Dave Farley modifies a Kerckhaert shoe to create a "Rocker Toe". This is one of a number of enhanced breakover options.

We recently received this email asking for shoeing advice from Laurie Skutley in Washington state. Dave Farley, APF CF, offered his suggestion- let us know if you have any ideas.

My gelding is 7 but only this last year has he had a lot of freedom to play around on a uneven ground, with rocks etc., along with hills.   Almost every time between shoeing he has pulled a front shoe, usually the right one.  It can be days after being shod up to days before the next shoeing we go between 6 and 8 weeks only.  My farrier has tried many things and so have I.  He’s mostly had Natural Balance shoes on the front with regular clips shoes in the back.   He does not have good feet, he grows out and flat with under run heels and thin soles. My farrier has tried putting the shoes on backwards, he did not pull them, but got sore toes from no front support. He currently put on Equilibrium on the front and stayed with regular clips on the back. A week later off came the right front again while loping up a slight hill in his pasture.  My farrier has decided it would be better to trim the ends off the shoes, which will give very little support then have him continue to pull the fronts off, He does not pull shoes while under saddle and we ride Mt. trails.   I tried leaving bell boots on but he ended up with a sore below his fetlock so I took them off.

We live in WA State so it’s a wet but not muddy environment and he currently tested sore frogs and heels on all four feet, he will do anything to not walk on hard surfaces like packed gravel roads., He’s not an easy horse,  not a good multi tasker,, he will step where ever on a trail, top of a rock, limb etc., so he does not pay a lot of attention to placement of his feet, he hardly trips. The front feet are addressed for the issue but not the back, Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has gone on for a year now.

Happy Trails, Laurie

Reply from Dave Farley

My name is Dave Farley, a farrier from Ohio.  We too have some wet weather and hills on our pastures, but I doubt anything like the beautiful area you live.  Some horses with hoof conformation similar to yours struggle to keep shoes on.  I have several suggestions.  While the natural balance shoe seemed to work as well as the reverse shoe, I suggest you have your farrier apply a steep rocker toe.  This allows the foot to break over much faster than a square toe.

It sounds like both you and your farrier have tried every trick in the book.  The best way to find out if this can be corrected would be to find a friend who has a turnout that is more level.  Would it be possible to do this for one shoeing to see if this corrects the problem?  I questioned a few farriers in this area as to how they handle horses with this problem and they all say a change in environment corrected it.  They all say, and I agree, hoof conformation like your horse is the hardest to keep shoes on no matter where they live.

I am very proud that you seem to have a very good relationship with your farrier and you are willing to allow him to try different shoe modifications.  I am sure your farrier would love to remedy this issue as much as you do.  Please let us know if the rocker works or if your horse does better in a different pasture.

Dave Farley APF CF

Check out Dave’s Natural Angle article on the Rolled & Rocker Toe modifications.

The Kerckhaet Steel and Aluminum Comfort provide ready made enhanced breakover and can be further modified to create a rocker toe if desired.

Note from FPD: In addressing challenges like the one described above, consider using one of the following Kerckhaert shoes, all designed to enhance breakover.  Used in combination with Liberty nails, you have precision and greater results.

Classic Roller (with E-4 or LX55 nails)  -  SX-Roller (used with 5 City or 5 Slim nails)  -  Steel Comfort (used with E-4 Slim or 5 Combo nails)

Click here to view the entire Kerckhaert and Liberty line of products

2012 Kentucky Derby Winner may have been a bit tired, but was eating well when we visited the O'Neill barn on Sunday after the race. Jim Jimenez is on the far right and shod the Derby winner.

Capping off an excellent 2012 KY Derby/Ky Oaks weekend, I’ll Have Another came from post position 19 to overtake Bodemeister and win the 138th Kentucky Derby. Our congratulations to Team O’Neill and especially farrier Jim Jimenez who shod the winner. Jim has been a Kerckhaert race plate user for a number of years now and shod the Derby winner with Kerckhaert Tradition XT fronts and Tradition Regular Toe hinds with toe clip. We saw the horse Sunday evening after the race and it took some firm handling from his groom to get him away from his feed bucket to get a few pictures.

It was a good run for Kerckhaert, with all the first three finishers in the Derby and the first and second place finishers in the Oaks having Kerckhaert shoes on. Congratulations to all the farriers involved.

Steve Norman has the Kerckhaert race plates selected for Gemologist for the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

Day of- quite often the choice of some trainers for shoeing race horses. The Kentucky Derby is no exception and Derby Day 2012 we caught Steve Norman and Todd Boston working on Derby horses. You can see a video clip  on YouTube of Steve shoeing Gemologist for trainer Todd Pletcher. Steve shod Oaks runner-up Broadway’s Alibi.

Todd Boston nails on the new hind shoes for Prospective, day of the 2012 Kentucky Derby

Todd Boston is fresh off shoeing the 2012 Kentucky Oaks winner- Believe You Can and was feeling pretty good about how the week is going. Today he was shoeing Prospective, one of the horses he has shod this past week for the Derby.

Skies were gray- but the day was shaping up and if there’s no more heavy rain the track should be in good condition for the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Hind foot is being prepped for new Kerckhaert shoe- day of the 2012 KY Oaks race.

FPD has made the trail leading to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks a path closely followed for many years. Each year we follow the prep races and spend the week prior to the races contacting the many farriers we know that are working at the top level of the racing world. This year is no exception.

We’ve been tracking guys like Todd Boston, Steve Norman, Jim Jimenez, Chris and Pat Broadus, and Gary Churchman to name a few to see what Derby and Oaks entries will be wearing Kerckhaert race plates. Each year, we are seeing a significant number of horses come out of the gate with Kerckhaert shoes- an indication that the top end market recognizes the quality points of the styles available.

Today, we also caught Todd Boston shoeing one of a number of Oaks and Derby horses he has going. Summer Applause, trained by Bret Calhoun will be running in the 2012 Oaks. Check out the short video we have of Todd working on a hind foot.

UPDATE 5-5-12 – Another filly that Todd Boston shod on Oaks Day- Believe You Can, trained by Larry Jones- pulled off the win in the 2012 KY Oaks. Steve Norman shod runner-up Broadway’s Alibi, trained by Todd Pletcher.

Amazing for most people is that most of the guys take this week in stride and don’t get too excited about it- though I think all would admit it’s a bit of a thrill the first few times they shoe a Derby horse- and even more when they have shod a winner.

The aftermath of the Monetta Anvil Shoot, anvils fallen from the sky.

Farrier Product Distribution sponsored clinician Dave Farley, APF CF for the annual Monetta Farrier Supply Spring Fling. This event was held at Monetta’s shop in South Carolina and was attended by 90-100 farriers from the southeast region.

One of the highlights of the annual event is orchestrated by Jack Schwartz, CJF – and creates quite a ruckus. The day of the clinic Jack shot three anvils off, with two of the three reaching exceptional heights. Not recommended that you try this at home. Local law enforcement came by later checking to see if someone had been firing a cannon- must have thought the Yankees were coming.

Mike Corson, full time farrier, has somehow found time to develop his knife making skills- starting with rasps and moving on to high carbon steel

We received a number of emails with images of blacksmithing work done by farriers. It is quite impressive to see the detail in the work done in these blacksmithing pieces, giving us the idea that these same individuals must have their horseshoeing skills refined to the smallest detail as well.

Tim Caswell from Arizona has created some special spurs- maybe a Valentine’s Day project?

We look forward to comments on the work being done by these farriers and images you may have of your work. Blacksmithing or horseshoeing- at FPD we appreciate the skills and dedication of the craftsmen in the industry.

Cynthia Roy and Louise Mongeau from Marechalerie Bromont, working with Shane Trapp on order processing in FPD warehouse.

Farrier Product Distribution had visits from 2 key stores this past week. Louise Mongeau and Cynthia Roy from Marechalerie Bromont in Quebec spent two days with FPD staff to gain a better understanding of the FPD operation and to discuss various business planning ideas including marketing and operational efficiencies.

We were also fortunate  to have Shelly Brenner stop by for her first visit to our facility. Shelly was enroute to the WCB Competition being held at the Kentucky Horseshoeing School in Richmond, KY. Shelly is one of the key employees for  Anvil Brand Shoe Company in Lexington, KY. She and Allen Horton represented Anvil Brand at the WCB Event.

Other FPD customers participating in the WCB event were Breeders Supply, Stockhoff’s, and Nature Farms Farrier Supply.

The WCB event was in full swing the past couple days and wraps up today. Thirteen 4-man teams have been going at it, with teams from the US, Canada, and Wales in heated competition. Going into the final day the WCB team was in the lead, with the Draft competition today the final stage of another successful event.

FPD booth saw steady traffic throughout the tradeshow in Cincinnati.

Farrier Product Distribution just completed the annual trek to Cincinnati and the International Hoof-Care Summit. Our booth area was decked with a full range of products from our major lines, including Kerckhaert Horseshoes, Liberty and Vector nails, Bloom, FootPro and other tool lines.

A small group of farriers were selected by the Summit organizers to meet with Rudy Kerckhaert to discuss the Kerckhaert Horseshoe line and their shoeing practices.

Traffic was steady throughout the tradeshow hours with much of the attention focused on the new Liberty American style nails- 5 Combo, 5 City and Race. This tradeshow is one of the major events of the year and gives us a great opportunity to get feedback from our dealers and farriers from throughout North America and from overseas as well. Contact us at fpd@farrierproducts.com if you have questions or comments on the event or products distributed by FPD.

The exterior metal work for the Farrier Product Distribution expansion is nearly complete

The warehouse and expansion for Farrier Product Distribution is moving toward completion. Office space has been completed recently and this week the contractors have almost completed the shell for the warehouse expansion. The work is expected to be completed by early January- in time for visitors that may be enroute to the International Hoof-Care Summit later in the month. If you’re in the area- we welcome you to stop by and see the changes.

Right front with approx. 12 weeks growth

Farrier clinics and contests fill the fall weekend calendars for many in the industry. FPD is a key sponsor for many of the events and supports the continuing education efforts of the stores and associations that host the events. Check our website calendar for list of events coming to your area.

One of the recent events took place in the New Holland,

Right front after being trimmed and shod

Pennsylvania. Doug Workman, CJF from Cleveland, Georgia shared his ideas and experience with over 150 attendees at the clinic hosted by Amsterdam Farrier Supply. The before and after shots show the improvement he made in the balance of the foot and support he gave it using a farrierproducts brand straight bar shoe.

On this beautiful October day there were some hot air balloons in the area that provided some non-work related enjoyment and we caught one in process of landing in a field near the clinic site, passing over a local school on its way down.

Hand made piece by Christian Roy

FPD was also in attendance at an Association event in Quebec- Association de Marechal Ferrants Quebec hosted their annual convention in Bromont, Quebec. Featured speakers were Lionel Bertin from France and Dr. Scott Morrison from the Rood & Riddle clinic in Lexington, KY. As in many association events, there was an auction held to raise funds for the Association and some very nice hand made pieces were offered by members.

If you have any images of hand-made auction items you would like to share with us please email them or add them to your comment.