Farrieritis: Recent Comments

Comment on I'm NOT just a horseshoer !

Patricia Reszetylo — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:14:05 GMT

Wow - gonna have to do those myself sometime soon! Thanks for sharing!

Comment on Long toes and coffin bone rotation

Vernon Hutchins — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:40:22 GMT

Your long toe article was great> I've been fighting this for years. I Can't seem to get other farriers to shoe horses this way. Then when people call me it usually after their horses are sore and almost unusable for a while.So maybe your article will help horse owners to wake up and make thier farrier do his job right instead of a fast shoe job that hurts the horse more than it helps. Oklahoma has a lot of horseshoer that leave the toe long either because their lazy,don't know or they just plain don't care.Thanks Vernon

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My Reply:
            Thank you Vernon , it's always good to hear others comments , it continues to show evidence that so many people are having problems with their horses . Many times people don't take the care of feet as seriously as should be until it's too late and they have a horse that's ruined. Thank you for your participation.
             I am continually amazed to hear from people from all parts of the globe how terrible things are where they're at , some of the nightmare stories i wouldn't wish on anyone.
             I've spent alot of time thinking about shoeing , comparing these methods to others out there and i've drawn some conclusions . It has to do with paradigms . When i finally proved my findings for myself regarding methodology of shoeing my mind expanded trememdously realizing most farriers just "Don't Get It". I mean this whole shoeing puzzle isn't really easy to get - there's alot to it , it's very interesting from the standpoint of if the farriers miss just one of the steps it throws the whole paradigm ( their belief structure and understanding of shoeing ) out of wack. What happens is , until a farrier "Gets this" ( The Whole Picture ) not just a piece here or there - but THE WHOLE THING , basically they're just wandering in the wilderness so to speak. I get such a thrill out of knowing my shoeing is correct from every standpoint that i have a very hard time not doing things correct . If farriers are leaving the toe long or letting heels get sheared or letting flares develop and not setting shoes correctly , or the angles , or whether the foot is level or not - or not knowing how to correct pigeon toes on and on and on , it's just because their paradigm is off and they're just in the dark , stumbling around . When shoeing finally really makes sense - it opens the mind , enlightens the mind , Then it comes next to impossible not to do things right .         Well - thanks again Vernon.   You're a welcome friend here anytime , take care and best wishes.

john

Comment on Hoof Pick winner and more on level feet.

Marlene Carignan — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:21:27 GMT

Hi John

Great picture. I would like to see the same flexing with a T-square effect like you did in you "level" video, performed on a foot like this. I just can't imagine it. I see how the video you posted makes sense. That foot you showed today, well I just can't picture that looking square in motion. :) Waiting anxiously for the dvd.

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Hi Marlene , thank you for the comments and writing in, will publish your comment right away.

in response - it's amazing that the hoof wall on these horses just is not the guage to a level foot.

the hairline/coronary band can be in an up or down position irrelevant to the bone structure of the foot, so what you end up with is a horse like in the photo you're talking about. I can tell by your comments you get the concept and understand , that's great !

that horse in the photo if Xray'd would come up with a level coffin bone and coffin joint . can't ask for much more than that concerning a level foot. I just am here holding Xrays of a horse i shoe ( new to the client ) and the coffin bone is spot on level - it's rare that i don't end up with one side of the foot different than the other - i'll say 95% of horses when the bones are level the foot/hoof wall is not . But that just doesn't matter. The hairline/coronary band can be up it can be down , when it comes to level what matters is simply what the bones are doing ( Primary ) adjusting the hoof wall can be done later with shoe position ( but level bones must always be maintained ) taking those things into consideration kinda challenges your thinking doesn't it ? This isn't the only one of these shoeing concepts that challenge your logic - there are more . We'll get to that stuff.

appreciate your readership.

You know the DVD will come with big bonus's - an ongoing video series of all the tips and tricks i've learned over 17 years - basically i'll break down every single aspect of shoeing in a video series - cost ?? FURRRRREEEEE....

lol

ok i better go .

thanks again

john "TheFootDoctor" silveira

Comment on April Custom Hand Forged Horse Head Hoof Pick Winner - WOW.

Shannon — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:18:05 GMT

Thanks for the great answer, John. I will be sure to gently tug on the frog and cut what is flapping in the breeze! Friday is farrier day for my D-girl. I have been blessed with horses that have strong, true, worry free feet throughout life. No shoes on any of my mares here! May everyone be so blessed!

Shannon

Comment on April Custom Hand Forged Horse Head Hoof Pick Winner - WOW.

Shannon — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:56:50 GMT

Simple questions for you. I have noticed parts of the frog peeling up from time to time while cleaning out my horse's feet. You state that the frog should be shed. You also state that you used your nippers to pull it up. How do I know I won't hurt the horse if I pull on this? Can I cut it off, just the part that is separated? I am doing more harm just to leave it alone and allow my horse to shed it naturally? Sorry to sound like a rookie, but growing up with horses, I was always taught to be mindful of the frog as it was sensitive. Am I just being too careful? I know horses are tough but I also know that if something hurts them, they will remember it and I don't want them to associate that with hoof cleaning time. Thanks! Shannon

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Hey Shannon. yes you can feel free to trim off loose peeling parts of the frog.
it's a good idea to not trim the frog down too far, how to judge that is somewhat
a matter of experience. Sometimes when i tug on the frog it doesn't quite want to
shed off and the pull i'm giving on it gets to much and the horse will let me know
and i stop there and trim the rest with the knife ( parts can be wanting to shed and other
parts aren't ready to shed ) . Of course not every frog is going to shed and that's when
it comes time to trim the big old frog down a bit.

That should do you for now , thanks for stoppin by.

take care - good luck with the horse.

john

Comment on Coffin Bone Rotations

Chuck Bartok — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:52:17 GMT

Fantastic Blog. Caught your spot on Twitter.

I would like to share some of you knowledge on my equine Blog, with full credit to you , of course

We share a lot of common ground.
Find out a bit more about me at
www.squidoo.com/barnyard

Also, a good friend, and my tack manufacturer for over 28 years, is offering some nice discounts to first time Customers.

Check out his blog
www.buckarooleather.info

Then call him direct 530-545-0139
Tell him Chuck sent you and he will give you code to share with your Clients?

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thanks alot Chuck. sure my friend spreading the word is only going to reach more people -

appreciate it ..

john

Comment on Long toes and coffin bone rotation

Vanessa — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:49:52 GMT

Thanks for your advice. I watched a trimmer go way back today into the white line. I always went to the white line then roll. My horse toes have gotten to long, and I needed to take more off. I jsut used the rasp, not the nippers that way I do a little at a time and watch for signs of going into the lamani.
Thanks for your help.
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Great - good to hear things are being done correctly out there.

john

Comment on Long toes and coffin bone rotation

Vanessa — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:01:15 GMT

How far can you back up the toe?
to the white line, a thumb infront of the apex of the frog.
I'm trying to learn and am afraid of blooding my horse.

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Hi , thanks for stoppin by and leaving the comment.

that's a great question.

to be honest with you i don't know how these rule of thumb
methods like " a thumb in front of the apex" come about. i've seen so
many different feet , sometimes the point of the frog is very close
to the front toe others it's way back , basically i never use the point
of the frog as any kind of refrerence to measure anything.
             When it comes to how far can you back up the toe ?
You can rasp back until some of the white line starts to get rasped
is about as far as i ever go. On occasion ( rarely ) i've rasped into
the white line ( the lamina ) quite aggressively exposing quite a bit
of it without ever ever having a problem. The only time you might need
to pay more attention is if you're planing on rolling the toe , if you're
rasping back to the white line when it comes time to roll the toe yu've
already gone about as far as you can and you'll end up not being able
to roll the toe , mostly though if the foot is quite short to begin with .
           Other than that backing up the toe till you just start to expose
lamina ( the white line ) has never been a problem . You'll have to rasp
all the way through the white line before you'll bleed a horse. I've never done
it .
           Another thing to consider as an example : if the horse has foundered
the white line is going to be very thick usually ; sometimes nearly half inch
due to the separation of the lamina - in that case you'll be able to rasp deeply
into the white line. Here's the trick ( in a manner of speaking ) you can always
look at the toe from the sole side ( the bottom of the foot of course ) as you're
moving the toe back you can stop - go look at the bottom of the foot and visually
see how far you've gone into the white line. If you've gone as far as you feel
safe stop there , but at least you'll have a visual reference to know when
you've gone far enough by looking at the sole there.   OK ?   Good Enough ?

           Let me know if you have any more questions .
by the way - didn't see you leaving your name for the hoof pick drawing did i   (-:

          Come on now - just leave a physical mailing addy and your name ---
talk to you soon .

john "TheFootDoctor" silveira

Comment on Eight Belles , Euthanization

Michele — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:33:51 GMT

Yeah,I agree with you on the training, and I bet her calcium phosphorus ratio was inverted in her dietary feed making the body rob her bones. See link: http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/Calcium-Phosphorus.shtml

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Hi Michele ,

thanks for stoppin by and thanks for the article , great stuff .

Comment on Eight Belles , Euthanization

Mary O — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:36:32 GMT

John: Thank you so much for your extremely interesting comments about Eight Belles and her injury. I volunteer for CANTER here in Michigan, and there is so much about flat racing that needs to be addressed when it comes to the welfare of the horse. Encouraging/teaching a safe running style is something I've never even heard discussed - and something that really makes sense - yes, you could see her (I've only seen tape of her into the final stretch), indeed, driving herself down where Big brown is driving forward. I hope people don't turn away from racing, and therefore from her, because of this accident. Like you, I want to bear witness to her tragedy, really work at trying to understand what happeneded, really work at learning from it and making racing better for the horse. With no national ruling body, bringing the welfare of the horse onto an even standing with the welfare of the racing industry is no easy task. But it is the least people can work at for her. She was a great champion.

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Thanks Mary ,

appreciate the comment .