A half-dozen leading farrier industry suppliers have been announced as the 2016 co-sponsors of the eighth annual American Farriers Journal âRising Shoeing Starâ program.
A farrier customizing shoes for a horse
The program honors young farriers for making outstanding career progress in their first 3 years working in the equine footcare field and promotes the importance of further education, while encouraging young farriers to be successful in their careers.
The program honors three young farriers for making outstanding career progress in their first 3 years working in the equine footcare field. This recognition promotes the importance of further footcare education, while encouraging young farriers to be successful in their careers.
The six co-sponsors for the 2016 program include:
- Electric Hoof Knife, Tallahassee, Fla.
- Hawthorne Products, Dunkirk, Ind.
- Life Data Labs Inc., Cherokee, Ala.
- Purcell Farrier Supply, Purcell, Okla.
- Vettec Hoofcare Products, Oxnard, Calif.
- R.J. Mathews Company, Massillon, Ohio
This program will honor three outstanding farriers who graduated from one of the countryâs more than 50 horseshoeing schools during 2012 and have spent the past 3 years working in the hoof-care profession.
The first place âRising Shoeing Starâ award winner will receive $1,000 and have his or her expenses paid to next winterâs 13th annual International Hoof-Care Summit, being held from Feb. 2 to 5, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Each of the two runners-up will receive $500 and free registration to the Summit. The three schools that educated this trio of âRising Shoeing Starsâ will also be recognized.
The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2017 âRising Shoeing Starâ program, that will include farriers who graduated from a farrier school in 2013, is July 31, 2016.
The farrier's role in horse care
Your farrier provides the knowledge and expertise for keeping your horse's hooves trimmed, shoed, healthy and sound.
Here are 6 things your farrier can do to help keep your horse's hooves and lower limbs in the best possible condition:
- Checking your horse's hooves for disease, stress, or damage that might threaten the health and condition of the horse
- Trimming the hooves properly and accurately based on the horse's anatomy, proper orientation to the ground, and the work load of the horse
- Shoeing the horse to guard against cracking and splitting and to provide proper support for the horse's limbs based on physical characteristics and work load
- Treating conditions that threaten the health of the horse's hooves or lower limbs such as hoof cracks and contracted heels
- Designing and applying corrective shoes depending on the condition, work load, and needs of the horse
- Advising horse owners on the need for special treatments such as the need for therapeutic hoof dressings or sealers, frequency of needed trimming and shoeing, and giving advice on improvement in diet for horses with hoof problems.