Shoeing the Gaited Horse

by Ralph Casey

Finding a Farrier Who Really Knows How !

I talk about hoof care and shoeing everywhere I go, I can’t help it! Get a group of horse owners together, ask a few questions and thirty minutes can turn into hours! My satisfaction is that they all go away with a more educated idea and reasoning behind the delicate process of what the farrier is responsible for every day.

These hoof care articles derive from many years of shoeing and the present day work here at the Farriers’ National Research Center and School where students and certified farriers consult each other as “a team” working together. Gone are the days when farriers won’t talk to each other to compare notes and in with the open-minded modern farrier who is grabbing on to all the knowledge, techniques and modern technology available today, and in a shorter period of time I might add.

But to truly help the Pleasure and Performance Horse Industry, we also carry the responsibility of relaying this valuable knowledge on to the owner. There is never a shortage of first time owners, whether they are age 10 or 65. There is always a chance that someone will be taken advantage of and there are plenty of horses out there that may or may not be suited for that individuals’ needs and a lot of it relates to the feet.

For example, among the numerous emails we receive, this one in particular has been the most popular recently: (provided by the Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association’s National Farrier Referral Program)

Q: I’m looking for a gaited horse farrier in my area, preferably certified. I’ve found several AQHA and “all breed” farriers but I want someone who understands the needs of a flat shod gaited horse. We live 20 miles from Shelbyville, Tennessee. Pepper Saucier

We are going to address this very subject at a clinic in Lewisburg, Tennessee in April 2003. As most of our clinics, this is a clinic for Horse Owners …with farriers welcomed and encouraged to participate.

With the Quarter Horse Association being the largest breed association in the United States, it seems to reason that most farriers train on and service quarter and mixed alike. In such places as Tennessee, the gaited horse may actually outnumber quarters by a large percentage, as Tennessee has the THIRD largest equine population in the U.S. And Colorado is now heavily populated with gaited and Arabs more than ever, according to our BWFA certified farriers. But by far, Tennessee holds the record.

Now with this recognition, it only seems natural that publications and tack shops cater a little more to gaited horses. So finding the right farrier who really knows his or her stuff should be the owner’s top priority. After all, you love your gaited horse because of the smooth ride he offers. In our opinion, the farrier should be his number one best friend!

In this clinic, I will discuss leg length, toe length, medial and lateral balance and the difference it all makes between quarter horse shoeing and gaited horse shoeing. The common sense of it all is included in the “The 6 Steps to Balancing the Hoof and Horse for Sound Shoeing” that I developed and we go by on every shoeing, no matter what the breed. Actually the shoeing process is the seventh step so we will also discuss shoe styles and weight. This clinic will provide insight for many owners and many farriers alike!