Farriery involves the skilled practice of hoof care and shoeing in horses, focusing on the maintenance and management of equine hooves. The process includes trimming and balancing the hooves, as well as the application of horseshoes when necessary. Farriery plays a role in supporting the overall health, performance, and comfort of horses by addressing issues related to hoof growth, structure, and function. Various techniques and materials are employed to accommodate different hoof conditions and activities. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, materials, and implications of farriery in equine health and welfare.
Holler AC.A farrier is a specialist in the shoeing of horses. It has been estimated that in the United States over 8 million horses are ridden for show and pleasure. These horses need hoof and leg care. The farrier does give this care and in so doing is subject to occupational hazards. These hazards cover a wide range and include bites from horses and farmer's dogs, ergonomic problems, noise and exposure to metal and welding fumes. Many of the hazards he encounters are unique to his profession.
Clemente CH.A synthetic fixed dressing for great animals is described, which is worked up in such a manner that it is possible to fix on its soles a non-abrasive rubber plate.
Arnbjerg J.After a short review of previous literature about fractures of the navicular bone in horses, the symptoms and the pathological-anatomical changes of the condition are described. The most important clinical symptom is acute severe lameness without significant swellings, but with pronounced pain reaction to rotation of the coffin joint. After rest the lameness is reduced considerably, but without treatment it can persist for several years. Adherences between the deep flexor tendon and the site of the fracture and eventual damage to the coffin joint are considered to be the cause of the persistin...
Elvinge F.The question of the origin of the horse-shoe is reconsidered and China is pointed out as the site of origin. The theory is put forward that the Mongolian people living north of China and having constant fights with the Chinese have learnt the horseshoes with nails from the Chinese and that the Huns on their travel westwards have brought this type of horseshoe to Europa. The theory is substantiated from authoritative sources. The Chinese ministry of agriculture and forestry has given the information that horseshoes with nails have been used here for more than 2000 years. The possibility exists ...
McCann ME, Hunt RJ.Femoral fractures in young horses can occur as a result of severe trauma and generally have a poor prognosis despite treatment. Four young horses with femoral diaphyseal fractures were managed with conservative treatment consisting of prolonged rest, analgesics, hind limb support, and corrective farriery. A favorable outcome in the form of pasture soundness with potential for limited athletic usefulness was obtained in 3 out of the 4 cases. This report supports the use of conservative treatment of selected diaphyseal femoral fractures in young horses.
Ellis L.A 19-year-old appendix mare was presented with severe, acute right forelimb lameness and a history of significant hoof wall defect. The defect began as progressive toe separation affecting the dorsal hoof wall, which was eventually resected by a farrier. Placement of bar shoes by a farrier to stabilize the hoof was ineffective. Radiographs showed hoof wall separation, palmar rotation, and displacement of the coffin bone, consistent with failure of the laminar structures. Treatment included phenylbutazone, radiographic-guided therapeutic farriery consisting of derotation with a wedge shoe, and ...
Anderson GF.The equine hoof and foot are the most commonly affected anatomic sites of lameness encountered during purchase examination of the performance horse. This article presents a thorough, systematic approach to the clinical evaluation of the hoof and foot relevant to the pre-purchase examination. Normal and abnormal conditions are discussed with reference to their potential effects on future performance and soundness. Proper trimming, balancing, and shoeing principles are emphasized.
Holler AC.A farrier is a specialist in the shoeing of horses. It has been estimated that in the United States over 8 million horses are ridden for show and pleasure. These horses need hoof and leg care. The farrier does give this care and in so doing is subject to occupational hazards. These hazards cover a wide range and include bites from horses and farmer's dogs, ergonomic problems, noise and exposure to metal and welding fumes. Many of the hazards he encounters are unique to his profession.
Orsini JA, Wrigley J, Riley P.Home care for horses with chronic laminitis has been discussed rarely in the veterinary literature even though, at any given time, most of us have at least 1 chronic laminitis case in our care that is being managed at home by the owner. Almost all of our knowledge on this aspect of laminitis treatment has been gleaned through experience, by individually working through the medical, ethical, financial, and emotional challenges these cases can present. Much has already been presented on the medical management of the laminitic horse and on strategies for trimming and shoeing the laminitic foot. T...
Löfqvist L, Pinzke S.The horse industry in Sweden has rapidly expanded in recent years. This increasing number of horses implies a greater need for more farriers. Shoeing a horse is hard physical work, and includes awkward work postures and repetitive movements. It is well known that hard physical work increases the risk of injuries and musculoskeletal problems. The risk is especially high for musculoskeletal disorders when certain movements are constantly repeated. Heavy or repeated unilateral loads lead to considerable stress on the muscles, which can lead to rupture and fatigue that can cause long term problems...
Werner HW.For an equine practice to offer therapeutic farriery as a professional service, that service must be founded in individual competence and cooperation between veterinarian and farrier. Inadequate farriery education and experience may result in substandard or even contraindicated therapeutic farriery prescriptions and farrier care. Within continuing education for equine practitioners, excellent opportunities to advance one's understanding of and clinical competence in therapeutic farriery are increasingly available. It is the obligation of the veterinarian to acquire and maintain a working under...
Musterle B, Fürst A, Geyer H, Räber M, Weishaupt MA.Good cooperation between farrier, veterinarian and horse owner is an important prerequisite for optimal support of the horse with regards to shoeing and hoof health. The introduction of a joint educational aid aims to improve the level of education of both veterinarians and farriers. The interactive, multimedia approach represents an innovative new dimension in instruction techniques, predominantly provided through images and videos. The contents of the new teaching aid will focus on detailed anatomy of the foot and distal limb, as well as currently accepted shoeing practices and techniques an...
Aoki O.Most of the principles of farriery have been derived from practical experience and traditional skills of individual farriers. To date, there has been little done in the way of good science and few publications have appeared to advance the discipline. Therefore, opinions or policies on horse shoeing vary greatly between farriers and members of the veterinary profession. The aim of this workshop was to present the latest information on biomechanical analysis of horse shoeing as it relates to modern day farriery and could have direct benefits for the future of shoeing in performance horses.
Stevenson K.As a recipient of the Worshipful Company of Farriers' equine veterinary studies award, Edinburgh vet student Karis Stevenson got the opportunity to learn firsthand what farriers do. She spent a week with Stephen Newman near Paisley. Here, she gives a snapshot of what she learnt.
Klohnen A, Trostle SS, Stone WC, Johanningmeier D, Wilson DG, Hendrickson DA.A yearling horse was presented with a septic, transverse fracture in the frontal plane of the distal phalanx. The fracture fragment was surgically removed from the parent bone via the sole. The foot was managed by corrective farriery and the horse was able to be ridden for pleasure.
Clemente CH.A synthetic fixed dressing for great animals is described, which is worked up in such a manner that it is possible to fix on its soles a non-abrasive rubber plate.
Kaneene JB, Miller R, Ross W, Gilbert L.Data from two 12 month prospective monitoring programs that followed management, economics and animal health from randomly-sampled equine operations in Michigan were used to determine patterns of health maintenance. Health maintenance measures were grouped, and average uses per year were computed for the most-common measures reported: respiratory, Potomac Horse Fever, neurological and multiple-system vaccinations, deworming, and general farrier work. Factors examined for potential association with health maintenance measure use were numbers of equids and horse-days on the operation, average ag...
Sanigavatee K, Poochipakorn C, Charoenchanikran P, Joongpan W, Chanda M.Z-bar shoeing has been implemented to relieve uniaxial palmar pain arising from the structures in the affected region. However, there have been no reports on the long-term application of the z-bar shoe during exercise training regimens. A 10-year-old mixed-breed show jumping pony presented with an occasional short stride and abnormal rhythm while turning during routine exercise for three months. Gait analysis conducted by trotting off on both hard and soft surfaces showed no lameness in the straight line on both types of surfaces. However, right forelimb lameness was detected with moderate and...
Clayton HM.High speed cinematography was used to measure the timing and distance characteristics of the trot in five sound horses. Two farriery treatments were compared: (1) normal, in which the dorsal hoof wall was aligned with the pastern axis in all four feet and (2) acute hind hoof angulation, in which the hind toes were allowed to grow relatively longer than the heels, so that the angulation was approximately 10 degrees lower than the normal hind hoof angle for the individual animal. Comparison between the two treatments showed that the acute hind hoof angulation was associated with significant incr...
Caudron I, Grulke S, Farnir F, Vanschepdael P, Serteyn D.Adaptation of an in-foot shoe force sensor and the gait analysis system 'Fscan' makes it possible to monitor the distribution of the vertical forces under the equine foot in motion. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of two different trimmings on forces under the foot during the trot. The first one increased the height of the lateral hoof wall and the second one restored the mediolateral balance of the foot. These two trimmings were examined by using a radiographical method that quantifies the interphalangeal articular asymmetries due to asymmetrical bearing. The location of t...
Caure S, Bonomelli N, Carro M, Leveillard D, Blanville F, Mortagne P, Cousty M, Weller R.Although the effects of both the surfaces and plantar angles on equine locomotion have been widely discussed, limited scientific data are available. Methods: Our objectives were to determine the effects of two surfaces (asphalt and sand) and of 3-degree hind toe or heel elevation on horse kinematics in an experimental study. Six saddle horses were shod with a reference shoeing (REF), characterized by a fore aluminium (REF F) and hind steel racehorse (REF H) shoeing. Two dimensional kinematic videos compared horse's kinematic parameters when walking and trotting on asphalt and sand. On asphalt,...
O'Grady SE, Dryden VC.A club foot or flexural deformity may affect a horse at any stage of life from neonate through adulthood. The emphasis of this article is on defining and recommending the appropriate farriery for flexural deformities involving the deep digital flexor tendon and the distal interphalangeal joint. Clinical management of the flexural deformity is influenced by the severity, duration, and etiology of the club foot as well as the degree and source of lameness. Also discussed is the management of mismatched hoof angles, which remains a controversial subject for both farrier and veterinarian.
Meier H.The biography of Colonel Hermann Schwyter, equine surgeon of the Swiss Army from 1928 to 1937, and the history of training of farriers in Switzerland since the 18th century are presented. Hermann Schwyters dissertation examined the changes of equine hoof confirmation as a result of standing and gait in approximately 2,000 horses and numerous anatomical specimens. He defines the foot placement, describes possible variations, their causes and effects. Significant is also his study of the compression pathology in horses and mules. His recommendations are still valid today. The present article ref...
Doughty A, Cross N, Robins A, Phillips CJ.There are ethical concerns regarding the loss of horses from various equine industries and their corresponding slaughter. However, to date, no empirical evidence regarding the extent of this loss, nor of the condition of horses involved, exists within Australia. Objective: To determine the approximate ages, brand type and condition of feet of horses relinquished to an export abattoir in Australia. Methods: Data were collected from 340 horses processed at an Australian abattoir from November 2007-January 2008. Foot abnormalities, injuries and hoof indicators of overgrown and untrimmed hooves we...
Brandstetter J, Stanek C, Hinterhofer C.The use of handmade particulate reinforced alloy horseshoes (MMC metal matrix composites) was tested in a field study on 15 riding and draught horses. All horseshoes have been tempered after having been manually forged and tested concerning their surface imperfection. Forging temperature ranged between 350 degrees and 420 degrees C. Horseshoes in series A consisted of particulate reinforced wrought alloy (22% Al2O3 in alloy matrix). 11 shoeing periods with a duration of mean = 49.7 days (sd = 13.6) were evaluated. Horseshoes in series B consisted of particulate reinforced foundry alloy (20% Si...
Curtis S, Ferguson DW, Luikart R, Ovnicek G.Several of the technical approaches applied to the foot overlap with regard to intent. Frog or solar support, for example, may be provided either to stabilize the distal phalanx within the hoof capsule or in an effort to unload regional pain arising from the solar surface of the foot. It is likewise obvious that some techniques such as lowering the heels to achieve phalangeal realignment and raising the heels to relieve deep digital flexor tendon tension are contradictory. In these instances, it is not that one technique is always correct but that differences exist among horses. Currently, it ...
Thomason JJ, Bignell WW, Sears W.The relative contribution of a number of random and fixed variables to variation in surface strain magnitudes on the hoof capsule was assessed for healthy feet under normal conditions. Principal strains were recorded in vivo from 5 rosette gauges glued around the circumference of the right forefeet of 4 horses on 4 occasions over a 9 month period. Recordings were made at every other trimming and reshoeing. During each session, gauges were positioned with a template for repeatability. Strains were recorded at the trot and canter (at consistent speeds), for straight motion and turns, and before ...
Dejardin LM, Arnoczky SP, Cloud GL, Stick JA.To evaluate changes in strain patterns in normal equine hooves following 4-point trimming, using photoelastic stress analysis. Methods: 15 equine front limbs with normal hoof configuration. Methods: Limbs were disarticulated at the carpometacarpal joint. Weight-bearing surfaces of each hoof were trimmed level to ensure 100% ground contact. Hoof walls were coated with a custom-made strain-sensitive plastic, and limbs were loaded to a third of body weight. Using a polariscope, strain distribution, magnitudes, and directions were evaluated in level hooves as well as before and after standardized ...
Fürst A, von Salis B, Isenbügel E, Weishaupt M, Bertolla R, Geyer H.In the past few years marked changes in the field of farriery have been noted. In addition to the classical farrier, many new occupations concerned with hoof care have emerged, such as hoof trimmer, hoof technician, hoof orthopedist and hoof naturopath. Furthermore, a tremendous number of hoof protection systems have been developed, with an ever-increasing application to horses. However, regulations regarding alternative shoeing methods are insufficient and it is not clear, who governs the quality of the work of the individuals involved. Thus, a neutral authority composed of farriers and veter...
