Staying Comfortable

There are many different aspects of this trade that we have to work on as farriers. Business skills including accounting, marketing, communication, customer service, inventory management, etc. Anatomy and pathology, forging skills, trimming techniques, nailing, finishing, and horsemanship.   Each farrier has a different set of skills and level of skill in each of these …

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Winter Hoof Care

As the weather gets cooler and we start thinking about getting our barns and homes ready for winter, we generally have our list of things to do for winterizing. For me, winterizing around the barn has meant getting out heated buckets, installing trough heaters, making sure blankets are ready if needed, draining hoses, and various …

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When To Use Shoes

When considering whether or not to shoe a horse there are several factors to take into consideration. Three reasons that we should consider the use of shoes are – if wear exceeds growth if a change is needed to enhance the foot in regard to the horse’s job, such as changing traction if the foot …

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9 Years

Last month Dixie’s was celebrating our 9th anniversary, we have been both looking back over the years and towards the future of the company. Looking back, we are certainly not where we planned on being when first starting 9 years ago. Much like the rest of life, the company has had many twists and turns …

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Hold Your Horses…

As a farrier I am constantly putting my safety in someone else’s hands. Whoever is holding the lead rope of the horse I am working on can significantly affect how a horse stands for me. Unfortunately, horses do not come with owner’s manuals and far too often it is assumed that everyone knows exactly how …

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Lost Shoes

The last two weeks of July I saw more lost shoes than I have ever seen in my entire career in the same amount of time, outside of working an eventing horse trials. I put back on four shoes for my own clients and seven for other farriers in the span of only one week. …

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IEA Horse Trials 2017

For the past several years I have had the pleasure of being the onsite farrier for the Indiana Eventing Association’s Horse Trials, Classic Training & Novice 3-Day Event and once again had the privilege this year. Thursday and Friday tend to be slow days of sitting around and reading interspersed with occasionally building a spare …

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