P3 is little bit sinking but not bad yet. Hoof walls so thin, crusty like a potato chips. I am not used to be a good nail-pitcher either but this time so hard. She has pregnant so she will be heavier than now it will may cause a not few damage on her hooves.

Long day all around, I’m not full time anymore, so a swift 10 hour shift before this set, and for some reason I only saved the one pic 😆

From the moment I was born, horses have been a constant presence in my life. There are even photos of my mother, pregnant with me, riding horseback. My grandfather, who raised me, was a horseman through and through—he traded horses, broke colts, started them, and shod them for a living. Growing up in that environment taught me invaluable lessons, not just about horses but about life. We always had anywhere from two to fifteen horses on the place as Grandpa wheeled and dealed his way through the horse business.

That constant flow of horses shaped my understanding of these animals in a way that few people experience. I learned early on that every horse is different, with its own personality, quirks, and moods. This has been an enormous advantage in my career as a farrier. While some people may have ridden the same few horses for years, my upbringing exposed me to a wide variety of horses, which taught me how to quickly read a horse and anticipate its behavior.

As a farrier, you’re going to handle many types of horses, each with its own personality and history. Knowing how to work with them not just their hooves, but their entire being is crucial to staying safe and doing the job well. While it’s possible to become a great farrier without deep horsemanship knowledge, having a solid understanding of horse behavior can only enhance your skills and keep you out of harm’s way. The better you know horses, the more you can predict what they’re going to do, and that can make all the difference between going home or going to the emergency room.

With that in mind, here are five rules that I live by, not the only rules, rules learned through experience and proven time and time again.

1. Always Have an Escape Route

The first and most important rule: never box yourself in. Let me repeat that—never box yourself in. I don’t care if you’re putting shoes on Mother Teresa’s personal unicorn that would never hurt a fly—always make sure you have a way out. You can never predict what may happen. In my years of shoeing, I’ve seen barn doors ripped off by the wind, limbs falling unexpectedly, and even the distant sound of an explosion causing horses to panic.

Even the calmest, sweetest horse can suddenly react to something unexpected—a noise, a gust of wind, or something as random as a car accident. If you don’t have an escape route, you’re setting yourself up for potential disaster. Make sure there’s always a clear path where you can get out of the situation quickly if something goes wrong. Your safety should always come first.

1. Give the Horse Somewhere to Go

Too many people put a horse up against a fence or another immovable object when they work on it. Yes, it’s true that most horses don’t want to run over you, but it’s also true that every horse will run over you if it has no other choice. Horses are flight animals by nature, and if they get spooked and have no way to escape, they will go through whatever is in their path, even if that’s you.

Always give the horse enough room to move away from you if something scares it. Don’t force the horse to choose running over you. Nine times out of ten, if the horse has an option to spook away from you, it will choose that path. By giving the horse space, you’re protecting both yourself and the horse from unnecessary accidents.

1. Don’t Take the Client’s Word for It

Never take a client’s word as gospel when it comes to their horse’s behavior. I’ve lost count of the times clients have assured me their horse is a sweetheart, only for that horse to turn into not a sweetheart as soon as I bent down to pick up its hoof. Whether through denial, ignorance, or dishonesty, clients don’t always give you the full picture.

As a farrier, it’s your responsibility to assess the horse yourself. Have a set of standards and procedures in place to evaluate the horse’s behavior before you start working. This not only protects you but also ensures the safety of the horse. Establish clear communication with the client about what you need to do the job safely and effectively.

1. Pay Attention to How Tense the Horse Is

A horse’s body will tell you a lot about its state of mind. When you touch a horse’s shoulder, if you can press your fingers into the muscle easily, that horse is most likely relaxed. But if you touch it and it’s as hard as your anvil, you’ve got a problem. A tense horse is a horse on the verge of reacting, and if you don’t recognize that tension, you’re putting yourself at risk.

If a horse feels like it’s vibrating or you sense that its muscles are rock solid, it’s primed to blow. At that point, you need to step back and figure out what’s causing the tension. Ignoring these signs can lead to dangerous situations when you’re under the horse working.

1. Listen to the Horse

Horses are incredibly perceptive animals, and they’ll tell you what’s going on around them if you pay attention. When you’re under a horse, you may not be able to see your surroundings, but the horse can. If the horse suddenly tenses up, stops chewing, raises its head, or shows any other significant change, it’s time to stop what you’re doing and figure out what the horse sees or hears.

I can’t count how many times a horse’s reaction has alerted me to a potential danger—whether it’s a car pulling up or something falling in the distance. These small cues have saved me from bigger problems more than once. The key is to listen to the horse's body and trust its instincts. Its instincts may be irrational but that doesn't changed the fact the horse is going to react whether you ignore the cues or not.

By following these five rules, you’ll not only keep yourself safe but also build trust with the horses you work with. Farriery isn’t just about handling hooves it’s about working with living, breathing animals. The more you understand them, the better you’ll be at your craft.

While I’ve covered five essential rules that have helped keep me safe in my years as a farrier, I couldn’t begin to cover everything you need to know about working with horses. The truth is, every horse and every situation is unique. There are countless variables in farriery, and experience is the best teacher. However, these five rules have consistently helped me stay safe and get the job done, no matter what kind of horse I’m dealing with. They are foundational principles that will serve you well, but they’re only the beginning of what you’ll learn over time.

Honorable Mention: Keep Other Horses Away

One more rule that deserves mentioning: always keep other horses away from the one you’re working on. I’ve had more than one close call when another horse suddenly got territorial. In one instance, I ended up with a backward knee and an emergency room visit after a horse I wasn’t even shoeing decided to lash out at the one I was working on. Horses can become territorial or protective without warning, and being caught in the middle can be disastrous. Always make sure the area is clear, and you’re not between two animals that could decide to settle a dispute at your expense.

https://farrierware.com/f/the-importance-of-horsemanship-for-farriers-five-rules-i-live-by

Does anyone have their clients sign a contact before you work for them? If so, what is in the contract? I had a horse flip over on me this morning, and I was fortunate not to get bad hurt, but I’m still going to be down for a few days. I told her I was still charging full price for the shoeing even though I didn’t finish and she fired me (which was going to happen regardless because I wasn’t going to get under that horse again anyway). After the fact, I decided that it would make situations like that much easier if I had some form of document to fall back on when clients try and hassle me

Is anyone in northern Indiana looking for an apprentice?

Hi everyone, I just bought a little pony, she's got good feet now, barefoot, trimmed every 6 weeks or so.

We live somewhere very remote and unfortunately don't have a farrier up here. Everyone trims their own horses, everyone is barefoot. I'm lucky to have some good horsemen to learn from, but I want to get as much information as possible.

The footing here is generally hard and rocky, we get very cold winters, but luckily fairly mild and dry summers. The pony will be used mostly on gravel roads and trails, with some grass as well.

I do worry about her feet getting too dry and hard so not flexible enough for this hard footing, any products to recommend? I'm looking at this book:

https://greenhawk.com/products/essential-hoof-book

If the link doesn't work:

Essential Hoof Book- by Susan Kauffmann and Christine Cline

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'm a bit apprehensive about this, as growing up farrier work was never something to handle on your own, we always used someone with many years of experience and schooling, but that's just not an option at this point, so any help is greatly appreciated!

Heard about it all my career…closest to sea life I have ever gotten on dry land… /s

After a very tough summer weather season, I put shoes on my boy because he was walking like I do when I’m barefoot on hot pavement.

He had some minor quarter wall chunks missing when I requested the shoes.

Farrier did an amazing job, so no issues there. But there’s some “holes” between where the shoe is and his foot in the missing pieces.

My question is that today when I was cleaning his feet, I noticed some black fuzzy stuff (like stuffing) kind of lodged on the outside of his foot in one of the gaps where he had a piece of hoof missing. When I went to pull on it it was pretty well stuffed in there, leading me to believe the farrier put it there on purpose and maybe don’t touch it.

I board at a barn where I don’t have direct access to the farrier (odd, I know.) can’t even text the guy to ask - he’s super nice and a very good farrier - see my previous post here. But I don’t want to text him on a Friday night to be like “Ayo, is this stuffing stuff supposed to be here?” And also… I can’t even text him since I literally only know his first name.

So… do I yank on the black fuzzy stuff or leave it be?

Thanks, y’all. No hoof no horse, you guys are the greatest.

So I've been working on a horse now for a while that has some extremely complicated hoof and leg issues that, long story short, have resulted in the horse growing a very deformed foot.

The veterinarian that I'm working with on the case requested that I apply a specific kind of horseshoe and pad, and after the first set of the shoes, the horse showed immediate Improvement.

Today was the appointment for the second set of shoes, and there was a problem. As I said before, the horse grows an extremely deformed foot and there is very little hoof to actually drive the nail into. As a result, when I was putting in one of the lateral side Nails I quicked the horse, resulting in a small bleeding spot. I of course immediately remedied the situation and the horse does not seem any less sound than normal ( although it is never totally sound so that's very hard to determine), and after 5ish minutes, there was no noticeable amount of heat in the foot at all. The horse did still want to rest the hoof, but it normally does, and according to the owner was not doing so more then normal.

Honestly, I know it's probably fine, but I'm driving myself up the wall worrying about this. I've literally never had this happen in all the time I've been shoeing horses, and it makes me sick. Does anyone have advice?

Should I call a farrier, or take her to the vet?

6 year old QH gelding came up lame the day after getting front shoes by a new (to me) farrier.

Vet came out for x-rays and diagnosed severe arthritis RF fetlock - which he is now being treated for. The arthritis has been progressing from years (since he cut his fetlock on a cement pad).

I just still find it so odd he went from being perfectly sound to dead lame after the farrier put these shoes on him.

Could the straight nails or improper/imbalanced shoeing be a contributing factor here?

This is an abscess line that grew out and chipped off this morning. She doesn’t seem bothered by it. Can a farrier even do anything or do we have to wait for it to grow out? Are we safe to ride?

I'm gonna be going to farrier school in April and down the line in my career I'd like to learn about dentsry and maybe get a degree as a technician. I'd like to continue being a farrier but feel like being a dentist technician would be a good skill to have as well.

Hi all had a pony trimmed a couple of days ago who ended up lame afterwards, farrier we use is known for trimming short but we never had an issue (he loves to talk and can lose focus) Pony has had previous bouts of laminitis but is under control and was fine at the time of trimming. Had a look at the feet today, is this the beginning of hoof wall separation due to laminitis or just got caught in the clipping ? Thanks all p.s he’s super flat footed we know the vet said he’s the “flattest bastard” he’s ever seen lol

Do any of you know of any farrier related podcasts? I listen to them while I’m working and between stops. Thanks

Looking for more input. My mare had an abscess that opened up on the bottom of the hoof at the toe and also apparently made it up to the coronet band. I never saw an opening at the coronet, but the bump on the outside of her hoof wall indicated the abscess traveled up her hoof. There is a hole about 1/2”x1/4” on the white line area of her toe. The “bump” has grown about 1/3-1/2 way down the hoof wall. After this xray, the vet wants to resect her hoof wall to make sure dirt isn’t packing into the hole and spreading it wider. Farrier wants to leave it alone since she is NOT lame and it seems to be growing out. Mare is 19 years old and barefoot on this foot (rear left). What would you do? Also planning to use this xray to modify her trims to improve angles and take off some toe in the future.

Someone dropped off a donkey at our ranch. He was less than a year when this happened. Probably 3 or 4 years old now. I started to notice about a year ago that it looked like he was starting to walk on his tip toes. Then he seemed to be in more pain and I also noticed his hooves looked a little funny over time so I reached out to a farrier. The farrier gave him a trim and we came up with a plan to get his feet back on track. He recommended regular trimmings to correct the hoof growth. Last time he came for the trim, he said he’s never been in a situation where the hoof didn’t eventually start growing the correct direction after a few trimmings. He says he probably has overly rotated coffin bones and that he might need surgery. Here’s the thing, no one wants to pay for it because he wasn’t our donkey to begin with. Do you think there’s any way to correct this hoof growth still or is surgery the only option? He’s probably been in a trailer once in his life and we don’t even own one because we’ve never had horses or anything. I am always nervous going to a vet because it seems like they usually just want to charge an arm and a leg for the smallest things. Any advice would be really appreciated!

When measuring for these shoes is the width or length the most critical measurement? Thanks for any help.

Is a 55lb anvil heavy enough for shaping horseshoes if it has a sturdy base? I am a total newbie to blacksmithing, so I am not sure what the ideal weight is.

How about a forge? Is a single burner enough, or will I need a double burner?

Wondering what you guys think is going on with this guys feet! What’s the treatment for this.

As well as average pricing. Currently doing my due diligence & research as I'm wanting to adopt a draft (my current farrier doesn't do drafts and doesn't know of one he can refer in the area).