Year: 2020
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Working Wounded
Unfortunately near the end of November I ended up with a laceration on my hand that made it so I couldn’t swing a hammer or use the hand to squeeze at all. Something like this really makes you stop and appreciate how much we take for granted in being able to do daily tasks. Since…
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IFA Fall Clinic 2020
While most of our work at DFS is based around traditional trimming and shoeing techniques on sound horses, most especially english sport horses, there are times that we need to work on horses with extra special needs due to some type of pathology. When these needs arise it is imperative that we have the education…
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Are those extra costs necessary?
“Are you sure you aren’t upset we are pulling shoes off? I can pay extra if I need to.” “I’m really grateful you will come out for one horse.” “Are you sure I don’t need to pay more since there are less horses now?”
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Rider Influence on Hoof Shape and Soundness
Of the many factors that influence hoof shape and distortion, one of those is how the horse loads the foot. The hoof is what we refer to as viscoelastic, meaning that it has properties that are both elastic and plastic. When an elastic structure is deformed it will return to its original shape, plastic deformation…
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Choosing a Farrier Rig
This spring we were able to purchase a new trailer from Stonewell Bodies in New York. There are many different variations of farrier rigs to choose from, so what considerations go into choosing what to buy or build? It seems the list of considerations is nearly limitless, with certain basic types of rigs being more…
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Marketing, Its Not Just For New Farriers
For many farriers when you mention marketing they think of advertising. A little over a decade ago as DFS was being established, it was commonly thought and taught by many of the farriers around this area that as long as you did good work and showed up on time then you would have all the…
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Diamond Hoof Knife Review
Recently we won a Diamond hoof knife in a drawing held by Farrier Product Distribution. Since it is not one that we typically use, we figured it would be a good first product review. The knife that was sent to us was the right hand drop blade hoof knife (DROPR). Observations as the knife was…
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Low Foot Case Study
While it would be nice if every horse had perfect feet, we all know that is not the case. Unfortunately, there are many issues with horses’ hooves and conformation, one of them being upright or club feet. There are times these two terms are used interchangeably; however, they describe very different conditions. We will explore…