Posted by Paul on January 03, 2003 at 00:27:10:
When I was in farrier school more than a decade ago the instructor hammered home the phrase, "Shape the shoe to fit the foot." I always considered this sound advice until recently. I was asked to look at a foundered horse at a farm that had over 150 head. Several farriers worked there and many horses got little attention other than at feeding time. As this horse was walked towards me I could see the extra long toe had been turning up for some time now. I was told that the horse had been shod about two weeks earlier but there was no improvement. I found it hard to believe he had been shod just two weeks prior since I could see the sole surface as the horse approached. Then I saw it, just a shimmer at first, then the toe of a shoe. Shaped as pretty as can be to fit the hoof, curled toe and all. I am certain that my instructor did not mean for me to shape a shoe to a neglected hoof and then nail it on. How could someone misunderstand the phrase, "Shape the shoe to fit the foot."
Simple, we are not all working from the same starting point. All this farrier knew was "Shape the shoe to fit the foot." My instructor meant, trim a hoof into balance taking into consideration all aspects of the horses way of going and his intended use, then shape an appropriately selected shoe to fit that properly trimmed and balanced hoof and nail it on.
Most of the back and forth that occurs on these boards is because there isn't a common starting point or a common foundation associated with certain terminology. "Shape the shoe to fit the foot", takes on a whole new meaning when you have too "balance" the foot first. If the application of proper balance isn't considered first in any remedy then it is unlikely that an in depth explanation of "Shape the shoe to fit the foot" will result in much more improvement than the original phrase.
Paul