KERCKHAERT DF SELECT 5HIND 25X10 NOWAVAILABLE

NEWS FOR FARRIERSwww.farrierproducts.com • 1-800-468-2879 • 502-633-5863 fax

P.O. Box 1328 • Shelbyville, KY 40066 • fpd@farrierproducts.com

For the name of a dealer near you visit www.farrierproducts.com or call 1-800-468-2879. MARCH 2014

LIBERTY 8 REGULAR NAILGOOD CHOICE FOR DRAFTAND GAITED HORSES

New Book Understandingthe Horse’s Feetby John Stewart

JUST A REMINDER

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The Liberty 8 Regular nail hasbeen receiving a great responsefrom farriers shoeing draft andgaited horses. This nail is cleanand consistent with a materialhardness that is durable, yetclinches easily.

New Educational VideosNew videos have been uploaded to thefarrierproducts™ YouTube channel. The newvideos include “Evaluating the QuarterHorse,” and “Evaluating the Friesian.”Go to www.youtube.com/farrierproductsto view the entire list of videos.

This new book, Understanding the Horse’sFeet by John Stewart examines theperennial problem of laminitis, along witha variety of other conditions thatcommonly affect the horse’s foot.

You will find these topicscovered in the book:• The structure of the horse’s foot• Examining the horse’s feet• The function of the hoof and other footstructures

• Laminitis• Investigating lameness

The Kerckhaert Select 5 Hind25x10 is an ideal shoe forWarmbloods on the Jumpercircuit. This shoe is nowavailable and completes therange of sizes we have in theSelect series.

Read more articles at www.farrierproducts.com/farrieryARTICLE FROM THE NATURAL ANGLE VOL 6 ISSUE 2

T H E T O O L C O R N E R

Hoof TesterMost seasoned farriers will

agree that a good hooftester is a must in your

shoeing tool collection. When usedproperly you can determine an areawhere a hoof has pain. The keything here is to know how to usethem correctly. Assuming that wehave chosen the foot that is affected,the first thing to do is clean up thefeet. I almost always start with thesound foot first. This allows me to getthe feel of a normal squeeze for thathorse. Before picking up the foot takea good look at the outside. Makesure the wall is free of mud, manureor hard dirt that will hinder the hooftester from working properly. Is thereany sign of hoof wall cracks or aninflamed coronary band? If not, pickup the foot and clean the bottom.

It is very important to have a routinewhen using hoof testers. If you havenever used a hoof tester before I thinkyou should practice first on a small ball.Tennis balls are great for this. A tennisball will give a little just like a hoof.Squeeze the ball until you have the

ability to apply the same pressure eachtime your hands close the handles. I stilldo this occasionally just so my handsare familiar with that feel. I start on theoutside of the foot just behind the barand squeeze. Move from that areaforward about an inch, squeezing withthe same amount of pressure. Continuearound the foot, ending up just behindthe bar on the inside of the foot. If youfind an area that the horse reacts todon't stay in that area and continue tosqueeze. Continue around the foot,then start over to see if you get the sameresponse in the same area. If you aresure this is the spot, you have todetermine if it is your job or the vet's tocontinue. If I feel it is a hot nail I pull thenail and let the caretaker of that horseknow what to do. Even if I am surewhat is causing the sensitivity, I suggestthe vet be called and informed of theproblem. I do not start digging on thebottom of a hoof. This could be a verynegative thing to do. If I do not get areaction on the sole then I squeeze eachside of the frog and across both heels.One point I would like for everyone toremember, is that the side of the hoof

tester you don't see is also working andapplying pressure to the outside of thefoot with every squeeze. For this reasonI like to keep that side no higher thanabout one-third the height of the foot orwhere our nails should be. If you gethigher than that (especially on a thinwalled horse) the horse may show painin the outside and you may mistake it forsole pain. As with every horse, I feel ifwe observe the horse while being ledfrom the stall, working and or juststanding before we start to work on it,we may be able to determine where theproblem is. Look close, pay attention,and develop your eyes and ears.Practice using your hoof testers on atennis ball before using them on a horseand you will be more successful findingthe sore spot on a hoof.

As farriers, we should alwaysrecommend a vet be called whenthere is a lameness issue. Do whatyou can to help identify problems butdon't set yourself up for problemsshould your analysis be incorrect.Particularly when the problems areinternal. n

by Dave Farley

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