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FARRIER CONVENTION IN CINCINNATI
by David Farmilo
Accredited Master Farrier, Oakbank SA
PH 0418 835 186
www.horsefarrier.com.au
After putting my proverbial toe into the water
by checking out farriery in the United States last year, I was
invited by the American Farriers Industry Association to address
the 3rd Annual International Hoof Care Summit in Cincinnati in
February 2006. Not only that, but I was invited to give both the
opening and the closing lectures. I wondered if maybe I had put
my whole foot in my mouth instead of in the water – was
I being honoured by this invitation or perhaps being lined up
for the firing squad?
The 2 topics I selected were my usual bandwagons
– I would open with “Back to Basics” and close
with “What has happened to the K.I.S.S. Principle”.
Everyone who has ever worked with me or attended one of my courses
could probably just about recite by heart what I would say.
I did research some introductory comparison
data for my powerpoint presentation – Australia is similar
in land area to America, however Australia has 20 million people
compared to Americas 300 million. Los Angeles alone has 20 million
people! Australia has 1.5 million horses compared to America’s
8 million horses. But that does give Australia a ratio of 1 horse
per 13 people compared to America’s ratio of 1 in 33.
We had one day in LA in beautiful 25 degree
weather. Then on to Cincinnati where it was 4 degrees. Farriers
Conventions in the US are timed for the winter months when work
is slow, and good accommodation packages are available. Our room
was on the 26th floor of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza,
a state of the art 28 floor Art Deco Hotel built in 1930 and renovated
to all its former glory, and we paid an amazingly cheap $US89
per night for this privilege.
The Convention Centre is 2 blocks down the
road from the hotel and as first speaker, I didn’t have
any time to think about getting nervous. Around 700 farriers registered
for this 4 day Hoof Care Summit, illustrating an amazing enthusiasm
and desire to learn.
Predictably, my lecture was my 12 point technique
to correctly balance the hoof, and thus avoiding over 90% of all
hoof problems which are totally unnecessary – I have reproduced
the main thrust :
BALANCE (AND THEREBY CORRECT) THE HOOF
1. Start with the biggest foot (the dominant
hoof)
2. Clean out loose and dead material
3. Remove only dead, flaky sole and leave the sole concave
4. Expose the ACTIVE TIP OF THE FROG
5. Place my HOOF-LINE marker on this active tip
6. Compare the measurement of the hoof from active tip to the
toe and from active tip to an imaginary line drawn across the
heel buttresses – if the front is longer than the back then
leave the heels untouched. OR VICE VERSA
7. Trim the front only, (assuming that is the longer half), ensuring
that the hoof capsule is an even thickness all the way around.
Uneven thickness is caused by FLARES.
8. Rasp FLARES away, copying the shape of the coronary band
9. The measurement in front will then be correct, as the hoof
has been correctly prepared.
10. To achieve equal measurement in the back half, to a straight
line across the buttress of the heel, the heel may be left alone
or lowered accordingly.
11. Check the medial/lateral balance in the same way.
12. WHEN THIS BALANCED MEASUREMENT IS ACHIEVED, THE FRONT OF THE
HOOF WALL IS PARALLEL WITH THE PASTERN ANGLE, THE HOOF SHAPE IS
A MIRROR OF THE CORONARY BAND, THERE ARE NO FLARES IN THE HOOF
WALL AND THE HOOF IS STRESS FREE. (The foot will also stand squarely).
A CORRECTLY BALANCED HOOF should be the end
result of every single trim. But why isn’t it? Why are there
so many hoof problems?
In Australia, horses invariably have LONG
TOES AND LOW HEELS;
from what I have seen in America, there are more SHORT TOES AND
HIGH HEELS
NEITHER IS CORRECT – THESE ARE FARRIER
PROBLEMS AND CAN BE ELIMINATED SIMPLY BY CORRECTLY BALANCING THE
HOOF
Farrier problems also result in
All of which can be eliminated by CORRECLY
BALANCING THE HOOF
After the lecture and associated question
time had finished, I was still answering questions outside the
hall 2 hours later. I spent every spare minute over the next 4
days talking - in the corridors, the elevators, the dining rooms,
the bar and on the street. The only meals I managed to eat were
room service. It was exhilarating to arouse so much attention
and to talk to so many farriers about their problems. The younger
farriers in particular wanted specific information – so
much is said about balancing the hoof, but there is no specific
documentation about achieving it. It gives me such pleasure to
be able to give them the information they need.
The 4 days was a total learning platform of
roundtable discussion groups and lectures, with some trade show
slots. I talked with so many of the well known names in farriery
– Dr Stephen O’Grady, Gene Ovnicek and Mike Wildenstein.
I also attended their lectures as well as those of Dr Ric Redden,
Dr Susan Kempson, Dr Scott Morrison and Dr Bob Bowker, and appreciated
how privileged I was to address this Convention.
I attended a breakfast for members of the
World Farriers Association. The Japanese Farriers Association
had its own translator, and I was able to explain my techniques
for hoof balance to them. Members from Canada, UK, Switzerland
and Denmark were just some of the countries represented.
My second presentation “as the cleanup
batter” (to quote the Hoof Care Summit literature) was held
in the Hotel in the extravagantly luxurious 2 storey high “Hall
of Mirrors”. I followed on from my first presentation by
reinforcing the need to keep the principles of trimming and shoeing
simple, and not to get lost in the flood of new products and techniques
aimed more at making money than at truly helping the horse.
After Cincinnati I ran a course (Clinics as
they call them) in Richmond Virginia and then more clinics in
California. I was even invited to address a select gathering at
the prestigious Santa Anita Racetrack in Los Angeles (as seen
in the movie ‘Sea Biscuit’). I ran a course at the
notable Panorama Equine Centre in Redding, Northern California
with Dr Wally Libermann, and on the way back to LA had a productive
meeting with researcher Michael Savoldi where we compared our
techniques for achieving hoof balance.
Then I flew on to Omaha (even colder than
Cincinnati) where I attended a second Farriers Convention. Emphasis
here was more oriented to shoe making (forging), shoeing competition
speeds and skills with ‘Wetlabs’ (workshops) offering
the opportunity to work alongside premier farriers.
Flying out of snowy Omaha, I flew back
to LA for a final clinic in Orange County where a breeder with
20 large carriage horses had extreme ongoing lameness issues over
the previous 5 years. I worked with his 2 farriers for 3 days
and achieved soundness in all 20 horses. It was 25 degrees when
I left LA and flew home to Adelaide to 35 degrees and an appointment
book of patient clients before preparing to head to Outback SW
Queensland in heavens knows what temperature.
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