By Bob Pethick, CJF APF Farriers should not be trying to straighten limbs in aged horses. You’re simply trying to make the horse comfortable for it’s conformation. To help a horse become comfortable, you need to limit hoof distortion by trimming the hoof to bear Continue reading →

Two methods of clinching are the hammer clinch and the use of a clinching tool. Both methods have the same goal - to provide a neat, safe and effective clinch. In recent years, many farriers have come to rely almost completely on the clincher in Continue reading →

by Dave Farley, CF APF When asked to work on a horse with a club foot, take extra time to evaluate the whole horse. Look at the horse from all angles. Watch the horse as it takes a couple of steps; this can help you Continue reading →

A successful commitment to customer service requires some planning. There is no doubt you have to be quick on your feet in dealing with your customers but you can’t overlook the advantages of thorough planning. In the early stages of this planning you need to Continue reading →

by Dave Farley, CF APF Most equine breeds and disciplines require some degree of traction in order to perform. A horse’s ability to perform would be extremely limited if you took away all traction. The natural concavity of the sole and the hoof wall provide Continue reading →

Guest Blog from Sara Vanderpol Each year the Canadian Farrier’s Team is selected to represent Canada’s farriers on the world stage. Jack Ketel (Kelowna, BC), Justin Fountain (Kamloops, BC), John Dixon (Abbotsford, BC), Sara Vanderpol (Elora, ON) and alternate Johnny Edwards (Navan, ON) successfully passed Continue reading →

By Roy Bloom, CJF APF-I Tongs are used to hold material too hot to hold with our hands. Maximum control is possible only if the tongs are set to the size of material being used. Photo 1 shows the jaws set correctly for the material. Continue reading →

by Roy Bloom, CJF APF and Dave Farley, CF APF The undercut, sometimes called a hoof gouge, can be used in place of the rasp when clinching. The photos give an excellent view of the steps involved. Like all new methods, the undercut may seem Continue reading →

Guest Blog from Rob Logsdon of FPD The Red Mile in Lexington, KY has long been referred to as “The World’s Fastest Harness Track.” Established in 1875, this track is the second oldest harness track in the world and holds many world record times. Many Continue reading →

by Mitch Taylor, CJF AWCF APF The foundation of any shoeing job is the foot preparation. One statistic that all farriers should be aware of is that most chronic lameness is caused by poor or improper foot care. Look at it this way. The horse Continue reading →

  In this article, we will look at the use of the drift and pritchel in the completing steps of the shoe punching process. We’ll use the 5 City nail and 5/16x3/4" barstock for the discussion. Figure 1 depicts the 5 City nail. Area A Continue reading →

Guest Blog from Katie Burnett   Each year, when it is time for the Derby, I am reminded of how my grandparents enjoyed the celebration of this race – and how much I love the memories of my grandparents. Mark and Peytie Scearce had a Continue reading →

Every year, I look forward to spending time at the track as everyone prepares for the Kentucky Derby. While everyone is enjoying all of the festivities, the farriers are hard at work making sure the horses are ready to run. My favorite moments included time Continue reading →

Guest Blog from Sara Vanderpol Travis Buck, Dan Corkery, Sara Vanderpol, Randy Brassard and alternate Johnny Edwards arrived in Birmingham, England this past September for the 37th International Horse Shoeing Championships. We spent three days at Derek Gardner’s shop in the Lake District, where horses Continue reading →

Guest Blog from Rob Logsdon of FPD It’s that time of year, traveling throughout the Southeast and Midwest, attending Clinics and Contests. I started this recent trip by attending a clinic in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, hosted by Tennessee Farrier Supply and sponsored by FPD. When Continue reading →

Everyone at FPD has enjoyed following the progress of the 2016 Canadian Farriers Team this summer. Under the Kerckhaert/Liberty brands we are proud to participate as a sponsor of this talented group of farriers. Led by their team manager Sean Elliott, CJF, they have been Continue reading →

Guest Blog by Rob Logsdon, FPD Josh Johnson and I had the pleasure of visiting Butch Colbert at Green County Horseshoe Supply Inc. in Greenville, New York on our way to Saratoga Springs recently. Butch delivers farrier supplies to several farriers at Saratoga racecourse and Continue reading →

Blog by Dan Burke, FPD When FPD was asked last year if we would sponsor a new farrier demo tent for the ABANA conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2016, we didn’t hesitate to say yes. We were excited to have the opportunity to Continue reading →

Guest blog by Rob Logsdon, FPD Recently, I was able to visit with Todd Boston at Churchill Downs, where Todd and his assistant, Kevin Howard were shoeing Tepin, Queen of the Turf, for trainer Mark Casse and owner Robert Masterson. Tepin defeated the boys in Continue reading →

Guest Blog by Josh Johnson of FPD Recently, I attended Meader’s 27th annual Farrier's Day Event; an event spread over three days and including a contest, blacksmith clinic and farrier clinic. Roy Bloom and Tom Willoughby were the AAPF sponsored clinicians for the event. On Continue reading →

From American Farrier's Association – No Foot, No Horse Newsletter, March/April 2016 Issue Author: Josh Tompkins, CJF Reprinted by Permission Hi, my name is Josh Tompkins, and I live in St. Petersburg, FL. I have been shoeing horses for about four years. Last year, Convention Continue reading →

Guest blog by Rob Logsdon, FPD Recently, I had the pleasure of traveling to New Mexico to visit some of our FPD customers. It was a beautiful time of the year for the visit and I thought I would share some of the highlights of Continue reading →

Guest blog by Allen Horton, FPD Recently, I attended the annual winter clinic hosted by Anvil Brand in Lexington, Illinois. This year’s clinicians were Terry Stever and Tom Willoughby. Both of these men have extraordinary talent gained through years of experience - and knowledge they’ve Continue reading →

The first day of the American Farriers Association (AFA) Tradeshow gave us an opportunity to reconnect with the farriers from the U.S., Canada, and overseas that we had met in the past years. We were also able to meet new attendees — including Mike Bagley Continue reading →

Guest blog by Rob Logsdon, FPD In the winter, if you are looking for many of the top thoroughbred horses and trainers, you are most likely to find them in Florida so that’s where I headed recently. I began in Wellington, where I was able Continue reading →