TG Forge

03/21/2020

Kind words from KEAC!

03/09/2020

Here's a chance to see TG Forge at work, take a look at the difference in Opie's hooves! Such a rewarding trim to do!

02/23/2018

Great day at the World Horseshoeing Classic. One of my favorite competitions to watch. Sixteen four person teams from around the world competing in a three day competition. Some of the best farriers in the world come to compete for the $10,000 grand prize. Always love picking up new tips and connecting with old friends.

01/26/2018

We have had a great week at the International Hoof-Care Summit. Excited to get back to shoeing horses on Monday and implementing some of the new ideas and techniques.

01/05/2018

The end of 2017 brought a couple changes to TG Forge. Frank Schumacher's apprenticeship came to an end and we were saddened to see him go. Thanks for all the hard work, and good luck in VT Frank. With Frank leaving, there was an extra seat in the truck... welcome Lacy.

11/03/2017

Back roads of the Bluegrass horse country! We are so fortunate to live and work in such a beautiful place!

11/01/2017

We shod at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center today, were one of the cases we worked on was a newly surrendered horse with badly neglected hooves. Take a look at the difference one trim can make on feet like these. He was able to walk off much more comfortably with all that excess leverage removed. It is days like today that we remember why we shoe horses!

10/27/2017

We are excited to have started shoeing at Lettleike Icelandic. What great people and horses to be working with!

We'd like to welcome Thad Gouge of TG Forge Farrier Service to Swallowland Farms and Lettleiki Icelandics!

09/30/2017

Great day of lectures at Breeders Farrier Supply fall clinic. Thanks to Breeders Farrier Supply for hosting, and American Association of Professional Farriers board of directors for presenting. Seven hours of continuing education credits in the books...

09/26/2017

It has come to my attention, that we have not posted any pictures of our "regular" nail on shoeing lately. So here are a few pictures from today... Today we were shoeing some of the top Icelandic horses in the country getting them ready for the Triple World Ranking Shows happening October 6-8 at Lettleike Icelandics in Shelbyville Kentucky. Always a pleasure to work on the horses and with the trainers and riders at Lettleike Icelandics. Good luck at the show ladies!

09/24/2017

In June and July we posted pictures of a white line case we are working on. Here are some current pictures of how the hoof wall is growing out. Every time we trim these hooves, we make sure to trim the resected areas back to a good healthy margin. That allows the hoof to continue to grow without any of the diseased tissue. Almost there…

08/29/2017

We trimmed at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center today, and this hours old foal was very interested in what we were doing to mama. What a cutie!

08/20/2017

Here are some pictures of a hoof we recently worked on. This horse has chronic laminitis, as well as with a long term hoof crack which just abscessed. We had to let the abscess run its course before we could do the aluminum/equinox crack plate. Our goal would be for the crack plate to stabilize the hoof, allowing it to grow down without a crack. We have had very good success with this technique.

08/13/2017

TG Forge is excited to welcome Frank Schumacher as the newest member of the team! Frank recently moved from Vermont to apprentice with Thad.

07/23/2017

Here are a couple updated pictures, as well as two from the first post, of the white line case we worked on in June. Notice how much growth we have had and how much smaller the hoof wall resection is. Also, we were able to add a rocker toe on the shoe to move the break over back and relieve strain on the dorsal hoof wall. Very encouraging.

07/14/2017

After a week of shoeing yearlings for the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, we decided to take a few minutes and watch a few sell. Now it's time to gear up for September…

07/11/2017

It is thoroughbred sale time in Kentucky, and we are trimming yearlings to enhance their gait so that they look their best for the sale. The two videos below show how our eyes can play tricks on us while evaluating confirmation. Pay attention to the left front(the one with the white stripe), the only difference between the two videos is that on the second one I used a marker to adjust the angle of the white stripe. Same trim, nothing changed, however he appears to walk way better in the second video.

06/22/2017

We worked on an interesting case of white line disease this week. The first two pictures are of the hooves after our first trim. The next two are after a dorsal hoofwall resection which we did to expose the diseased lamina. The last two pictures are of the shod hooves with Equi-pak pour in pads for extra support. This horse should not miss a beat, and after a short break should be able to return to full time training.