Jeff Cota

2 weeks ago | americanfarriers.com | Jeff Cota

Watch one hoof trimming video on social media, and before long, the algorithm takes over. Your feed is flooded with everything from quality hoof-care educational content to tripe produced by engagement farmers. And the world is noticing. Most engagement farming content is easy to spot. The first frame grabs your attention. Perhaps it’s a three-legged lame horse hopping toward a barn, followed by an abrupt cut of a hoof being trimmed. Pay no mind to how the horse mysteriously changed color.

1 month ago | americanfarriers.com | Jeff Cota

The International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame is the crown jewel of farriery. We know, because you criticize it. The conclusion might seem counterintuitive, but it’s not. Criticism is good. It means the industry cares who is held up as an example of excellence in this honorable trade. Yet, the true value rests in the benefits of constructive criticism. Outside perspective.

1 month ago | americanfarriers.com | Jeff Cota

High-low feet are disproportionate in that one foot is higher than the other. Since the feet are so dissimilar, each have their own characteristics. The low foot typically is a broader, more rounded, fuller hoof. Its characteristics might include:Bull-nosed dorsal wall. Crushed, under-run heel. Posterior bruising. Broad, prolapsed frog. Collapsed bars. Preferred lead. “The horse will often have a broad, bulbous frog,” says Hall of Fame farrier Danvers Child. “Some people refer to it as a prolapsed frog.

1 month ago | americanfarriers.com | Jeff Cota

A bipartisan trio of Congressional members introduced legislation that would repeal and replace the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) if enacted into law. Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican, and Rep. Don Davis, a North Carolina Democrat, introduced the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA) to improve the integrity and safety of racehorses, as well as resume state sovereignty.

1 month ago | americanfarriers.com | Jeff Cota

“The quality of shoeing is really good [in the San Francisco Bay area],” says Somerset, England, native Mike Hayward. “You have to bring something to the table that the others don’t. Everyone gets along pretty well. A lot of people try to come into the area because you can make a very good living.”Hayward primarily shoes performance horses and therapeutic cases in the Bay area with his team, Esteban Narez and Fernando Roman, on a 5 to 6-week schedule.