Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working

Contents Why Shoeing Hunters Vs. Jumpers Gets Confusing...... 2 Building A High-End Hunter-Jumper Practice...... 7 Learning to Solve the Formula for High-Level Hoof Care...... 14 Trimming To The Center Of Rotation...... 19 The Farrier’s Role in Enhancing Hunter and Jumper Performance...... 23 Lameness In The Sport Horse...... 30 Don’t Forget The Back End...... 36 Management Of Long Toe, Low Heel In Hunters And Jumpers...... 43 Why Shoeing Hunters Vs. Jumpers Gets Confusing Listen in as a leading horse show farrier explains the critical differences

Source: Dusty Perin

ack Miller is recognized as one of the premier farriers in the hunter and jumper show world. This Jhighly sought after jet-set shoer shared some of his successful shoeing ideas while working at last fall’s Madison Square Garden Horse Show in New York City.

Miller has been shoeing for 42 years and has worked with show horses for 28 years. He’s worked leading shows from coast to coast and border to border along with events in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Since some horseshoers may confuse a hunter with a jumper, can you explain the difference Q:and what trainers, owners and judges want to see when it comes to movement of a good hunter?

There’s a lot of difference between hunters and jumpers, but many people confuse them because A:horse shows refer to them as hunter/jumpers. The differences in their movement are huge and that’s what sets one apart from the other.

If you produced a graph for a hunter, it would be a very smooth graph indicating a certain number of strides between fences. For jumpers, the graph would be sporadic with one to 15 fifteen strides between the fences, depending on the quality of the horse. The shoeing is different as you wouldn’t want to shoe a jumper like a hunter or vice versa.

There are many hunter divisions at a horse show. You can jump a fence anywhere from a height of 2 to 4 feet with a class often offered for every 3-inch increase in height. A lot of people don’t understand the distances. The hunters are smoother and more rounded than jumpers.

A trainer wants a hunter to move with a good, consistent movement, because there are many steps in the hunter ring. If you count the strides in the 3’-6” fence class, there are approximately 168 strides in a fairly good-sized arena. It may vary in arenas that are indoors or outdoors, but generally the strides are set at 13 or 14 feet outdoors and for 12 1/2 feet indoors. So if you have a horse with an 11-foot stride, you’re in trouble.

When measured at a canter, a stride represents the distance from when the first front foot hits the ground to when the other front foot hits the ground. It should be 12 to 14 feet, depending on the size of the fence.

In a conversation with one of the world’s premier course designers, he told me that most hunter courses are set for a 12- to 14-foot stride, depending on the size of the fence. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 2 Q: How do you shoe a hunter that’s working at a canter?

You want a smooth movement with a cantering hunter, which is the main movement used over A:most competition fences. You want a low movement to the ground and a sweeping, striding, flat movement that helps the horse cover the ground. You can always slow one up, but it’s hard to make them go faster. Trainers want longer strides, want the horse to move slower and want them to move with a very fluid motion.

When it comes to jumping, they want the stride to be rounded over a fence and the horse to land and take off with a steady pace rather than at a burst of speed. They cover the ground low and pop their back when they go over the fences.

Can you describe how you approach shoeing a typical hunter when it comes to balance and Q: some of the common problems you see? The main concern is high-low syndrome. A lot of these horses are warmbloods that came over A:from Europe, broken down Thoroughbreds from the racetrack or other varieties of hunters. Balance is often hard to achieve because they’re shown so much and their feet are beaten up.

Everybody thinks the front end is where the balance is, but I haven’t found a front-wheel-drive horse yet. Since everything comes from the back end, you can help the horse by balancing the back end. You’ll get his motion going and lengthen his stride through the back end.

The biggest problem with these horses is that they will brush their ankles behind, but not hard enough to knock any hair off or get bloody. When they brush, they become slightly sore and their stride is often shortened by 6 inches or more.

You may think a drop of 6 inches in a stride isn’t much, but it is when a horse takes 170 strides on a course. If most horses are taking a 13-foot stride and your horse is making a 12 1/2-foot stride, he needs to take seven extra strides to complete the course. Q:What about shoeing the front end of the horse?

Balancing the front end is simple. You have the high-low syndrome where the horse is hitting on A:the outside and the foot is slapping to the inside. To straighten that, you’ll find a lot of inside jams in the heels. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 3 When I talk about a jam on a heel, it’s like an ingrown toenail. If you’ve ever had one, you can keep working and keep walking, but it aggravates you enough that you won’t want to run a marathon. Yet it doesn’t stop you from walking or working and that’s the same with these hunters.

There are a lot of inside heels where horses are sore and it shuts them down, especially in the wide turns that hunters have to make. If they’re a jumper, they make real tight turns and sometimes come up lame. But in the wide turns, wide circles and figure eights used in the hunter ring, it doesn’t show up that much.

Where it really shows up is in the stride, how the horse lands and how he takes off. That’s where you can see a potential balance problem. Yet most of the time, it’s just a mechanical thing as to how the horse lands.

We were taught that the ideal landing horse is heel first in the front end and toe first in the back end. That’s fine with an ideal horse, but you’re dealing with an extreme horse that’s doing more than it’s supposed to do.

You want a horse to reach out and land flat — not heel first or toe first. The horse needs to reach out, grab the ground and set its foot down flat. With the hind foot, you want them to come in slightly toe first to drive into the ground so that you can get a cup in there to help push off for the next stride.

Since you want a hunter to move smooth, graceful and steady all around the course, the horseshoer helps a lot. The trainer and rider are also important as you’ve got to have somebody on his back who can control the horse. A shoer can’t control the effect between the saddle and the bridle, as it’s really a team effect. Q:Why are aluminum shoes often preferred when it comes to movement with hunters?

A few aluminum shoes are actually heavier than steel shoes. Due to the way they are made, the A:aluminum shoe is designed to help the horse move well. Some aluminum shoes are thick and narrow while others are wide and flat on the foot. They all work well depending on the type of foot that you are shoeing.

An aluminum shoe really works well on hunters because it keeps them moving close to the ground. With aluminum shoes, we’re talking about open heels and not bar shoes.

There are a few cases where a hunter will move better with steel than aluminum, but most trainers want aluminum shoes because they’re lighter. Race plates aren’t used since they are made for running around the race track. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 4 Q:What do you look for when choosing the right shoe for a hunter?

There are probably a dozen brands of shoes in the United States and Europe that are used with A:hunters. You can put aluminum shoes on a hunter for 4 or 5 weeks at the most. I don’t reset or reuse them because they are wearing the shoes out if the horse is working. They wear out on both the ground and foot surfaces. A lot of people don’t look at the foot surface, but that’s where the shoe wears the most.

I’ll give you some ideas on the shoes that I use with hunters, but remember that these are my personal opinions.

The Elites are a rim shoe, much like a full swedge. The biggest problem I see is that they don’t fit a lot of feet and can be difficult to shape. If you’ve got a little boxy foot, they go on pretty good.

The Light Champion fits a lot of the horses, but only comes in four or five sizes and the hunter that I typically see never wears a triple 0 or double 0.

The Grand Champion is OK, but can difficult to fit and is often too bulky for many hunters.

St. Croix has many good shoes, but they don’t all help a hunter move well. If you’ve ever shod an Arabian, a Morgan or a Saddlebred, you use a rolled toe to get knee action, but you don’t want knee action on a hunter. Even though the crease fills with dirt and gives them more traction that may be good for eventing, it’s not what you want in the hunter ring with figure eights and going over little fences.

The new Four-Star shoe has the best shape and I like the long break on the toe. It wears the best and doesn’t give you a sharp breakover, holds its shape and is made for a fine nail such as a 4 1/2 or 5 race nail. I like the long break on the toe of the Four-Star shoe. The nails fit in the shoe, lock in the crease and cause less hoof wall damage. The shoe has excellent concavity for flat-footed horses. Q:What is an aluminum shoe used for besides weight with hunters?

It’s used for its thickness, wide web and other reasons since most hunters are flat-footed A:Thoroughbreds or clubby warmbloods. Its used to get the horse up off the ground if he’s slightly sore. You need a wide web to support and protect the sole. I may use some Four-Star, Light Champion shoes, Elites, St. Croix and even Quarter Horse shoes from G.E. to do this.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 5 These competition hunters show extensively and their feet get beat up pretty bad. What can Q:farriers do to keep the feet healthy and sound? We use aluminum shoes on these horses for 7 or 8 months, then wonder why their feet get bad. A:The hoof walls are breaking up, chipping and you can end up with really bad feet. Some hunters on the show circuit are bathed four times a day and worked as much as 15 times a day in all kinds of conditions and surfaces.

The hunter has a tough, demanding career, but there are things that you can do. There are times when you need a pad, but in my opinion, pads are one of the the worst things you can put on a hunter’s feet.

You take the shoe off, cut 1/4-, 3/8- or 1/16-inch off the hoof depending on how long it’s been since you shod him and you get his foot back to a natural balance. Now you use a pad, add that 1/4 inch back and end up with basically what you had when you started.

When the feet on a hunter are really bad, I’ll grab a steel shoe, heat it up and hot fit the foot. I don’t trim the burn marks out and also leave a little sole pressure on them.

I know that approach is considered wrong and I’m going to get a lot of flack for saying this, but if it’s a bad foot then you can’t take any foot off and can only roll up the edges. If you hot-fit a foot, you can leave more sole pressure.

When you cut a hoof down to the nub, hot fit them and put sole pressure on them, you’re in trouble! To overcome this problem, I may use a light hot-fit and a shoe with good concavity to get them off the sole with the finest nail possible.

Just remember that a 12-foot stride doesn’t make a 14-foot horse. Have a great day!

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 6 Building A High-End Hunter-Jumper Practice Honing skill, learning “farriery vocabulary” helped Mike Givney establish himself in a lucrative field

By Toby Raymond

hen Mike Givney talks about how he built his Otter Creek Farrier Service of Johnsonville, N.Y., into Wa successful hunter and jumper shoeing operation, he repeatedly refers to the underlying principles that have become the mainstays of his business: having options and paying attention to details.

OK, that sounds good, but what exactly does he mean in a practical sense, and how do these things help a farrier establish a lucrative niche practice?

Skill-Building Process

“As you build your skills, you’ll be building a ‘farriery vocabulary,’” he explains, “enabling you to look at a horse and know how to shoe that horse appropriately. There’s a lot more to it than tacking on a shoe.”

One of the things needed is a solid understanding of not just anatomy, but how the anatomy works.

“As a professional, particularly working on top hunters and jumpers, you’ll need to have a working knowledge of physiology in order to understand and competently handle the many different situations each horse presents,” he says. “In fact, you should build your skill level every day (when you’re starting out) and not just in one discipline either — specializing will come later. Learn the basics first.”

Building A Solid Foundation

As an example, he cites his early days, when he was happy to shoe, “any horse who came along.” Having grown up in a small equine conclave in New York where everything from Western Pleasure Quarter Horses to Standardbreds reigned, Givney

says he enjoyed a broad spectrum of Mike Givney of Otter Creek Farrier Service at work at his anvil. Givney, of Johnsonville, N.Y., has been shoeing for 16 years and has built his practice opportunities that allowed him to around shoeing high-end hunters and jumpers. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 7 apply a variety of hoof-care procedures.

“It was like taking an intensive hands-on continuing education course every day,” he recalls. As time went on, he learned the “little tricks” that now define his shoeing style.

“It was only after years of refining my technique on the job and at countless shoeing clinics that I felt ready to move in a specific direction,” he says.

The challenging nature of shoeing hunters and jumpers held a special attraction for Givney. He also looked at the financial potential. The influx of “A” caliber horses routinely traveling up and down the East coast, whose owners expect to pay top dollar for top work, seemed to be on the rise. Givney felt this offered the opportunity for him to realize a higher profit margin by concentrating on fewer horses.

“When it comes to hunter-jumpers, less is more,” he reasons.

So he rolled the dice, put out the word and — thanks to the meticulous quality of his work — quickly was able to start shoeing rated show horses.

Building A Team

Sixteen years later, his gamble has more than paid off. With Otter Creek Farrier Service already supporting an apprentice farrier, Givney recently expanded still further by teaming up with Tim Patrick, a certified journeyman farrier who brings an impressive list of credentials of his own to the outfit.

The two farriers had frequently crossed paths over the years, and had admired each other’s work. This long- standing mutual respect evolved into a business partnership.

“It’s a privilege to be associated with Tim,” Givney says. “We tag-teamed and bounced ideas around together all the time anyway, so working together was the next logical step.”

The two share many of the same opinions about horseshoeing, especially when it comes to the little things.

Like Givney, Patrick frequently says, “You gotta’ have options,” and “You gotta’ pay attention to details,” often followed by Givney’s signature slogan, Givney at work, nailing on the front shoe of a jumper. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 8 “Just good enough, isn’t good enough.”

Givney is also supported by his wife, Lori, a biology teacher, who takes care of the paperwork. Son Brett, 13, pitches in when he has time off from school.

Hunter And Jumper Differences

Givney says there are certain things that are important for anyone thinking of developing a hunter and jumper specialty practice to understand.

“To begin with, you’ll need to know the difference between them,” Givney says. “It’s not uncommon for farriers to say they’re shoeing hunter-jumpers when, in reality, they are shoeing either hunters or jumpers, as very few horses have the temperament or conformation to do both jobs in top level competition.”

Givney describes hunters as solidly built, with good bone, good conformation and long, low, smooth strides that involve A hind shoe, punched with an additional stud hole in the right quarter. little knee action. While this is a setup that is only used sparingly, Givney says it’s a good option to have in your bag. “Over the jumps, they look like what you’d imagine in an old painting of horses going over a fence; front legs folded up to their chests, straight and well rounded. Ponies are also shown in hunter classes, so get used to little shoes,” he adds.

“Show jumpers, on the other hand, are athletic; they must be able to move quickly, turn aggressively and push to the finish,” Givney says. “And, because they compete against the clock over jumps of varying heights and varying degrees of difficulty — often at distances that are not set for even stride lengths (about 12 feet per stride) — they typically absorb greater physical stresses on their shoes.

“Since their conformation and ‘way of going’ is not judged, we’re usually dealing with less than ideal hoof and leg conditions, such as thin walls, high-low fronts and limbs that aren’t quite perfect,” he says.

Hunter Shoeing

Because judges do pay attention to the way a hunter moves, farriers must take movement into consideration when shoeing these horses. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 9 Tim Patrick, left, and Mike Givney with Amanda Longo and Hunter Tim Patrick, here working on a hunter at a show, has Champion Saxon Hill from Green Hills Farm in Massachusetts. recently joined Givney as a partner.

“Because the way a hunter moves is watched by the judge, we shoe the front end in a light shoe to keep the knee flat and the stride low to the ground. I prefer a flat aluminum shoe such as the St. Croix Xtra- EZ,” says Givney. “However, if the horse has a symmetrical foot, I like to fit the shoe full, with a hunter-finished heel, boxed and safed.”

Shoeing A Jumper

Support and breakover are key considerations Givney keeps in mind while shoeing jumpers.

“Jumpers are fit a little closer (than hunters) and need the support of steel,” he explains. “They work fast,

For damaged hooves, Givney likes to use This shoe has a double side clip. Givney This is a typical hind shoe, drilled and this “tri-clip” approach. The toe clip and designed it for a foot that was missing a tapped for studs. Note the “option quarter clips help keep a shoe on when portion of the hoof wall. holes” that Givney had added between there is little hoof wall to nail to. the regular holes. This gives him more options for nailing. He drills the holes using a 9/64-inch drill bit and then countersinks the hoof side just a little. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 10 This shoeing package, consisting of an egg bar shoe and rim pat, floated the heel as part of shoeing for a quarter crack.

land hard and turn tight. Therefore, it’s important for these horses to break over quickly in front, so rolling the toes or using an Eventer-style shoe is a common set up, as is using a wider-webbed shoe if they have decent hoof walls. But, in cases of poor-footed horses with low heels, egg bar shoes can offer extra support by mechanically keeping the heel a little higher and ultimately in balance.”

The shoes of both hunters and jumpers will be drilled and tapped for studs, he adds.

Dealing With The Hinds

Givney isn’t a big fan of the textbook square toes that are commonly used on hind feet.

“I think the horse is better suited to decide which way to break over,” he says. “When we sharply square a toe, we dictate which way the horse has to turn over, placing stress on the lower joints. If the horse has a hoof that is too far out in front, we set the shoe back, but leave a radius to the toe.

“I also think that ‘checking’ the heels, not quite extended heels, but a little extra helps support the hinds as well.

In line with their doctrine of “knowing your options” and “paying attention to details,” Givney and Patrick offer these pieces of shoeing advice:

• For horses with hoof-wall issues that need rim pads, use leather. The wall will sink into the leather, which will help hold it together.

• For protecting the sole with wedges, use plastic. You can cut the rim pads from a full pad that has been riveted to the shoe by running the side of a drill bit around the inside of the web from heel-to-heel. This makes for a much neater job. Givney likes to pack with Hawthorne Product’s Sole Pack and oakum, while Patrick has become convinced that Sole Pack and cotton batting is the way to go. (Remember, “you gotta’ have options!”). americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 11 • Givney notes that “there are tons of options for packing,” but adds that it’s important to be aware of the weight you add and that some packings might set up too hard for a horse in this type of work.

• Always countersink your rivet holes on both side of the shoe. Givney likes to place his rivets behind the stud hole toward the heel. Stud holes should also be countersunk. Givney places studs in the center of the web on the lateral side and a bit to the inside on the medial side. He also doesn’t carry or advise riders on stud selection.

• There are several options you can use for hooves with bad walls. Givney suggests drilling “option hole” in between the standard nail holes on the shoe. He uses a 9/64-inch drill bit and then countersinks the hoof side just a bit. He says this will give you the ability to nail into solid wall that wouldn’t be available otherwise. On really bad hooves, he suggests drawing tri-clips. Two side clips and one toe clip will take the place of a lot of nailing.

• Finish your clinches with a half-round file and take the time to put a final finish on the entire hoof. “The extra minute you spend on each horse will speak volumes about your commitment to detail,” Givney says. “Plug the threads on your stud holes to save the rider or groom from having to pick them out.”

• Everyone runs their business differently, but with all the travel and responsibility for high dollar horses, be sure to adjust your rates for this type of shoeing. Top people in the ring expect to pay the shoers who keep their horses sound. Givney sets these rates 30 to 40 percent higher than his “at home” rates, with additional fees for a long drive. “By charging a living wage, you won’t have to shoe too many horses a day in order to make your nut,” he says. “That’s key to establishing a quality-based business — especially when it comes to the ‘A’ show community.”

• Givney says even if you don’t buy any other high-ticket tools, be sure to invest in a good forge. It will not only help with custom fitting and modifications like punching stud holes hot, but you’ll be saving your body from additional stress, which can quickly take its toll.

• Givney notes that his “less is more” philosophy includes paying more attention to fewer individual shoeing jobs. “Pay close attention to your trim and the fit of your shoe to the point of being obsessive,” he says. “Remember the basics and leave the fads in the shed. These horses work hard and it’s our responsibility to see that they do it comfortably and to the best of their ability. My parting words on the subject: Be professional at all times, try to be on time, but if you’re running late, call, return messages and keep your paperwork organized.”

• And finally, Givney is passionate about what he believes should be first and foremost to new farriers: “Join your local American Farrier’s Association (AFA) chapter,” he says. “As a member and now the president of the Vermont Farriers Association, I can honestly say that belonging to a chapter that holds regular americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 12 Here is an aluminum hunter front. The heels have been finished and are drilled for rivets as well as drilled and tapped for studs. Givney has also added his “option” nail holes. Note that all of the drilled holes have been countersunk from the foot surface. meetings, clinics and seminars is one of the best resources from which to learn and share ideas. For example, through the Vermont Farriers Association, we have a full schedule of monthly meetings with a speaker, seminars on a farrier-related topic, clinics and hammer-ins.”

He also thinks working toward certification is a worthwhile endeavor.

“I found that the information I picked up in studying for my AFA Certified Farrier test has been a great benefit,” he says. “The anatomy, physiology and forging techniques I’ve learned have fine-tuned my shoeing beyond a doubt. It’s practical knowledge I put to use every day, which keeps my practice on the cutting edge and ultimately translates into increased revenue.”

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 13 Learning to Solve the Formula for High-Level Hoof Care Honing skill, learning “farriery vocabulary” helped Mike Givney establish himself in a lucrative field

By Pat Tearney f you look at shoeing a horse as a step-by-step process, it doesn’t seem all that daunting. Remove the Iold shoes. Trim the feet with a hoof knife and nippers. Shape new shoes and nail them in place. Clinch the nails. Finish the feet. Bring on the next horse.

But, as anyone who remembers that first time under a horse can tell you, the actual task is a lot more complicated than those simple “directions” would make it appear.

What’s more, it can actually be argued that the mechanical process involved in the trimming and shoeing of a horse is one of the easier parts of the craft to master. It’s coming to understand all the complexities and factors that need to be considered to really provide top-notch shoeing and hoof care that is the real challenge.

Red Renchin, technical editor of American Farriers Journal and a member of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame, says that beginning horseshoers often struggle to come up with a formula for shoeing success — particularly if they desire to shoe a higher level of horses.

In addition to a thorough understanding of anatomy and a working knowledge of the basics of the shoeing process, shoeing at a high level requires the farrier to work numerous other factors into their calculations.

Someone’s Done This Before

First, Renchin notes, any proper formula will depend largely on what kind of work or discipline the horse is involved in. If you start from there, you can draw on general, proven methods of trimming and shoeing a horse for that particular type of work or discipline.

“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel — or horseshoeing for that matter — every time,” he says.

Renchin, like most experienced farriers, stresses that the actual work begins with a careful and proper trimming of the hoof. But he also believes shoeing at the top level requires considering a number of factors before you take your hoof knife from the pocket of your shoeing apron. Those include:

• The soundness of the horse.

• The horse’s conformation. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 14 • The level of the show or competition the horse will be in.

• The environment the horse lives in.

• Conditions it may encounter, particularly if showing.

• The quality of the horse’s feet.

• How much the client can afford.

Renchin shared some of his thoughts regarding each of these factors.

Soundness

If you’re working on a horse that is sound and going good, your job is a relatively easy one.

“You’re talking about your garden variety shoeing job with an open-heeled shoe,” Renchin says. “All that horse needs is a little protection.”

But if the horse has a lameness issue, particularly a horse that is going to have to perform or compete despite not being totally sound, the farrier faces more of a challenge.

“Then you have to decide what kind of a prosthesis you’re going to use that will do the horse the most good and hinder him the least,” Renchin explains.

Trainers and riders will depend on a farrier to understand any performance trade outs a particular shoe or shoeing package may entail.

“Let’s say you have a show hunter that is a little old and creaky,” Renchin says. “He has a long pastern and a weak heel. You might consider shoeing him with an egg bar shoe. The egg bar will give him some posterior support and that may help him to jump better. But in the hack classes, he won’t move as well. So you’re trading better jumping for what could be a lower score in the hacking classes.”

Conformation

Part of dealing with this aspect is understanding the difference between what you can “fix” or influence with your trimming and shoeing and what you can’t.

“By the age of 3, a horse’s conformation is pretty much set in calcium — as opposed to cement,” says Renchin, “particularly with horses with crooked legs. By that age you need to understand that’s the way they were born and that’s the way they’re going to die.”

While you may not be able to “fix” these conformation issues, you can manage some of them. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 15 “With a horse that toes out, you can do some things with the trim and ‘cheat’ the foot, so they look better and can perform,” he says. “But if you try the same thing with a horse that toes in, it will get very sore.”

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do, however. Renchin finds that

by trimming and shoeing the foot to Red Renchin, right, has retired from active shoeing, but the member of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame continues to learn more about establish correct medial-lateral and hoof care from other farriers. A commitment to continuing education is the most important factor for beginning farriers who want to advance to anterior-posterior balance, you can the highest level. enable many of these horses to move comfortably and be able to perform. But they’ll still obviously be toeing in — which some people don’t like.

Among other things, a horse’s conformation will affect how its hooves grow, how they land and how the horse moves. Understanding how various conformation flaws affect a horse will influence how you trim a foot or shape a shoe.

“Conformation may help you determine if a horse needs a squared toe, rolled toe or will probably do best in a perimeter fit, he says.

Show Level

Renchin says the level of a show or competition is closely intertwined with the factor of what a client can afford. Clients at the highest-level shows and competitions can typically afford and are willing to pay for a higher level of shoeing.

“A hunter at the bigger shows is going to be shod more often, probably every 3 to 5 weeks,” Renchin says. “He’ll be shod with the lightest shoe possible, probably aluminum. The motion of the legs is so critical.”

At lower levels of competition, owners will sacrifice movement and action for economic considerations.

“There’s actually a more level playing field at lower level shows, so they may not have the shoes reset as often,” he says. “They’ll choose steel shoes instead of paying more for aluminum.”

Environment

A good shoeing job also takes into consideration where a horse spends most of its time.

“If you know a horse’s usual turnout area is boggy and wet, you may have to shorten the shoes and fit americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 16 them a little tighter than you normally would,” says Renchin. “You’re giving a little extra consideration to the need to keep the shoes on.”

Renchin points out that this is another compromise. Fitting the shoes a little tighter is one thing. Shoeing a horse in a shoe that’s a size too small for its foot is another.

Ground Conditions

These considerations can take in a broad range of factors. Renchin recalls one show he worked where horses had to go up and down a road for a quarter mile from the barns to the arena.

“The road always had lots of sharp rocks in it,” he recalls. “Farriers knew they had to shoe horses with pads or they’d get sore-footed before they even started to perform.”

At the highest levels, arena and footing conditions are not as problematic as they once were.

“With the very expensive horses being ridden today, horse owners have forced show management to provide good footing,” Renchin explains.

There can still be issues at lower levels.

Renchin says it can pay for a farrier The level of competition will affect how a farrier shoes a horse. More is at to understand what makes for good stake in higher-level shows and riders are willing to pay more for any edge. footing.

“You want a good limestone base to start with,” he says. “If it’s topped with sand, you want 4 inches of sand distributed uniformly.”

Renchin says it’s possible for the base to crumble and get a soft spot in it.

“If a horse hits a soft spot, it can be just like it stuck its foot down a hole,” he says. “That can cause serious soft-tissue injuries.”

Foot Quality

A horse that has poor quality feet or thin hoof walls may need lighter shoes as well as fewer and lighter nails. But a farrier again needs to balance protecting the hoof wall with the need to keep a shoe in place.

This kind of situation also demonstrates the importance of continually learning new techniques and americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 17 keeping up on product developments.

“This is one of the reasons you want to be able to apply glue-on shoes,” Renchin advises. “You can keep a horse going in glue-ons for at least a short time while a damaged hoof grows out.”

Acrylic and other types of hoof-repair materials are other products that it’s good to know how to use when dealing with horses that don’t have the best quality of feet.

Client Finances

As mentioned earlier, not every horse owner can afford the highest level of hoof care.

“Glue-on shoes are a good example,” says Renchin. “Glue-on shoes can add $250 or more to a shoeing job. Not everyone will want to pay that, or even be able to afford it.”

That can mean that the method you think would actually be best for a particular problem won’t be at your disposal. To help your client, you’ll need to have a back-up plan — one that can help the horse, but at a lower cost.

Look For Help

Renchin says that these are just some of the factors that need to be taken into consideration when a farrier approaches a shoeing job. He also emphasizes that these aren’t things that can be learned in a short time or on your own.

“You really need to get some help,” says Renchin. “I know that when I started shoeing upper level hunters and jumpers, it took about 5 years before I finally started feeling comfortable in what I was doing.”

Shoeing in the Wellington, Fla., area proved to be a great educational experience for Renchin. The veteran farriers he saw working on top horses in that area were his teachers.

“I spent a lot of time watching what these guys were doing and asking questions,” he recalls. “If I’d tried to learn it on my own, I’d still be trying.”

Renchin also stresses that shoeing at the upper levels isn’t for everybody.

“Farriers sort of winnow themselves into the different areas,” he says. A lot of people don’t want to shoe horses at this level. They won’t want to deal with the stress or the responsibility.”

But if you are interested in reaching that level, it is possible. A certain level of talent is obviously needed, but Renchin stresses that drive, desire and the willingness to make a commitment to learning is vital.

In fact, it’s just one more factor in solving the good shoeing formula.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 18 Trimming To The Center Of Rotation Wellington, Fla., farrier emphasizes the basics to evenly distribute stress

By Jeff Cota t’s all about the trim.

IIt’s a common refrain among farriers, but is the practice receiving its due diligence or is it merely lip service?

In Fabio Gnoatto’s Wellington, Fla., practice, trimming is the mainstay.

“The shoe protects and complements the trim,” he told attendees at the annual Centaur Forge spring clinic in early April in Burlington, Wis. “If we want to change anything, we must do it through the trim. Without a good trim, the shoe isn’t going to work.”

The trim is unforgiving and it will render its verdict on your performance in short order.

“You’ll see it after a month,” Gno­atto says. “If you leave one heel higher than the other, the opposite side is going to flare. If you don’t change it, you’ll keep chasing your flare. You can dress it, but you’re not fixing it.

“Our job is not to make the foot look normal. Our job is to make the foot work normally. When you even up those heels, the flare won’t be there when you return in a month. You are then letting the structures inside the foot work evenly.”

The Argentinian-born farrier follows a basic principle when maintaining his clients’ polo ponies and hunter/jumpers — trim to the center of rotation/widest part of the foot.

“If we find the widest part of the hoof and then a perpendicular line across the frog, the intersection is more or less where the center of rotation is,” Gnoatto says. “Depending on conformation and/or distortions, I trim from the toe to the base of the frog or the same height of the frog.

“The goal is to keep an equal distance from the center of rotation to the toe and from the center of rotation to the heels. Sometimes we have to dress the toe and set it back in order to match the distances. The goal is to evenly distribute the weight.”

Center Of Rotation

The equine foot is a mechanical marvel that has two distinctly different parts of the foot — static and dynamic.

“The static part of the foot, which is from the toe to the center, doesn’t move,” he explains. “The dynamic americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 19 part of the foot is from the center to the heels. It gives the horse expansion and contraction, absorbs concussion and dissipates energy.”

While it might be a mechanical mar­vel, a proportional equine foot tends to be a rarity.

“If you find a foot like that (Figure 1), just keep it,” Gnoatto says. “That is something that I, at least, don’t see very often. The yellow line represents the center of the foot. The distance between the toe and the blue line, which is the heels, is proportion. I try my best to find and keep proportion.”

It’s important to avoid neglecting one part of the foot over the other.

“Sometimes when we’re shoeing a horse, we’re very focused on A proportional equine foot is not something the front feet and neglect the hinds,” Gnoatto says. “Sometimes many farriers see every day. The yellow rep- resents the center of the foot, and the distance we do the same thing with the foot. We just keep an eye on the between the toe and blue line is proportion. toe, but forget about the heels. We have to keep in mind that the whole foot works together.”

Finding the center of rotation is a relatively simple procedure.

“After cleaning up the sole and picking out all of the debris, the first thing I do is clean out the tip of the frog,” he says. “If you place your thumb on the tip of the frog, that usually gives you a good idea where the center of rotation is, more or less.”

Another way to find the center of rotation is to place the edge of a rasp across the widest point of the frog.

“That’s ground zero for me to start trimming,” Gnoatto says. “I start my trimming based on these points. After finding the center of rotation, I trim to distribute weight and stress evenly to the toe and heels, and medio-laterally at the same plane that the frog has.” Our job is not to make Evaluating And Trimming the foot look normal, it’s to make the foot work While horses are individuals and react differently to similar normally … situations or pathologies, there is something that you can rely on as a farrier.

“No matter what job these horses have, the laws of physics apply the same way to each horse,” he says. “An apple always falls from the tree in the same direction — straight down. This is something that I apply every day in my practice. It works.” americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 20 It’s incredibly important to assess the horse for conformation and distortion before you begin work.

“In foot conformation, it’s not often that we find a chronic lameness issue without a primary or secondary hoof capsule distortion,” he says. “We have to recognize distortion, which can be done by watching the horse walking toward you. Damage to the hoof capsule is often irreversible. We need to keep this in mind every time we trim a horse because sometimes we can Fabio Gnoatto tucks his head close to the lead it to the opposite of where it should be.” shoulder of the horse while sighting the foot to ensure it is balanced. When trimming, Gnoatto uses land­marks of the foot as a guide — hoof-pastern axis, the center of rotation and the ground surface of the hoof capsule.

“The ground surface of the hoof capsule should be extended to the base of the frog or trimmed to include the frog — meaning, the same height of the frog,” he says. “Sometimes we have one heel that is more forward than the other, but the main thing is to keep both heels at the same height, based on the frog.”

When using a rasp on the heels, Gnoatto prefers to go across the heels.

“That’s why I keep the height of the heels at the height of the frog,” he says. “Rasping the heels toward the toe is no good because when we do that, we tend to tip the rasp at an angle toward the frog. Then we end up going too far back with our heels, and ultimately at an angle. Sometimes when a horse has low heels, we end up putting pressure on the sole area, especially when we have to shoe a little tight.”

The bars are an important part of maintaining strength in the foot. As such, careful consideration must be given when trimming them.

“The bars at the heels are inflected in an acute angle,” Gnoatto says. “They run forward and inward. It helps in weight bearing and represents the wall under the foot. It adds more strength to the heel and allows lateral movement. So every time we take too much bar, we are decreasing expansion.

“Don’t forget that this is a unit. The bars continue under the foot and meet at the tip of the frog. So, think about this as something functional. The heel area provides expansion of the foot, but they don’t work alone. Bars are responsible for the dynamic properties of the palmar foot.”

Because the bars bear weight, the digital cushion doesn’t, nor should it.

“Every time we have the heels too low and we don’t acknowledge or address that, we’re letting the digital cushion bear the weight,” he says. “Things change when that happens. We get a flat foot and low heels. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 21 That’s when problems start.”

The center of rotation is the distance from the toe to the center and the distance from the center to the base of the heels. In addition, the distance is more or less the same from the center to the inside and outside of the foot.

A healthy dig­ital cushion usually is 1 The center of rotation is the distance from the toe to the center and inch to 1½ inches thick and plays a the distance from the center to the base of the heels. In addition, the distance is more or less the same from the center to the inside and major role in absorbing concussion. outside of the foot. While damage to the hoof capsule is sometimes irreversible, there’s no wiggle room for the digital cushion.

“We cannot give a horse its heels back because once the digital cushion is damaged and loses its thickness, there’s no way back,” Gnoatto says. “We can keep a horse like this going, but a normal shoeing schedule is not going to work because it’s going to be overgrown — too much toe and more pressure on the heels. Depending on the horse and its conditions, it will need to be shod more often — 3½ weeks maybe.”

After trimming the foot, sighting it is critical to ensure that it’s level.

“When you pick up the foot, stand close to the horse The center of rotation is ground with your head almost touching the shoulder,” he says. zero for me to start trimming … “You will be able to see whether the frog is even with the heels and if the foot is balanced medial-laterally.”

While shoes get a lot of attention from farriers and they are integral to protecting the equine foot, it’s critical to remember that the appliances are only as good as the trim.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 22 The Farrier’s Role in Enhancing Hunter and Jumper Performance Shoers are a key part of the team that helps these equine athletes attain their peak

By Red Renchin

o say that shoeing show hunters and jumpers is a challenging job is an understatement. The Tcompetition is intense. Owners, trainers and riders are constantly vigilant to ensure that horses are presented at their very best.

The farrier is just one member of a team that includes the trainer, rider, veterinarian, groom, chiropractor, masseuse and an occasional horse psychic. We each have a job to do.

The farrier’s job, obviously, is to shoe the horse, but it is also to use our experience to recommend shoeing changes to maintain performance. Very often I am given carte blanche in how a horse should be set up and my advice is, “Shoe every one like it was your wife’s horse.”

It is not uncommon for a client to present a new horse for shoeing and tell you he or she knew the horse had some problems when they bought it, but were sure you could fix them. What is important is to understand which problems you can fix — and which ones you can’t.

Hunters Vs. Jumpers

The show jumping world is divided into two different segments, show hunters and show jumpers. Show hunters are subjectively judged for conformation and type, their way of going (how pretty they trot and canter) and their form when jumping a fence. Jumpers are scored on how fast they can jump a course of jumps without knocking them down.

The vast majority of show jumping horses are European Warmbloods. They vary greatly in their size and conformation and body type.

The Show Hunter: A Brief History

The show hunter has morphed into something quite different from the show hunters of yesteryear. Originally, the goal was to showcase the talents of a fox hunting horse, simulating conditions found in the hunting field. Show hunters jumped rails and coops like those found in the hunting field. Today’s hunter course is a combination of floral excess and artificial fences, found only in the show ring. At a horse show, hunters may show in more than one division.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 23 A division will usually consist of three or four over-fence classes and one under-saddle class. Combined total points determine the champion of the division, a highly sought after honor.

The over-fences classes usually consists of eight to 10 fences, set up with four lines of different distances between fences. The class is judged on how smoothly the horse can negotiate the course, jumping each fence out of stride and not changing its speed and demeanor on course. Hunters are also judged on doing correct lead changes smoothly and are severely penalized for “swapping out,” which is changing leads a stride before jumping the fence.

To compete successfully in the upper echelons of the show world, it is important that a horse be a good mover and a good jumper, with an ideal stride length of 12 feet — the distance that the jumping course fences are set at.

There is an informal, 1 to 10 rating system that Show jumpers are judged on how fast they can cover a jumping course without knocking down jumps. This is an horsemen use to gauge the merits of a horse. A extremely demanding sport and very few horses have the 10-mover is a horse that trots and canters in a fluid, ability to compete at top levels. beautiful manner, is well balanced with a long low stride, a slight bend in the knee and fluid, free-moving shoulders. The head and neck are carried in a natural “frame,” with slight contact on the reins. The expression of the eyes and ears is pleasant, and the tail is carried slightly away from the body with no wringing or signs of irritability.

A 1-mover trots with a lot of animation in the knees, hitting the ground like a trash masher. The stride will be short and choppy and rough to post to. The horse will be “on the muscle,” with a very forward short stride, head elevated and usually a bit of an agitated look. These horses are usually made into jumpers if they have enough “scope” (jumping ability). The 2- to 9-movers are somewhere in between.

Moving The Hunter Up

Trainers have different philosophies on changing things. Some are more assertive and willing to experiment. The more conservative and cautious ones will tell you to replace what the horse is wearing and add, “Don’t change anything.” But hunter trainers will commonly ask if it is possible to “move one up,” which means the trainer would like a horse to move better for the “hack classes.”

A hack class is an under-saddle class without jumping. All contestants are brought into the ring at the same time. As they move around the perimeter of the ring at a walk, trot and canter, they are judged on their way of going, manners and ability to work on the correct lead. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 24 Before working on a new horse, it is best to observe the horse under tack with the shoeing it is wearing. See for yourself how it moves and how sound it is. Next, pull the shoes and examine the feet for length, angle, sole thickness and heel sensitivity with a hoof tester.

The basic tenants of making a hunter move at its best are quite simple. You shoe the front feet with aluminum shoes and keep the feet pain free.

The devil is in the details.

The process starts with a proper trim. Formulate a plan before you start trimming. Measure for length, the dorsal wall angle and medial/lateral balance. My advice is to trim the wall to the junction of the wall and the thick live sole. It usually takes me three shoeing cycles before I can understand exactly how a particular foot grows. I am very careful about not removing too much foot the first time I shoe a new

horse. If clients think you left a foot too long, they This is finished hunter front foot. Red Renchin prefers open- heeled aluminum shoes in front with no pads. He shapes the may comment. But take too much off and leave the shoe for a perimeter fit, leaving room for a nickel’s worth of expansion and allowing about 1/8 inch of mental extending horse sore and they may fire you. beyond the heels.

Occasionally a client will ask you to lower the heel and leave the toe longer, hoping to improve movement. Don’t do it. It will only result in problems for the horse. Stick to proper trimming principles and acquiesce to unwise requests.

Aluminum Shoes

The vast majority of show hunters today compete in aluminum shoes in front. Whenever you add weight to a horse’s foot, you increase the effort it takes for that foot to move forward, hence the equilibrium of the weight will carry upward, making a more “trappy” trot. The best a horse will ever trot is barefoot, but that is not possible in most cases. Racehorse shoes are very light, but will not to hold up to jumping. There is a happy medium that you have to aim for that will provide enough protection and support during the shoeing cycle. Aluminum shoes will make a good mover a better mover, but will not turn a bad mover into a good mover.

I am a believer in the “KISS” method of shoeing horses (Keep It Simple Stupid). Ideally, I prefer my horses to go in clipped, open-heeled aluminum shoes in front, with no pads. On horses with ideal angles (52 to 54 degrees), I will shape the shoe for a perimeter fit with about a nickel’s worth of expansion from the last nail hole back, and about 1/8 inch of shoe sticking out behind the heel. On feet with lower angles americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 25 (51 to 52 degrees), I will blunt the toe and set the shoe back to the white line, leaving more shoe behind the heel, depending on the size of the foot and shoe.

Pads

The use of pads is appropriate to ensure comfort in many horses’ feet. I prefer plastic pads to leather, because plastic is more durable and stable, while leather absorbs moisture and deforms.

On feet with angles lower than 50 degrees, you start running into the problem of a flat or negative palmar angle. On these feet, I often use a 2-degree frog cushion wedge pad with dental impression material between the shoe and the pad. The frog cushion distributes part of the weight to the frog, reducing concussion to the weak heels. I do not like using wedge rim pads on these feet, because too much force is directed to the heels. pushing them up and making them sore. I do like flat rim pads for horses with round feet and flat soles. The use of a rim pad to elevate them that extra 1/8 inch does wonders for their comfort.

For horses with sensitive soles, full pads are very beneficial. Another alternative is a pour-in pad, such as Vettec Equi-Pack. The advantage to the pour-in pad is that it does not add any length to the foot and nothing can get to the sole.

A decade ago, aluminum egg bar shoes were the hot item. Since then, their popularity has decreased, but I still use them occasionally, when I want more caudal support than an open- heeled shoe will provide. Aluminum full-support shoes (egg bar-heart bar combinations) are also very useful in protecting the frog and back part of the foot.

Aluminum Is Not For Every Horse

Often, I am asked to put aluminum shoes on horses that are not kept in show-horse environments. An aluminum shoe is a show-horse shoe. Clients have to be realistic. You cannot treat a horse in aluminum shoes as a show horse on the weekend, but as a pasture horse for the rest of the week. The majority of my show horses are turned out in a paddock for about an hour a day, ridden for a half hour to 45 minutes and spend the rest of the time in the stall. This schedule is to preserve their This is a typical setup that Red Renchin will use for a hunter. Most hunters wear aluminum shoes on their front feet and shoes, feet and legs. Prolonged turnout will destroy steel behind. Renchin routinely drills and taps all four shoes for studs. aluminum shoes in a matter of days and then the americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 26 feet will disintegrate, too.

Horses that have poor feet or need extra turnout are much better off in steel shoes. Clients have to understand that each horse has his own way of going and that the good ones are freaks. That is why they are very expensive. It is more difficult to be competitive with a horse that isn’t a good mover, but it can be done.

Some farriers have experimented with alternatives to aluminum. In my experience, titanium shoes do last longer, but they are much harder than steel and the horses do not like the lack of vibration dampening and often get sore feet.

Plastic shoes, while being extremely light, do not provide enough support and durability.

The Hind Feet

It is unusual to see anything other than steel shoes on the hind feet. Aluminum shoes worn behind offer no tangible benefits in making a hunter move better and are contra-indicated. On the hind feet, they wear out quickly and spread out, pulling the walls apart. Stick with a steel shoe with side clips on the hind feet.

Because of over-reach concerns, I prefer to square the toes of hind shoes, set them back to just ahead of the white line and round off the wall in front of the shoe. Many shoemakers now offer a hind shoe pattern with a blunted toe. Avoid shaping your hind shoes with a pointy toe. This causes the hind toes to run forward, causing interference problems with the front feet.

Hind shoes for jumping horses are fit a bit longer than for Western horses. This gives the horses a little more caudal support when they rock back on their hind feet, before jumping a fence. I also modify the lateral branch with a small lateral extension.

Again, do this in moderation, because too long a shoe will get pulled off in the stall or while the horse is being transported.

Studs

For clients that show in big venues, I routinely This is a typical setup that Red Renchin will use for a hunter. Most hunters wear aluminum shoes on their front feet and steel behind. drill and tap all four shoes on my hunters so Renchin routinely drills and taps all four shoes for studs. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 27 screw-in studs can be used. Studs are like shoes: They are a necessary evil. Slipping takes the heart right out of a good horse, making it unsure and too cautious. Horses are all different in their sure-footedness. I let riders do the final judging on what studs to use, because they can feel what the horse needs for a particular course or arena. I tell my clients that it is much better to have stud holes and not need them, than to need them and not have them.

Hunter Shoeing History

In 1969, I landed my first quality hunter and jumper account. Then the horses were dominantly Thoroughbreds, many off the racetrack. The shoe of choice was a heeled Diamond Bronco keg shoe, with toe clips in front and side clips behind. In the early ’70s, lighter shoes came in and we were using steel training plates in front and either

training plates or heeled Diamond Saddlelites These are some of the shoes and pads Red Renchin will use to enhance the performance of show horses. 1. A 2-degree frog sup- behind. In the mid ’70s, the first aluminum port can help a horse with a flat or negative palmar angle. 2. Flat rim pads help horses with round feet and flat soles. 3. Full pads shoes appeared. The late Seamus Brady, to (Renchin prefers plastic) can help horses with sensitive soles. 4. Aluminum full-support shoes offer additional caudal support my knowledge, was the first farrier to put and also protect the frog. 5. Heart bar shoes are often used on jumpers to spread weight distribution. 6. Aluminum egg bar shoes aluminum on jumpers. are used when more caudal support is needed than an open-heel shoe will provide. These first shoes were plain 3/8-by-1-inch turned blanks, with no wear plate or nail holes. You had to punch your own holes and use a router to cut away the toe to rivet a steel wear piece in. About then, Thoro’Bred Racing Plate Company came out with a thick, heavy aluminum shoe in two sizes, small and large. These had built-in wear pieces, but no holes. Bob Peacock of Hamilton, Ohio, came out with the first modern looking aluminum shoe about that time.

In the early ’80s, we saw the first wave of the European Warmblood invasion and the need for a shoe that would work on them. Today, there are several very nice aluminum shoes on the market, in a full range of sizes, with beautiful clips, nail holes and finishes. You young guys don’t know how good you have it.

Jumpers

Show jumpers are my favorite equine athletes. They must be smart, super athletic, cool under pressure, have a good mind and want to please. Of the millions of horses in the world, probably no more than 30 or so can compete at the highest levels with a real chance of winning.

Because of the level of durability required, horses with poor conformation are weeded out. To get a horse americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 28 jumping at the Grand Prix level usually requires a minimum of 5 years. It is very discouraging if a horse with all that training breaks down when it is its time to shine.

The vast majority of good jumpers will compete in plain steel, open-heeled shoes with either toe or quarter clips on the fronts and side clips on the hinds. The front shoes will have two stud holes at the heels, about 3/8 inches behind the end of the crease. The hind shoes will have two or three stud holes, two in the heels and the third in the lateral branch between the first and second nail holes.

Because of speed and the size of the fences, sore feet can be a big problem for jumpers. As with hunters, maintaining a solid, healthy, properly trimmed foot and combining it with a well-fit, proper shoe is the foundation to success.

To sum up, our job is to be part of a team to support our client and the horse.

Clients rely on us not just to nail on shoes, but to be problem solvers. This means taking an active role in staying current on a horse’s changing physical issues. The “never ending show season,” makes this more difficult than ever.

Never in the history of shoeing have we had so many commercial options at our disposal. My advice is, “If whatever you are doing now is not working, change it.” Keep an open mind and be a thinking farrier.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 29 Lameness In The Sport Horse Connecticut vet reviews the more common issues you’re likely to see when providing hoof care for the “English” disciplines

By Pat Tearney

rimming protocols and choice of shoes vary for various riding disciplines. You don’t typically need Treining plates, for instance, if you’re shoeing polo ponies. In similar fashion, certain lamenesses are more likely to be seen in horses used in one discipline than another.

That was the premise of a presentation by equine veterinarian Richard D. Mitchell at the 2012 Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners symposium in Pittsburgh.

Mitchell, of Fairfield Equine Associates, in Newton, Conn., discussed diagnosis and treatment of horses used in the various “English” disciplines, such as jumping and dressage.

The following is a summary of his remarks, as well as the paper published in the symposiums proceedings book, with a focus on those aspects of most interest to hoof-care providers.

Sport Horse Lamenesses

Mitchell believes the most common lameness issues seen in the sport horse are due to:

1. Palmar foot pain.

2. Distal tarsitis.

3. Suspensory ligament injury.

4. Stifle issues.

5. Back and/or neck pain.

6. Tendonitis and tenosynovitis.

While hoof care can be a factor in therapy for The extended gaits and maneuvers required of dressage horses can place unusual torsion on the hoof wall and distal interpha- any of these causes, palmar foot pain is the langeal joint. Lameness problems are most likely to appear in the forelimbs of sport horse lameness in this list that a farrier is most likely to have to deal with. Mitchell broke palmar foot pain down still further, addressing the various causes he most often sees in sport horses.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 30 Mitchell noted that the foot is the most common site for forelimb lameness in these horses. He points out that while a horse normally supports 60% to 65% of its weight over the forelimbs, this is compounded still more in sport horses by the repetitive motion and stresses of jumping, impact of landing and extended gaits.

In addition, sport horses may work on extremely hard footing, which increases concussion. Or they may work on soft, sometimes unstable footing, which can cause unusual torsion to affect the hoof wall and distal interphalangeal joint.

Mitchell doesn’t shortchange the importance of shoeing to deal with — and unfortunately also to contribute to — palmar heel pain.

“The manner in which a horse is shod has a tremendous significance in the development of foot problems,” he wrote. “Long toes and low, underrun heels are significant factors in the development of palmar hoof pain in many horses. The broken hoof-pastern axis that this may create places even more pressure on the caudal portion of the hoof.”

Mitchell went on to note that, “Many farriers struggle with managing horses that have The farrier was careful not to overfill this soft heart bar pour that this sort of structure,” which is frequently was used to help with heel pain in a sport horse. Overfilling the shoe with a soft pour can lead to unwanted sole pressure. accompanied by hoof-wall separation and bruising in the heels and the bars.

In cases of heel pain caused by this conformation, Mitchell suggests:

Setting the web of the shoe in back of the toe and fully fitting the heels is often helpful in dealing with palmar foot pain.

Removing the shoe will make it easier to see the flattened and chronically bruised heel and bar area.

That the areas often respond well to treatment with Epsom salt poultices, followed by corrective shoeing.

Trimming the foot, rasping back the toe from the dorsal wall to move breakover back, and applying a shoe fitted very full in the heels can be very beneficial. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 31 Egg bar shoes may be needed for heel support.

Setting the shoe back with the web behind the toe to move the breakover back and reduce stress on the caudal portion of the foot can help.

Avoiding the use of wedge pads if possible, because they may contribute to more crushing of heel structures.

Coffin Bone Sensitivity

Sport horses also often are sensitive to hoof testers in the area of the sole around the periphery of the coffin bone. Mitchell says this pain can be due to bruising, small fractures or pedal bone inflammation caused by repeated concussion on hard ground, or excessive sole pressure from the shoe.

Radiographs can help pinpoint the cause. He suggests trimming and shoeing strategies directed at reducing sole pressure on the sensitive areas and improving hoof balance.

He has found egg bar shoes and rim pads Setting the web of the shoe in back of the toe and fully fitting the effective, as well as soft sole pours. He does heels is often helpful in dealing with palmar foot pain. stress taking care not to overfill the bottom of the foot with a pour, which could increase sole pressure.

Sheared Heels

Mitchell says that lameness caused by sheared heels most often will come on slowly, but can reach a point where it is acute. It can be a serious problem for sport horses.

Mitchell most often sees sheared heels as a result of conformation or poor balance caused by poor shoeing.

Sport-Horse_Sheared-heel-Morrison2.jpg

Sheared heels like these are often found on horses with a toed-in or toed-out conformation.

“The most common picture is that of a toe-in or toe-out structure with a medial heel that is very vertical americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 32 and ‘driven up’ with displacement of the rest of the hoof laterally,” he writes.

The lateral half of the sole is larger and flared and the medial heel will often be sensitive to hoof testers and the heel bulbs may move independently of each other.

In these cases, Mitchell says the goal should be to stabilize the heel and reduce pressure on the one that is driven up. He suggests doing this by trimming to improve balance and breakover so that the foot achieves a flat landing. This reduces the weight born by the driven-up heel.

With jumping horses, he has seen egg bar shoes used to accomplish this. In very severe cases, heart bar shoes that transfer some weight bearing to the frog may help (if the horse will tolerate the transfer).

Other possibilities that may help include a soft cushion over the frog, or a rim pad with a cut out over the affected area, which encourages the affected heel to descend. He does note that persistence is needed with this technique, but that it can result in a better, more stable heel structure in 6 to 9 months

Coffin-Joint-Related Lameness

Mitchell says that this common sport horse lameness problem most often affects the forefeet, but is not unknown in the hinds. Lameness may start off mildly then become worse. It may first show up in turns, a shortening of stride and a change in jumping performance in both leaving the ground and landing.

Underrun heels also contribute to this problem. Horses with upright, short pasterns, accompanied by a broken-back hoof-pastern axis seem particularly susceptible.

Farriery again should involve trimming to address the underrun heels and broken-back hoof-pastern axis (if present). Setting the shoe back from the toe and fitting the heels fully will help. A wide web shoe, beveled all the way around the toe may be effective.

Also pay attention to correct medial lateral balance and attempt to get the foot to land flat.

Mitchell says sometimes this lameness can be due to collateral ligaments to the coffin joint. Most often, this involves only one of the ligaments. A horse diagnosed with a strained collateral ligament on one side may be helped by a shoe with a wider web on the affected side.

Navicular Syndrome

One point that farriers might want to take to heart from Mitchell’s talk regards being a little too quick to throw out the phrase “navicular” disease or syndrome when dealing with an elusive cause of lameness.

“The diagnosis of ‘navicular’ carries a connotation of permanence and disabling lameness that is most upsetting to the horseman,” he writes. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 33 Mitchell suggests exercising caution in discussing this condition. He believes that it is over-diagnosed in cases of heel pain, and suggests “an exhaustive effort” be made to rule out all other potential causes of the lameness.

That being said, Mitchell notes that navicular problems can be a real and serious problem for sport horses, and says many jumpers and dressage horses may eventually develop the problem.

Mitchell notes that therapy for navicular syndrome requires a long-term commitment. Farriery should reduce pressure on the caudal portion of the foot, support the quarters and move the breakover point back.

Shoe choices may include:

• An egg bar shoe with beveled toe, fitted full in the heels and set back at the toe.

• A full-fitted Natural Balance shoe.

• Swelled heel shoes.

• Reverse shoes (these may be useful for relieving navicular pain, particularly if the deep flexor tendon is involved).

• Wedge pads have often been used to elevate heels, but tend to result in crushing of heel structures over time.

While farriery was not as much of a focus in Mitchell’s description of therapies for his other most common causes of sport horse lameness, he did touch on some shoeing protocols.

For lamenesses caused by distal tarsitis (hock injuries), he suggested Sheared heels like these are often found on horses with a toed-in or shoeing hinds with a squared toe and fuller fit to improve performance. toed-out conformation.

For suspensory ligament injuries, he noted that shoeing can be a major management factor. He suggested that shoes with a wider web at the toe and narrower at the heel would allow the deep digital flexor tendon to assume more of the load. Widening the web of the shoe on the affected side may also help, and attention should be paid to medial lateral balance to encourage a flat landing.

He added that raising the heels and use of egg bars shoes was contraindicated for suspensory ligament injuries, because this will lower the fetlock and place further stress on the suspensories. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 34 Mitchell finds that flexor tendon injuries are far less common in jumping horses than in racing horses. When they do occur in jumping horses, he says they are most likely to have been a result of a misstep or deep footing, rather than the fatigue that typically factors into similar injuries in race horses.

Mitchell did mention shoeing therapies for inflammation of the digital tendon sheath, which he described as a common tendon problem for hunters and jumpers.

“As with so many other conditions, good shoeing and a correctly set-up foot will do much to help the digital sheath,” he wrote. “Lesions of the deep digital flexor tendon may respond well to a reverse shoe, while lesions of the superficial flexor tendon may respond well to a shoe with a widened web at the toe and narrowed web at the heel.”

Part Of A Package

Farriers who work on sport horses are often the first ones to be called in when a trainer or rider notices a lameness. Mitchell’s presentation makes it obvious that if you are in such a situation, it’s important to get a veterinarian involved. Many of these issues can only be diagnosed with an extensive examination, often including diagnostic nerve blocks and imaging. And in many cases, trimming and shoeing is just one aspect of treatment that will be needed to return the horse to competition.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 35 Don’t Forget The Back End Essential strategies for taking care of horse’s hinds range from paying attention to the basics to teaming up with veterinarians

By Red Renchin

ecause of the economics of raising and competing horses many disciplines are geared to the young Bhorse. This, bluntly speaking, minimizes expenses used on a loser. As a consequence, performance horses are started earlier, trained harder and shown more than ever before. Some disciplines now have a never-ending show season, so horses rarely get any extended time off.

It is no wonder then, that even the horses with the best conformation will exhibit problems during their competitive careers. These problems can occur from the tip of the nose to the heels of the hind feet and are often a combination of bone and soft-tissue issues.

Some common problems of the hind limb involve the foot and fall in the realm of farriery. In this age of specialization, some of these problems are breed or discipline specific. Let’s review some of the most common problems and how veterinarians and farriers cope with them together.

Conformation Flaws

Front-end soreness is more common than hind-end soreness, Good basic conformation is the cornerstone but in all disciplines, horses shift their weight back and work off the hind end. In some disciplines, this shifting is more extreme, of success of any top performance horse with a meaning that some hind-end soreness problems are more likely to crop up with those horses. long career. Basically when evaluating a horse’s conformation, you are looking for symmetry and balance between the front end (head, neck, shoulders and front legs), the middle of the horse (the back from the whither to the loins) and the rear end (the loin, hip and hind legs). Ideally you want the withers and the top of the rump to be the same height, joined by a short-to-medium-length back supported by legs of appropriate size bone and a solid structure.

In most things, it is good to avoid extremes. Breeding horses is no exception. However we live in an age of extremes. The old axiom that if a little is good, a lot is even better, is seen more and more in horse circles. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 36 Unfortunately, horse show judges dictate conformation trends — seemingly without regard for longevity. Consequently horse breeders often breed for specific characteristics that are popular with the judges of that breed, such as extreme height, a pretty head, flat top line, extravagant action and exaggerated muscling, rather than good basic bone structure.

It is not uncommon for a horse with less than ideal conformation to have a very brief spectacular career, only to break down, and then go to the breeding shed to produce more of the same type — that often have the same flaws that caused the breakdown.

The result is that equine healthcare professionals constantly face the challenge of dealing with the consequences of poor conformation in performance horses.

However, we cannot blame breeders for all the problems we encounter. Poor management, injury, poor shoeing and — finally — the inevitable aging process all take a toll.

The Role Of The Hind Leg

Even though front-end soreness is more common than hind-end soreness, good horsemen realize that horses in all disciplines shift their weight back and work off the hind end. That means a healthy, well- functioning hind end is essential to success. Different disciplines, by their nature, produce different stresses to the horse’s body. That means some hind-end lamenesses and problems are specific to a discipline.

Farriers must understand that only so much can be done with farriery to eliminate or help soundness issues. Our profession is linked hand-in-hand with the veterinary profession and a good outcome is often the result of a collaborative effort. The vet’s job is to help a horse medically and ours is to help it mechanically. Good communication and cooperation are the cornerstones to success.

Common Problems

We will start with the more obvious issues, then move on to the more obscure. There is an old saying, “When you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras.”

Trainers or owners often ask farriers to address a perceived problem for a horse. The first thing to do is determine if what they are talking about is valid, which leg or legs are affected and the cause. A basic examination consists of visually checking for lameness at a walk, then picking up the feet to look for the obvious — such as a dislodged shoe or foreign material — and finally checking for heat, swelling or an increased digital pulse.

If the pain originates from the foot, a more thorough exam is necessary. Some problems are very obvious americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 37 and others require that a rider get on the horse and demonstrate the issue.

Not Enough Foot

It is a given that adequate covering for the internal structures of the hoof is necessary for soundness. It is not uncommon to encounter a situation where a horse is sore because it was trimmed too short, its feet were worn too short or a shoe has pulled off with a good portion of the foot still attached.

Often horses are shod in front and left barefoot behind and only when they are short and sore do owners pay attention to the hind feet. Depending on the environment and condition of the foot, very often a simple fix such as a pair of open-heeled shoes is all that is needed.

However, when trying to nail a shoe on these compromised feet, your nails may encounter sensitive tissues. A safer solution is often to use either boots or glue-on shoes. We are entering a whole new era when gluing on shoes and using hoof boots is going to be a big part of the new norm.

Hot Nails

Any farrier who claims to have never stuck a horse is either not telling the truth or has not nailed many shoes on. With the number Shoes and pads are sometimes used to alleviate sore hinds — par- of nails we drive, it is inevitable that one will ticularly when the soreness is due to the feet not having enough sole. The pads can be removed when the sole has regrown, or eventually go deeper than we want, resulting in become tough enough that the horse doesn’t suffer any pain. a sore foot.

When this happens, farriers face two challenges. The first is finding the nail or nails and removing them, relieving the pain. The second is not to have the event lead to an abscess.

In the event of a nail stick, you can locate the offending nail by tapping on the clinch or using a hoof tester. Then remove the shoe, starting by straightening the clinches and pulling the nails individually with a crease nail puller.

Trying to pull an unclenched shoe can be very painful for the horse resulting in a violent struggle and making the stick even more painful. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 38 I then gently use my hoof tester to localize the pain source. Often, removing the nail will bring significant relief immediately. Once the nail is out, I like to force Thrush Buster through the nail hole from the foot surface until it runs out the nail hole in the wall.

In the event that the stick was deep into the soft sensitive tissues, it may close up. This will prevent the Thrush Buster from coming through. This can lead to bacteria being trapped in the foot, which can lead to the formation of an abscess.

To prevent this, I drive a new nail back into the foot in the same channel, gently bending the point of nail that came through the wall tight to the foot. I then cut the nail head off so it is flush with the bottom of the foot.

I then use a 1/8-inch Dremel tool bit and drill down parallel on the outside of the nail, starting at the top and ending at the bottom. This opens a channel on the outside of the nail without disturbing any sensitive tissue. I then pull the nail back out from the bottom and treat it with Thrush Buster.

I then wrap the foot to keep it clean and instruct the caregiver to repeat the process for 3 days. I want the hole left open until the next shoeing cycle.

Bruising And Sore Heels

Pain localized to the sole is a common problem in all disciplines and breeds. The sole is the most at-risk structure due to its proximity to the ground and its structure. Ideally it is thick enough and tough enough to withstand the trauma it encounters, but occasionally it needs help.

For barefoot horses that are not in work, simply toughening up the sole may be all that is required. If the environment is abrasive, it may be necessary to soften the sole.

There are several solutions that will draw moisture out of the foot that work quite well. My favorite is Durasole.

In some circumstances, protection of the bottom of the foot requires the use of shoes and pads. Most farriers have their preferences of material in these cases. Mine is for plastic pads. The pad packing is as important as the pad in these cases. I used ultra-soft dental impression material mixed with copper sulfate powder. It must be put in the foot quickly, before setting up to prevent any pressure on any part of the foot. Often the pads can come off at the next shoeing cycle, if enough foot has grown in the interim.

Hock Wringing

Hock wringing occurs when the hock rotates outward during the stance phase. This often causes owners and trainers to panic. However many horses’ hocks twist when they bear weight. It is important to make americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 39 sure the hind shoes are of adequate length and have adequate lateral support.

Attempting to totally stop the wringing by using excessive traction devices is contraindicated. Doing so may cause other problems.

Forging

Forging occurs when the hind foot comes forward and makes contact with the bottom of a front shoe, making a distinctive click of metal on metal; hence the term forging.

The number one cause of forging I see is low heels and a long toe in both the front and hind feet. This is easily corrected by standing the horse up, adding heel support and blunting the toes of the shoes on the rear feet and setting them back.

Every good shoeing job starts with well-prepared feet. In my opinion, that means a trim where the wings of the coffin bone are horizontal to the ground and the pitch of the distal edge of the coffin bone is 3 to 7 degrees from the horizontal, depending on the conformation of the individual horse.

You can only be absolutely certain of this with radiographs. This is a procedure that is rarely done with hind feet. I am constantly amazed at the number of negative palmar angles I have seen in radiographs of hind feet that outwardly looked ideal.

Another cause is “Lazy Rider” syndrome. Complacent riders often cause a horse to forge by allowing it to “go to sleep” while being ridden. A rider who keeps the horse engaged and moving forward can help solve the problem.

Slipping

Traction for the hind limb is a delicate matter of balance. You want to provide enough grip to keep horses on their feet, but not so much to cause the foot to be planted and unable to rotate when necessary. The most common cause of slipping is smooth, worn-out flat shoes. The simplest solution is to replace the worn-out shoes with new ones.

Traction devices range from none on most horses to 1 1/2-inch toe and heel calks on big draft pulling horses.

Here are some other common causes of slipping and their solutions.

• Slick barn aisles: Many barns have concrete aisles that were initially rough but have been worn smooth. A long-striding horse will often lose its footing behind and have to scramble to regain it. A solution is to fit the shoes with 1/8-inch tungsten carbide pins, set about 3/8 inch behind the end of the shoe crease. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 40 Leave it protruding about 1/8 inch and it will make a world of difference.

• Slippery arenas: Footing in arenas and show pens can vary from deep and heavy to hard and slippery. For horses that have to compete at fast speeds this can be a real challenge. For show hunters and jumpers, having correct traction while jumping is essential to a good round. Horses worried about footing tend to become very cautious, shorten their stride and lose their boldness to a fence. Observing shoes during competition where speed is involved will show that a variety of shoes can be successfully used on the same footing. When extra traction is needed, screw-in studs are the most common traction device. During training or in secure footing, they can be left out or used if needed. For barrel racers, a shoe that is a medium weight with good medial and lateral traction is a must. The most popular are aluminum shoes designed for barrel racers or light rim shoes.

• Slippery grass: Polo is one of the few competitions that is contested on grass any more. Polo rules mandate that only a standard-heeled shoe on the hind feet is allowed.

• Slick roads: Amish road horses and fox hunters are no strangers to slick roads. For them Drill-Tec is the standard method to gain traction.

• Ice: During northern winters, ice is a constant danger for horses and humans. One of the most common solutions for horses is the use of the drive-in Mustad ice studs. The usual configuration is three small studs across the toe and medium ones in the heels. The addition of rim or full snow pads completes the package.

Hind-Ankle Interfering

As the hind limbs of base-narrow horses get closer to the ground from the hips, the distance between the legs becomes shorter and shorter. In some, the limb-clearance distance is very small. There is the old adage that a fraction of an inch is as good as a mile — as long as they are clearing. This becomes a problem when, for a variety of reasons, the normal path of flight is changed so that the foot makes contact with the opposite ankle.

Put on your Sherlock Holmes cap before making any changes to the shoeing, because often, shoeing isn’t the problem. Instead, start by thoroughly critiquing your shoeing to confirm that the foot is properly trimmed and the shoes are correctly set. Unbalanced feet or shoes that were fitted too wide, have worn out or have spread can be the cause. If the shoeing is to your satisfaction, then start looking for other causes.

Bad riding is one of those causes. When a horse is moving on an arc, it’s important that his entire spine, especially his head, follow the same arc. The correct way to move a horse outward is from the inside leg americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 41 of the rider. It is common to see the horse’s head being pulled to the outside in an effort to increase the radius or to keep him from cutting the corner. The hind limbs are on a smaller radius than the fronts, making them crossover faster, resulting in interference.

If you are satisfied that the shoeing or riding are not the cause, it is probably time to get the attending vet involved. The most common remaining cause is pain in the hocks or another physical issue.

In the event of hock problems, farriers have several options to help the horse mechanically until the hocks calm down. One is increasing the width of the outside branch of a shoe with fullering and thinning the inside branch. This will cause the inside branch to sink in the dirt more than the outside. You also want to fit the inside branch flush with the wall and safe it thoroughly to minimize contact.

Another solution is the use of glue-on synthetic shoes. My favorite is the Polyflex sport horse hind shoe. The advantage is that it is ultra-light, which decreases the swing inertia. The other added advantage is that the inside is smooth and softer than steel, with no nails or clips protruding to rub on the opposite leg.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 42 Management Of Long Toe, Low Heel In Hunters And Jumpers This common foot problem presents a real challenge for farriers

By Red Renchin

here are very few advantages to having had a lot of birthdays and some gray in your hair, but the Tbig benefit is having a lot of experience and a personal sense of history. In the 40 years I have been shoeing hunters and jumpers, I have witnessed a lot of changes. The biggest is the shift from using ex- racing Thoroughbreds to European warmbloods as the primary breeds.

The shift was supposed to make life easier for all of us. These horses were touted as being sounder, easier to train and better at jumping. The soundness part was a bit overstated. The problem stems from the fact that our modern warmbloods have a lot of modern Thoroughbred in them. This is a problem because the modern Thoroughbred has changed to a finer conformation, with longer pasterns for greater speed. For the Thoroughbred this is not as big an issue, because they are light-framed and their careers are short (sometimes VERY short). But now we have genes for these long pasterns with those for the heavier frames in warmbloods. As a result, over their much longer careers, we seem to see a lot of long-toe, low- heel (LTLH) syndrome.

The second biggest change is the show season that never ends. This means the horses rarely get an extended period to recover from the stress of showing.

Change Presents A Challenge

In one way, we farriers and veterinarians have almost done too good a job. The responsibility of keeping these horses sound has been transferred from the trainer and owner to the vet and farrier. To our credit, we have been very successful in keeping them going with the use of new shoeing technology and better drugs. Now the common viewpoint is that, no matter how bad the conformation, it can be overcome with enough good shoeing and good drugs.

Breeders have been breeding horses with bad feet since Xenophon was a boy and shoers have Red Renchin’s “good” or ideal foot has a dorsal wall angle of 52 to 55 degrees and sufficient heel strength to support the heels. been complaining about them about as long. The coronary band is straight from toe to heel with no downward dip at the heel. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 43 The reality is that there are a lot of very talented horses with poor conformation. Most top trainers will not take a chance on investing a lot of money and training in a horse with known problems, but there are people who will roll the dice and see if they can defy the odds. Most of the time we can help — but not always.

Long Toe

Red Renchin’s “good” or ideal foot has a dorsal wall angle of 52 to 55 degrees and sufficient heel strength to support the heels. The coronary band is straight from toe to heel with no downward dip at the heel.

Roadblocks To Success

How successful we will be working on these comprised feet depends on a lot of factors, most of which are out of our control. Foremost of these is the quality of the foot in question. Obviously, the better the foot the easier our job is. Other considerations include how hard the horse has to train, how horse friendly the show environment is, how the horse is shipped, turnout environment, length of turnout, daily footcare, the owner’s commitment to regular shoeing, the horse’s age and other physical problems that result in uneven loading.

Evaluating The Foot

I have often heard it said that no two horses are exactly alike. I agree, but with the millions of horses, it occurred to me that there had to be more than a few that are pretty close. That means what works on a particular horse may work on the next horse with a similar conformation.

In the discussion of horses’ feet, I am constantly amazed by the lack of clarity there is in terms of describing the physical foot. We need to be more analytical in the measurements of feet. I have developed a hoof-grading system that I use to communicate to my clients the degree of conformational problems I have to deal with in their horses.

The Renchin System

My grading system was inspired by equine veterinarian Ric Redden’s grading system for club feet. It is a number system starting from the ideal foot, which I call a Good Foot, and falling in increments of 1 to a –4. (I do have a grade of -0.5, which is very close to a good foot.)

With the foot on the ground, my grade takes into consideration the dorsal wall angle, the heel angle, the coronary band profile and the lower leg profile, which includes the pastern angle and length. With the foot raised, I look at the hoof shape, the sole depth, the frog characteristics such as width and depth and the strength of the heels. I have found that certain types of feet are very predictable for developing potential problems. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 44 The Good Foot

With the foot on the ground, my ideal foot will have a dorsal wall angle of 52 to 55 degrees, depending on the breed. Western breeds tend to have shorter steeper pasterns, so ideally their angles will be higher than those of a Thoroughbred or warmblood. These angles fall in the sweet spot of not too high and not too low. I like to call this the “Goldilocks Foot.”

The ideal foot has sufficient heel strength to support the heel during the reset cycle, so the hoof will not change angles. The coronary band is straight from toe to heel with no downward dip at the heel. The pastern length and angle are judged by envisioning a line down the front of the cannon bone to where that line bisects the foot. In the ideal foot, that point will be at the widest part of the foot, about two thirds of the way back from the toe.

Looking at the foot with it picked up, the hoof shape will be from wide to medium in width, the sole will be moderately concave and the frog will be moderately full and flush with the heels of the trimmed foot. The heel tubules will be of sufficient strength to support the foot through the shoeing cycle.

The -0.5 Foot

The -0.5 foot is very close to the ideal foot, but during the reset cycle, the angle will decrease to 2 degrees. The foot will have sufficient strength, however, to be trimmed back to the original angle.

The -1 Foot

The -1 foot will be 50 to 51 degrees at the dorsal The -0.5 foot is very similar to a good foot, but the dorsal wall angle wall. The coronary band will be almost ideal, may decrease by 1 or 2 degrees between shoeings. but will be closer to the ground at the heel than in the ideal foot. The plumb line test will bisect the foot about seven-eighths of the way back — almost to the heel. The raised foot will have a medium width with a slightly flatter sole than the ideal foot. The frog will be somewhat wider and will protrude slightly beyond the trimmed heels.

The -2 Foot

The -2 foot will be 48 to 49 degrees at the dorsal wall. The coronary band will have a pronounced dip down to the heels about three quarters of the way back. The plumb line test will bisect the foot at the point of the heels. The raised foot will have a narrow width, flatter sole depth and the frog will be wider and below the level of the trimmed hoof walls. americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 45 The -3 Foot

The -3 foot is like the life of a bull rider — it is not a question of if there will be a disaster, but when and how bad. The dorsal wall angle will be 46 to 47 degrees. The coronary band will descend to ground level at the heels. The plumb line test will usually bisect the foot 1/2 to 3/4 inch behind the heel. The raised foot will be narrow with a thin, flat sole, a very wide In a -1 foot, the dorsal wall angle is 50 to 51 degrees and the frog that protrudes below the trimmed heels coronary band will be closer to the ground at the heel than in the ideal foot. and very weak heels, often horizontal with the ground.

The -4 Foot

The -4 foot luckily is rarely seen in horses in active work. You will see them in cases of severe neglect, but they can often be rehabilitated to a higher grade.

3 Basic Tenants Of Shoeing

In a -2 foot, the dorsal wall angle decreases to 48 to 49 degrees Shoeing horses is not rocket science, but it is at the dorsal wall. The coronary band will have a pronounced dip not simple either. The three most important about three quarters of the way back toward the heels. things we have to be aware of in shoeing horses are:

1. Establish good bone alignment.

2. Using a shoe to give adequate support at the toe and not hinder breakover.

3. Give enough caudal support, but not so much that it interferes with movement.

The devil is in the details, as we shall see. The -3 foot is where trouble truly starts. The dorsal wall angle will be 46 to 47 degrees and the coronary band will descend to ground level at the heels.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 46 Get The Trim Right

“Remove everything the horse doesn’t need, and leave everything he does need.”

— Ric Redden, DVM

In trimming any horse’s foot, a few things must be taken into consideration. The first is the importance of correct medial-lateral balance and anterior-posterior balance. This is vital to coffin joint health.

To truly determine medial-lateral balance, an anterior-posterior X-ray should be taken. However, we can usually come pretty close with a good eyeball technique. I like to lay my rasp directly across the heels and draw an imaginary line 90 degrees to that rasp, bisecting the frog. This makes it easier for me to get my heels correct. Conventional wisdom now says that the palmar angle should be 5 to 7 degrees in relation to the ground.

The only way of reliably getting this information is with a lateral X-ray. It is extremely important to have both of the feet on blocks with wire markers on the top surface to get accurate readings. If you cannot achieve this angle by trimming, than you may have to use an artificial method to raise the heel.

I am a firm believer in knowing and recording the length and angles of the trimmed foot. These measurements are necessary to determine the status of the foot from shoeing to shoeing. My trimming protocol is to trim the wall to the junction of the live thick sole and the wall. I employ what I call a sole- support trim. This trim engages the outer perimeter of the sole to aid in supporting the horse’s weight instead of making the hoof wall carry the entire load. This requires minimal use of the hoof knife on the sole. The preservation of the good heel tubules and bars is very important

Get the Right Toe Fit

The toe fit on the LTLH foot is determined by the grade of the foot. Basically, the lower the grade the more the shoes needs to be set back.

The requirements of the LTLH foot are the same as those of an ideal foot, but with a couple adjustments. First, we have to talk about breakover and the point of breakover.

Breakover is the moment the heel comes off the ground immediately after the stance phase of the stride. The point of breakover is the place on the foot that is the pivot point as that heel is lifted. Ideally, the point of breakover has to be moved back so it is directly under the front of the coffin bone. This is extremely important because it often isn’t the low heel that is the problem so much as the leverage created by the point of the toe. Horses have to be able to get over that toe easily, without resistance.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 47 Get The Heel Fit Right

A similar approach is needed for caudal support when dealing with LTLH problems. The lower the hoof grade, the more support is needed and the more you need to engage the frog to support the limb and relieve the heels from the stress of impact and compression. This can be accomplished with heart bar shoes, frog-support or leather pads, acrylic or impression material.

Steel Shoe Choices

Generally, if weight is not a problem, a steel shoe is the way to go. For grades Good through – 1, the shoe that I use the most is the Kerckhaert SX8. The toe of this shoe can be easily modified by blunting and rolling the toe to achieve proper breakover.

I do not use rocker toes or toe clips on my low-angled horses because I don’t think you can trim the toe short enough without getting into trouble. A safer option is to set the shoe back, but you have to be careful with the toe nails — or just not use them.

For some of my grade -1, -2, and -3 horses, I have been using the EDSS Center Fit Natural Balance shoe with side clips. The toes on these shoes are extra stout so they never cave in and are made of very stiff steel.

To provide frog support with steel shoes, you have two options. The easiest is to use either a flat or wedged frog support pad. If you want to leave the bottom of the foot open, you can weld in a heart bar. I make mine out of 1/4-inch thick flat stock, in varying widths and can quickly weld them in.

Aluminum Shoes

When shoeing hunters, shoe weight can be a big issue but there are some very nice manufactured aluminum shoes to choose from. The majority of my hunters wear Kerckheart Triumphs.

For special-needs horses, I use a variety of different brands and styles. I currently use EDSS PLR shoes. They are available ether flat or wedged, with a very nice shape and rolled toe. Grand Circuit makes a wedged rolled toe shoe called the Scott Morrison shoe, which is named after its distinguished designer, a member of the International Equine Veterinarians Hall Of Fame. TracMe makes a similar shoe with side clips.

With all of the heel-elevation shoes, I slightly roll the heels to remove the square edges. This helps the heel sink into the ground a little easier, taking some of that jar out of the initial contact in the heel-strike phase of the stride.

Grand Circuit also makes a very useful aluminum egg bar/heart bar shoe. I like to remove the toe americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 48 This foot is shod with a Grand Circuit aluminum full Renchin checks for medial-balance by placing a support, heart bar shoe. Vettec Equi-Pak has been rasp across the heels and drawing an imaginary line used for sole support. 90 degrees to the rasp, bisecting the frog.

wear plate and roll the toe to achieve that nice combination of breakover and caudal support. Often I will also fill in the bottom of the foot with Vettec’s Equi-Pak for maximum support and protection.

Using Pads

Pads are a functional tool for providing sole protection and caudal elevation. I do not hesitate to use them when needed. Recently, I started using frog support pads sold by EDSS and Castle Plastics, both in flat and wedged styles. The EDSS pads are made of a very stiff plastic and wear like iron. They come only in a small and a large size, so for medium usage I use clear Castle frog support pads.

It is advisable to put a hoof tester across the frogs of these horses to determine if they can tolerate active pressure. If they are

sensitive, it is best to use a non frog support This horse’s foot is in need of a lot of support, so Renchin fitted it with a steel shoe and welded in a heart bar. pad.

americanfarriers.com Strategies For Keeping Hunters And Jumpers Working Page 49 Hoof Packing

To maximize the load carrying function of the frog, fill the void with some kind of material that is form fitting to the contour of the foot. The most commonly used packings are Vettec’s Equi-Pak and dental impression material. Acrylic and impression materials can also be used to make a soft-pour pad. This can be utilized in several different configurations depending on your requirements.

The world is exactly as we wish to see it. It is up to you to decide if the glass is half empty or half full. Shoeing horses with comprised feet can be very discouraging, especially in difficult circumstances. I try to look at the problem as a challenge that offers job security.

I do not envision the situation becoming much different in the future. I recommend keeping an open mind and do not be afraid to try new materials or techniques. If whatever you are currently using is not working, try something else or seek help.

We live in exciting times. Make the most of it.

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