TCJpart72 Feet

FEET...again & wisdom from STEVE:

Tom & Henry have lovely shaped feet, Steve works hard with pure skill and years of experience to ensure their shod feet are an extension of their own-grown feet.  A perfect angle, a lovely round even shape and rasped with ever decreasing fineness of tools for a mirror-finish, their feet are picture perfect and beautiful.

Steve is a third generation farrier, likely born with a rasp in his hand!!  I found him on the Worshipful Company of Farriers website, it can help you find farriers in your area, but always back these contacts up with recommendations if you can.  At least 3 people mentioned Steve to me before I called him, Jenny was one of them!

Tom & Henry took an instant like to Steve, a quiet humble man, comfortable around big horses...he shoes everything from Shires to Shetlands...and anything Steve asks them, they do.

Tom, as you know is inherently distrustful, is so comfortable with Steve he sometimes falls asleep, poor Steve has to hold him up!!!

Once he's done the boys are noticeably happier on their feet, prancing about and moving with such grace...of course they have just spent  the last few days with hoof boots on one foot each, and although they can get on and move about unhampered (and the boots really do a brilliant job), elegant and floaty they are not. 

T&H show-off their new pedicures, without exception they'll hang about in the yard until Steve has driven away (they love Uncle Steve), they go straight out into their fields and frolic about in a look-at-me type of gorgeous fashion typified by the Trakehner....everything they do is simply stunning.

To replace any worn horn due to riding over hard surfaces, and lots of roadwork, although it doesn't need much to wear the horn down in my experience, is what shoes are for.

A well shod horse will have had his way of going assessed by your farrier and Steve hand-makes T&H's shoes every visit so they are a perfect bespoke fit. 


I never tire of watching him and his craft, it's just so skilled and slick.

Of course one day Steve will retire, so I have to consider the possibility of going barefoot, I don't mind about not riding, I don't do much roadwork anyway if I can help it.  Steve will still come I hope about  every 8 weeks once barefoot, but he wont be bent over an anvil just a cup of tea!

Appreciate the experts who tirelessly work for the benefit of your horse, you may not realise the skill that's involved, Steve doesn't give me a blow-by-blow when he's here but I know he works a special shoe to help Henry's dishing.

A few things to remember:  Lessons Learned from Steve:

• he likes clean dry feet, always have a towel handy if you've brought your horse straight in from the field, even now in July....it's very muddy out there.
• he likes a picked-out foot
• he likes me attached to the front end and not getting in his way
• he doesn't like Tom or Henry biting his bum...or rubbing their heads on it either.....in fact bums are out of bounds.
• he likes the kettle on, but always says no to a biscuit!
• he doesn't like treat feeding
• he likes chinos, and always turns-up looking very smart in a shirt and shiny boots, and changes
• he doesn't mind how long the job takes, he does the job right, he is never in a rush
• he doesn't like any topical hoof treatments like moisturiser or hoof-hardener, left on it's own a hoof  should be perfectly capable to adapt to any natural conditions like wet or dry
• he likes the Queen
• he doesn't believe a horse that is fed correctly should need any additional supplement for the feet, he says wild horses have brilliant feet
• he loves putting the world to rights....as does John, they love a good chat
• he gets upset when he sees horses with badly shod feet
• he loves wildlife
• he is always right about the weather and gives Countryfile a run for their money
• he will look at the berries in autumn and tell you whether it's going to be a cold winter
• he wishes more vets would ask for help and call a great farrier to help with feet problems, because some emergency footwork can cause more problems than they fix. My vet (Louisa), thinks Steve is a sweetie!
• he wont eat cake unless home made by our Mum's
• he knows all the poisonous weeds, I always show him plants I don't recognise

The necessity of shoeing means we have experts visit our horses regularly, use this interface wisely, your farrier for example might notice your horse putting on weight and you may not, he might notice, but the trick is to ask and listen.

Our horses rely on us, don't let them down.