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Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine
EHALmagazine.com|
February 2017
| ©
Everything Horses and Livestock
If you and your horse have a specific discipline then
you probably have a farrier/shoeing program tai-
lored to best suit your needs. However if you’re any-
thing like me, you never know from one weekend to
the next if you’ll be gathering cattle in open country,
cowboy racing on dirt or grass, ranch sorting, work-
ing cowhorse in the arena, trail riding in rocky coun-
try, or maybe even taking in a local versatility show.
If you don’t know already, I absolutely love shoeing
horses, but I have a deep passion for good horses
and horsemanship. I strive to create good all around
horses. An all around horse to me, is a horse I can
go do anything from trail riding to mounted shooting
to performance work. I like my horses to know what
a roping pen is, what a reining pattern is, and ulti-
mately what a cowboy race is.
Today the equestrian world has so much to offer for
disciplines. I’m not sure you could try them all in a
life time. We sure can’t afford to buy and take care
of a horse for each one. So many of us have to ask
our beloved equine partners to wear different hats
from time to time.
As a farrier, my job is to help make sure each horse
can do his job correctly and to the best of his ability.
This is relatively easy if a horse has one specific
job. Each discipline generally has a certain way to
shoe a horse for optimum performance.
A western pleasure horse typically will have alu-
minum on the front to decrease weight and allow
for more natural movement. A jumper will typically
have a wide heavy shoe for support. It will often be
tapped for screw in studs to aid in traction. A rein-
ing horse will often have wide plates in the rear to
decrease traction and allow it to slide to a stop.
These are all great and healthy modifications to
help enhance a horse’s performance. However,
what about the all around horse? We can’t put wide
plates on the rear and go gather cattle on grass!
It would look more like equine figure skating! (You
never know, this may be a new sport) You wouldn’t
want to go trail riding or packing with reining plates
either. The aluminum we put on Western pleasure
horses wouldn’t hold up well in those rocky condi-
tions either.
So how do we handle the all around performer? The
jack of all trades, master of none type horse?
One thing is for certain. Any horse used for any
kind of job deserves the best hoof care possible.
SHOEING THE ALL AROUND PERFORMANCE HORSE
By Featured Writer Joshua Rushing
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