As farriers, we have a dangerous job. We routinely get underneath horses that are strong enough and fast enough to end our career or life in the blink of an eye. Thankfully all horses can be trained to stand well and be relatively safe. Teaching a horse to stand still while we are working on …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
“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 …
Last week we posted a photo to our Facebook page asking owners if they could identify which shoe goes on which foot (right front, left hind, etc). For some, this was a guessing game; however, if we consider the anatomy and conformation of most horses it is rather easy to tell the shoes apart. First, …
This blog post and the next will focus on hoof care as it relates to showing horses. Today, we will be addressing show organizers and next month we will focus on horse owners. For show organizers, two important considerations to keep in mind while planning are the arenas being utilized and the on-site farrier. Both …
At Dixie’s Farrier Service, we are committed to living out our core values. In doing so, we are driven to give back to our community, both the horse world as well as the general community. In the horse community, we are happy to offer multiple free education events each year. We have presented at various …
We all want our horse’s hooves taken good care of, but what makes it a good job? While the question of exactly what is correct for each horse is far too complex to answer in a blog, I will try to give a general overview of things to look for. For this example I will …
As the weather is cooling off and shows and trail rides are winding down for the year, we have to consider what care is needed for horses’ hooves. For most horses, hoof care during the fall and winter will look about the same as it does the rest of the year, but for others, it …
