DAIN DUNSMORE EQUINE SERVICES

Hot shoeing is done with a forge to heat and shape the shoes.  The shoes are then hot fitted to the prepared foot,  making the union between the two completely level.  Cold shoeing is done by shaping a cold ready made shoe on an anvil without the added benefit of heat.

Hot shoeing by far makes the best fit, and is especially important for the proper application of clips or rocker-toes.

Most pleasure horses today are cold shod whereas many performance-breed horses are hot shod.  The advantage of cold shoeing is that it takes less time for the farrier and less money for the horse owner. 

Corrective farriery is done to change a fault of conformation or fault of gait.  For most breeds, this type of shoeing is done within the first nine months of the horses life.  However, there are some exceptions to this rule.  Arabians, as an example, can generally benefit from corrections if done within the first year.  Corrective shoeing of a mature horse is temporary.  Once the corrective shoe is removed, the horse will usually go back to its former conformation and gait. 

Therapeutic farriery is done to cure a disease or injury to the foot or leg and the cure is often a combined effort of the farrier and the veterinarian.  Generally, the farrier is responsible for the mechanical treatment and the veterinarian for the medical treatment.   One could say that the veterinarian prescribes and the farrier fills the prescription.  Therapeutic trimming and shoeing involves indepth analysis of the limb.  Each time a foot is trimmed or shod a type of "surgery" is performed. 

Being a farrier does not imply that one is a blacksmith.  A farrier is an  equine footcare specialist whereas a blacksmith is an iron worker.  That being said, some farriers have gone that extra step to learn certain components of the blacksmith trade.  One of the many reasons I studied at Shur Shod Horseshoeing School, is the fact that they include forge work (blacksmithing) as an essential part of their curriculum.  This education enables me to custom make specialty shoes and fill veterinary prescriptions  that may otherwise not be available.