Stanley Pritchett Precision Shoeing

Beautiful reminder 🤍

🤍Forgiveness is something you do for yourself.

🤍Remember that forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to tell the other person that you forgive them.

🤍You don’t even have to let them back into your life.

🤍Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. It also does not mean what happened was okay.

🤍 I forgive people. It doesn’t always happen quickly but I do the work to forgive so I can be free.

🤍 Forgiveness gives you your life and joy back.

(There are just some wounds that apologies don’t heal.-unknown)

😍😍😍

Grumbling of an old farrier. I’m too sore and hurt too bad to have fun. I walk everywhere now because my knees and hips tell me I can’t run. The bills keep coming, though there is not as many as when I was young, but they seem to still claim all the profit of all the horses I can shoe, except for a few. The young and pretty guys get more call’s because their jeans and rigs are in style. I don’t mind being replaced because I remember a time that I thought and looked just like them. I sure hope they realize before it’s too late, one day they will bend over to shoe a beautiful young horse and when they straighten up their hair will be all gone. They’ll limp to their old rig to find a new shoe and have to look hard for their eyes have dimmed. No worries though cause most everything they do by now is with their hands and mind and a little help from some sweaty lenses. I don’t want to go back and start again. I’m enjoying the simplicity of these golden years. If only experience could be bottled and sold by those who have grown old. Well here is a little advice, strike while it’s hot and make sure to care, charge for your labor love God, your family and your neighbors.

A discussion for tomorrow 💛

Love ❤️

Somewhere recently I ran across a chart for size of foot and toe length. I’m sure this has been around a long time. 30 years ago I made a chart with age, size, angle, and weight with corresponding toe lengths. Basically it just suggest to expect a range of toe lengths as related to other hoof and horse variables. Toe length continues to be what farriers talk about. I like to look at it from this perspective. What is the length of a horses toe? What should be the length of a horses toe? Certainly not all the same but a horses toe does have a length or a range of length. Example : is a horses toe 10” long or 6” long? No of course not. Is a horses toe 1” long or 2” long? Of course not but we are closing in on a constant. Is a horses toe more likely to be 3” or 4” freshly trimmed. 3 is on the short side and 4 is on the long side. So we could then say that 3 1/4” to 3 3/4” would be closer to a constant. Generally you should understand that 3,” 3 1/8”, 3 1/4” are in the smaller hooves ( #000 #00 #0), younger, more upright hooves. You should find that 3 1/4”, 3 3/8”, 3 1/2” would be in medium hooves ( #00 #0 #1)older more mature and various shapes and distortions. Anything over 3 1/2” to 4” is questionable but does occur in larger hooves( #1 #2)and weight. You can also expect occasionally to find a horse that is short at 4 1/2” but this length should be frowned upon as a constant for toe length. Measuring toe length prior to trim is a tremendous aid to the young farrier. Regardless of toe length refrain from over trimming the sole to find the perfect toe length. The perfect toe length is the length for each foot and must be found and noted by the farrier. No two horses have the same toe length though many will and if not there maybe as little as 1/8” difference. If a horse is too long in the toe or too far in front of the limb causing more labor and strain on the limb other methods are available to aid simpler movement. This is where mapping and finding an A/P balance that is beneficial to the horse is an eye opener. Since the foot grows at a forward angle in relation the the limb and ground the foot has a tendency to become more posteriorly loaded. So the antidote would be to provide posterior support to help keep a good A/P balance through the length of the cycle. The toe of course becomes suspect when A/P balance is compromised. Well, I hope this will spark thought and interest to the subject. My wish is that we all become better farriers for the horse.

Heart bar/castle plastic/DIM

Front- keg shoes re-stamped for smaller nail. Hind- 1/4x3/4. If it was for a slider the nails would have been slick (set deeper)with the shoe.

A first time customer. Horse was shod 8 weeks prior and didn’t grow any hoof. Toe was dished and run forward while heels were tall which indicates extra positive palmar angle. Sole pressure was evident and unavoidable. I repositioned the shoe, rocked the toe, and swedged the hoof surface of the shoe away from the sole. Hopefully this will improve circulation and promote some growth.