2020 was a hard year for the vast majority of us, and I believe most of us are hoping 2021 will be better. Many of us, including our company, have been affected by the pandemic directly through a change or loss of work or at least a change in routine. While the new year will …
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 …
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 …
“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?”
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
After putting off my CJF test for several years, I finally began the test earlier this year. You can find part one of this post about beginning the process here. The past few months of completing my CJF has been a mix of educational, humbling, and confirming. Our company has always been committed to education, …
While most of our blog posts are geared towards horse owners this one is primarily, though not entirely, meant for my fellow farriers. When we hire a professional to do a job, we generally expect them to be an expert in their field. For instance, if I take my truck to the mechanic, I expect …
“Fundamentals win ball games.” This was a phrase that was drilled into us growing up. It does not just apply to sports however. Too often in many parts of life we lose sight of the basics of what we are doing and start to pursue skills that are more advanced without keeping the basic skills …
In our last post we talked about three main classifications of shoes by looking at open heeled shoes. This month we are looking at the purpose of bar shoes and some of the variations we use. First, any of the barshoes can be made in the same fashion as the open heeled shoes we talked …
When it comes to selecting the appropriate shoe for your horse there are literally hundreds if not thousands of options in different types, styles, and brands when it comes to keg (machine made) shoes. While every brand has several different styles of shoes each with different features, shoes can really be broken into just a …
Last month I finally began the process of getting my CJF. The test for the Journeyman is comprised of three parts, each scored to an exacting standard. A written test, a forging component where I build a fullered barshoe to fit a pattern in 35 minutes, and a shoeing portion in which I will shoe …
