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Students on Television
These former students are featured on Horseshoe'n Time Television Show
Robbie Shuler of Cullowhee, NC graduated
in November 2008. He said
"I think the show turned out great!
Thanks for the opportunity"
Watch Robbie's Show here
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Tina Entzian of Indian Head, MD graduated in May 2009. She said "Thanks for putting the shows up on youtube.com. That is incredibly helpful since many of my customers are web-savvy and will watch the show that way."
Watch Tina's Show here
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You can view many more at www.youtube.com
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FREE Owner Trim Class
On June 19th I held the class from 10am to 2pm at Tractor Supply in Lexington SC. T/S was having farm days with old tractors, cow milking etc.
We had a lot of people interested in our display. Lots of questions that led to 3 to 6 customers. No one wanted to get up under a horse but they did like all the photos I had taken when I was there at school and photos of the horses I have done here in the Lexington area.
I wanted to let Ralph know that his advice was right on the money. Please let the new students know that doing this free class does lead you to new customers.
Also taking as many photos as you can will help you to show people what you can and have done. This was a big plus at the free class.
I want to thank Link and Ralph for all the great instruction they gave us at the school and when I have called for some info on a few problems I have had here in Lexington.
The horse that had the abscess as healed up nicely and the donkey is walking up on the bottoms of his feet, not on his heels. Both of these stories have led to two more customers. The donkey story that led to a new customer, she didn't think that she would ever see the donkey walk correctly. She was very impressed, thanks Link.
Take care
Ralph Rodgers
Lexington, SC
803-466-1323
sixstepfarrierservice@gmail.com
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Rescue Case "Banana Boat Feet"
These are pictures of the feet of a Tennessee Walker Blue Roan that was given (rescued) by my Sister-in-law in Tennessee. The horse was in a stable for about 2 years, standing in feces at least a foot deep. I had to use a hand saw to cut the toes off and then use the hoof nippers, tin snips, bolt cutters and twig cutters and a rasp or two to remove the hoof that was severely rolled under. Thanks to Casey and Son Horseshoeing School and fellow BWFA farrier Tom Cable of Ohio I was able to accomplish my task of helping this horse. I will continue to send updates of the horse and his recovery. Thanks again to Ralph, Link and Tom Cable for all the learning.
I have also attached a picture of Spur-n-Star Bar (STAR), the horse that was donated to the NEHRF that I now own. We love her! Her soreness was not a lameness in her RF after all. I will keep you informed on her progress as well.
See you on May 15-16, 2010 at the Farrier Spring Fling.
CJ Adams
Casey and Son Horseshoeing School Graduate
BWFA Member
www.adamsfarrierservice.com
adamsfarrierservice@hotmail.com
931-809-0300
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Laura Cole totes her tools over to shoe a horse at her barn, Southern Performance Horses, in Roopville. Cole recently attended the Casey & Son Horseshoeing School and completed its six-week farrier science course. Cole, who has been around horses all of her life, plans to make a career out of shoeing performance horses.
Julie Dawes/Times-Georgian
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Horseshoeing
 101
Roopville's Laura
Cole Shoes
Horses to Better Performance
By Spencer Crawford
The Villa Rican
Banjo, a miniature pony born with a mangled foot eight months ago that caused him to walk on his ankle, is walking normally after a corrective treatment by Roopville's Laura Cole.
Cole trimmed Banjo's deformed foot and put a brace on his hoof, allowing him to completely stand straight up. Another foot was turned in as well and she was able to straighten it out by trimming it properly. the procedure is just one of the lessons Cole learned recently at the rigorous six-week, 300-hour Casey & Son Horseshoeing School in Villanow, Ga., where she excelled as one of the best students in a class dominated by men.
"The owners are just about to have a fit about that," Cole said. "It was his tendons that were all stretched to that one side. You wouldn't even know he had a problem if you didn't see the glob of Superfast out there that is making his foot turn back right. The brace stops him from turning that foot under. His owners think I work miracles."
Banjo's owner, Julie D'Hondt, said she bought the horse at an auction knowing he was sick because she didn't want him to die. She has since doctored him and taken care of him, but was at her wit's end about Banjo's crippled feet.
"Laura has just been a Godsend," D'Hondt said. "It's just miraculous what she did."
Cole, who operates Southern Performance Horseshoeing out of her Southern Performance Horses barn, has been around horses most of her life-riding them, training them and shoeing them-but her recent completion of horseshoeing school to become a certified farrier changed her life.
"That school literally changed my life," she said. "I'm a better person. I can communicate better and I don't lose my temper as fast. It also taught me a little bit about finesse."
Cole had wanted to attend the school for the past 15 years and had really been working toward enrolling the past decade, but life always seemed to get in the way. However, this past fall everything just sort of fell into place.
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Roopville's Laura Cole once dreamed of making a living barrel racing on the rodeo circuit. Though she hasn't given up barrel racing as a hobby, she now makes her living shoeing horses after wowing her instructors at the Casey & Son Horseshoeing School in Villanow, Ga.
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| The whole time I was driving up there I was thinking, 'What in the world have I gotten myself into," she said.
School owner Ralph Casey said Cole had nothing to worry about. She was one of the stars of her class and did so well he has invited her to become an instructor after completing an advanced course.
"I have a lot of confidence in Laura," Casey said. "I don't stand behind many of my students, but I'd stand behind her. She'll be a cut above every farrier around there. She'll really be a special farrier if she continues her education."
Cole showed her skills during a convention held at the school during which horseshoeing school owners from around the country selected students from other schools to compete against each other. She finished as the highest placing student in the competition.
Cole plans to follow Casey's advice and will soon attend an advanced school to boost her total farrier training to 600 hours, and after seven years of working as a professional farrier she will reach the pinnacle of the profession-master farrier.
In the meantime, she plans to offer clinics for horse owners on the importance of properly shoeing horses as opposed to what many "cowboy shoers" do, which many times is to just haphazardly nail the shoe to the foot.
"I'm going to put on clinics and get treadmills and cameras to show people how the horses travel and how bad they travel when they're not shod right," she said.
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| "When horses fall, it's usually because they're not shod right or they're unbalanced. When the foot strikes the ground, the horse's entire body is a shock absorber. I was like a 'cowgirl shoer.' I just nailed them on and got them done, but I went up there and it's just amazing the things I learned."
Cole's fascination with horses began when her dad bought her a pony when she was 3 years old. As she grew up, she has made a living training horses, giving riding lessons and barrel racing in local rodeos. Now, she plans to make a career out of horseshoeing performance horses, but she hasn't given up the rodeo. It's just been moved from a career to hobby on her priority list.
"I tried to make barrel racing a career, but it didn't quite work out," she said. "I've got goals. maybe now I can shoe my way to the national finals. I've got a long road ahead of me though. This is a new career and rodeoing is going to be my hobby."
Cole said the delay in attending the school was well worth it. Though it was tough-hitting the shoeing pad at 8 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday and working until dark-she said she's a better person for having done it.
"A horseshoer is the most important person in a horse's overall health," she said. "If their feet aren't right, everything else won't be right. They'll be off their feed, off their water, off of everything."
For information on Southern Performance Horseshoeing, Cole can be reached at 770-375-7243.
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Should I Have My Horse Trimmed or Shod?
By Russell Bloodworth, Certified Farrier
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The answer to this question is an emphatic YES! What? Well, which one should it be, you ask. That depends on your horse.
Horse's hooves grow just like your nails (finger or toes) or your hair and they need some routine maintenance which translates to trimming. Trimming on a regular schedule is of major importance. Repeat, major importance. It does not mean once a year either. During the warmer months of the year our horses will generally eat more nutrients. Mostly this comes from all the lush green grasses in our pastures. Those nutrients cause our horse's hooves to grow more quickly, unlike during the winter months when there are fewer nutrients & therefore less hoof growth. That being said, a schedule of four to six weeks is often recommended during warmer months and six to eight weeks for trimming during cooler times of the year.
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| A good maintenance routine is essential to our horse's health. As the old saying goes, "No foot, no horse." Saving money by not trimming (or shoeing) is not a luxury for many horses that need shoes when ridden. You can pay for routine maintenance now....or spend more money in an emergency when it is sore and in pain.
According to staff at the Farriers National Research Center (FNRC), out of 1,000 complaints on lame horses, 990 will become lame from improper trimming.
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| Only a small portion of complaints are the result of shoeing that lames the horse. At the FNRC they have found that incorrect trimming in very young horses does more damage than we farriers have ever imagined before. They have also found that in the majority of the horses that were observed one leg was longer than the other.
Also, studies have found that when using your horses often, trimming is not enough; they should be shod. Your horses should be shod when they are used for various events (like dressage, barrel racing, roping, polo, etc.), pleasure or trail riding, packing or even in much of the corrective works. Corrective work can be any number of things from founder to cracks, you name it. Mostly, shoeing the horse is a judgement call that the farrier should be able to help the owners decide on.
Most people think that you shoe a horse in order to protect its foot; however, the main reason for shoeing a horse is the keep the boney column of the leg in alignment wherein when the foot strikes the ground, the entire boney column of the horse including the spine equally absorbs the concussion.
This should help clarify the question of whether or not you should have your horses trimmed or shod, but, regardless, you should have a professional to help you with all things hoof related.
Russell Bloodworth is a graduate of the Casey & Son Horseshoeing School in Villanow, GA, and he completed the Nolan Hoof Plate Application School. His working areas include NW Florida, south and central Alabama
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White Hooves Bad, Black Hooves Good, Right?
Surprisingly, I get asked quite often if black hooves are better then white hooves and run into many horse people that certainly have an opinion about whether or not black hooves are better than white. And then there's the "But so-and-so said..." Sadly, there are many myths about the topic to address in this article but I'll try to touch on what I've researched in relation to the white hoof versus the black hoof debate.
There is an old adage about horse trading that goes: One white foot-buy him. Two white feet-try him. Three white feet-look well about him. Four white feet-go without him.
| Some people are under the impression that all white hooves need to be shod but it is not necessary for black hooves to be shod. So I ask ,what you would do if your horse has three black hooves and one white hoof? Would you place a shoe on the white hoof and leave the black hooves alone? Sounds silly, right? And then there are the striped hooves, how would you handle them? Unfortunately, this "wisdom" can confuse well-meaning horse owners. Mostly, the color of a horse's hoof is determined by color pigment. Often, when the horse has white markings it will have white hooves, and horses that have black legs tend to have black hooves. Some horses that have a mixture of colors on their legs will have a mixture of colors on their hooves, ie. striped hooves.
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Master Farrier John Burt says, "There is no quality difference on the same horse, no scientific data to sustain any difference. The white and black hoof are both designed the same structurally; the texture and quality of the hoof is the same." John... is a member and tester for the Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association (BWFA) and a 2001 inductee into the BWFA Hall of Fame, so I give his statements ample creditability.
The biggest differences among the strengths of a horse's hooves is due to moisture content and genetics. That being said, I frequently recommend a good hoof sealant or conditioner to be used especially after a visit from your farrier. Most farriers will carry a variety of products or can suggest certain items they have found to be of good quality.
What it really comes down to is what you, as a horse owner, likes in breeding and coloring of horses.
There is no scientific determination as to which color is better. On a personal note, as a farrier, I like white hooves simple because it is easier for me to see the various imperfections of the hoof while I'm working on them. I take nothing away from black hooves and the majority of horses I work on have them. But ultimately the debate is simply a myth.
Russell Bloodworth is a Certified Farrier.
He owns, Farrier Services, in Greenville, AL, and
works on horses throughout south Alabama and
and the Florida panhandle.
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