American Farriers Journal

4 days ago | americanfarriers.com | Frank Lessiter

Plenty of the farriers attending the annual International Hoof-Care Summit (IHCS) buy products at the world’s largest footcare trade show and carry them home. But nobody comes close to the journey taken by Australian farrier Neville Wright. The now deceased Australian farrier from Bobinawarrah in the state Victoria, was a five-time IHCS attendee between 2004 and 2014, choosing to attend every second year during this time span.

3 weeks 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.

3 weeks 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.

1 month ago | americanfarriers.com | Frank Lessiter

The 2025 running of the Kentucky Derby that saw Sovereignty win on a muddy track brought up some thoughts on the use of toe grabs. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by jockey Junior Alvarado, the shoeing was done by JT Bayes, a third-generation racetrack farrier who works with his dad Jim Bayes. About a week before the race, Bayes nailed Kerckhaert Tradition series shoes on all four feet, with the hind shoes having 2 mm toe grabs.