴❤️

07/06/2024

Happy Saturday 🔨🐴😄