Jude Florio

   To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them - Montesquieu In the past, I frequently attended riding instruction clinics of a very sought after Olympic medal winning rider and trainer who opened every session with the following statement (paraphrasing), "I have been doing this my whole life, 50 plus years. I don't consider myself an expert and if I'm not an expert, than you most certainly are not an expert." That statement always received uncomfortable laughs from the participants, most likely connected to their...

I've often wondered about the significance and the origins of what I might label the arbitrary four-week shoeing cycle, and its strict adherence by some owners, trainers and stable managers. I recognize scheduling is simplified when the shoeing occurs the same day every month. However, having now done this job for some time, I have identified many circumstances where horses would benefit with more time in between shoeing and on more than one occasion that has been my recommendation (accepted or not). Unfortunately, there are some non-farrier professionals who fail...

Sporadically, I have had trainers, owners and random onlookers approach me while I'm working on a horse with a remark that the horse's feet (specifically the front) 'sort of look different.' This normally only occurs when I find myself working on horses with extreme examples of mismatched feet, where one foot presents a longer-looking toe with a low or no heel, and the other, a shorter toe with a higher heel. My normal response usually includes a look (of disgust); however, their observations would be (somewhat) correct (on the surface),...

"It's all about soul...Yes, it is." The title and line from Billy Joel's 1993 hit refers to unmeasured essence of our being, and the same may be said also about another kind of sole, the hoof's sole, which is an often-overlooked, under-studied insensitive structure of the hoof that fails to get much attention until there is a problem. The failure to care for the sole's well-being, like its homophone cousin (soul), may have deeper implications and longer-lasting consequences for the soundness of the horse that it is attached to. The...

In Fair Hill, Md., the recent site of a large international equestrian event, several farriers gathered, not necessarily an unusual occurrence where events that involve horses are concerned. However, this day lacked the usual sights and sounds that horse people have become accustomed to when considering farriers: no ringing anvils, no screeching grinders or sounds of clinches being blocked. The assembled farriers did not unpack toolboxes from their rigs or unload any horseshoes; nonetheless, the group descended upon the Fair Hill show grounds only armed with cameras, measuring devices, laptops,...

Farrier Tales continues to pull back the curtain on all things horse, horseshoeing, farrier, and related science, attempting to provide useful information and insight for horse professionals and enthusiasts.  Have you ever wondered why your farrier often seems so grumpy? The headline, a quote from the classic movie Cool Hand Luke, basically sums it up. Over the course of my career, I have cultivated innumerable friendships with a number of colleagues from various backgrounds and nationalities. Despite our broad range of disciplines and skill sets, many of our shared concerns...

Periodically I find myself on the other end of a call with a client seeking a nonexistent 'tool' in my bag of tricks. It can be awkward to expose one's own ignorance on a topic, not to mention uncomfortable. In these instances, I suspect most farriers don't make it a habit of turning away 'good' clients and some of them reply, "Oh sure, I do that, or use that product all of the time." Shoeing sometimes requires a certain degree of salesmanship; I believe the Irish call it malarkey. Given...

Full disclosure, for anyone who knows me or has spotted my videos (Farrier Tales), I am not a 'plater,' but I am guessing that would be a foregone conclusion given the rotund nature of the horses featured. In fairness to them, they do go fast, but tend to have a few obstacles in the way. As one might expect, there is a significant amount of client crossover with the racing and show worlds; I've spent a fair amount of time at the farms, handling broodmares, wrestling babies and shoeing my...