Anaconda Pintler wrote:BLAH I hate feet that are standing in water and mud! The "ol" let your water tank overflow mentality drives us full time farriers nuts!
Well that's too bad, cause we all know that keeping the farrier happy is the "real" point of owning horses. 
The reason those feet are hard is cuz so is the ground now what good is a soft footed wet spongy foot on hard dry ground? And vice Versa what good is a hard dry foot soft damp footing? These horses are designed to both absorb and expell moisture depending on the need why would anyone want to go and mess with a good thing that has allowed them to survive all these years?
I generally agree with all of that, but hooves don't do well in either extreme, which is what I was dealing with when I wrote my lil rant. I'm sure you know that. And hooves definitely crack much worse when they get dry and brittle, which is also part of the problem I was dealing with. As far as hoof dressings go KEEP THEM OFF MY FEET, think what you want but shoe about ten horses a day for the past twenty years and honestly tell me they work, phooey, junk and a waste of money?
I generally agree that many of the "supplements" and such out there are junk, but some of them work well and have their place.Tell you the secret to good sound and healthy feet: it starts with a good broad spectrum diet and proper hoof balance, period that is all the horse needs.
I agree that this is what "most" horses need, but a fair bit "need" more than that to stay sound and useable. If I'm wrong, let me go through your gear and see if there is a horse shoe in your trailer? How about a specialty shoe? Of course some need more than good food and proper trimming. Someone mentioned abscesses well just let them hard footed horses stand around in bacteria filled mud and see if that wont tear a good foot apart!
I mentioned the abscesses, which, in MY twenty years of experience occur when things get either very dry, or very wet, and if you bothered to READ what I wrote, I specifically stated that those horses didn't have an overflowing water trough, or any hoof conditioners, so according to your plan, their hooves were matched to the current soil condition (cracked and dry) so all is perfectly fine? Agree or not I am just "venting" as well but base it off years of experience!
Luckily, that old TB gelding is too numb and dumb to know that he should have been stone cold lame, but from my experience, I'd rather have hooves a little too damp than too dry. I can help dry. Can't do much about too wet.
I asked for it, I guess, but you dang sure are painting with a broad brush, and are assuming that nobody else knows anything about a horse. I've seen more horses have lameness problems due to improper farrier work than any other reason. Some top professionals in the horse lameness world agree with me on that point, I know for sure. I've also seen a bunch of farriers that didn't have enough horsemanship to fill a thimble, whopping a colt with a rasp for moving and such. I've told a few to get the heck off the place and don't come back, but you don't see me making the assumption that all farriers are clueless. You may be one of the great ones, but that post sure didn't share any genius with the guy who was asking for a simple answer to your incomplete earlier post.
Great farriers are like governors. There's about one in each state. Many of us have years of experience as equine professionals, and I thank you for taking the time to share yours. It is also noteworthy that just because you do something for a living doesn't mean you are any good at it. I know vets that I wouldn't let give my horse a shot, and trainers that I wouldn't let lead my horse and tie 'em up. Did you ever think that HALF of all doctors graduated in the LOWER 50% of their medical school class?
I guess I'm just a bit taken aback at the ill manners used by many in these forums. I highly doubt you'd have copped the same attitude if we were all hangin out at the barn, and I'd have made the same statements. If I've mistaken the tone that you were intending, I apologize.
FWIW, my current farrier is pretty good. He's a country boy about my age, who didn't go to a six week course, but rather apprenticed for three years under one of the most well respected farriers in our area. He takes his time and has a common sense approach, which I certainly prefer to the guys who have some off the wall fix for every little thing. I personally like his style of shoeing A LOT more than his former teacher's. He's also the son of a horse trainer, so I don't have to worry about him scaring the heck out of my colts due to lack of being able to read a horse, and that is what is most important to me. All those horses that are hard to shoe/trim are made, not born. He's also taken a bit of his time to watch me trim my own, and give me some pointers. That is what a farrier should be like. IMO My venting over.
Part of that character building stuff and learning what the farrier does from his POV.
