Hi, our farrier retired a couple of months ago. Thé barn owner found a New one but i am a bit concerned because WE have reining horses and this farrier IS spécialized in jumpers. Hé put sliders behind but i wanted to have opinions if it IS Bad that a farrier IS not spécialized in a certain discipline. Thank you
A balanced foot is a balanced foot. Period. In my opinion, it should not matter what you do with your horse. There is a correct way to trim a foot and a wrong way to trim a foot.
With that said, I recall someone in my area (we are NOT a big jumping area here in rodeo country) who was looking for a farrier who would purposefully keep her horse’s heels long and high for jumping, which baffled the heck out of me and got quite the social media response. Maybe jumpers can enlighten me if this is a real thing, but I can’t comprehend why you would purposefully trim a hoof NOT balanced and NOT to help the horse travel correctly.
Leaving the toes long, heels underrun, heels high, etc and so forth, don’t help the physical athletic ability of the horse with anything, even a simply leisurely trail ride.
I perhaps am very, very lucky that I have an amazing farrier. And he does know what us barrel racers need, what the reiners need, what the dressage people need, the endurance people, etc etc. But … he doesn’t trim the hoof itself any different. It’s just the different shoes he is selecting for the needs of the horse both for their discipline and for any lameness issues that might need managing. But it starts with a balanced trim.
If you are concerned, you could post pictures of your horse’s feet.
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Yes i will take pictures tomorrow. M’y concerne was more about thé hind féet of a reiner versus a jumper. Ibve Seen that thé New farrier trims shorter and feet look a bit more boxy than what i normally sée on horses that are used to stop or Wear sliders.
Balanced feet are balanced feet but I want someone who understands reiners/cow horses. You can really alter a stop by the shoe and shoeing quality. So I want someone that understands it and can shoe for it.
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I’m at a hunter barn and don’t understand this at all. Leaving toes long would cause a lot of interfering in front and seemingly affect the horse’s stride. Our farrier is multidisciplinary and works to make a balanced hoof regardless of the horse’s job.
Yes, i also think that but wanted to bé sure, i Know a good farrier IS a good farrier but specially for sliders behind i think it IS very specific of thé discipline
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Not bad that he doesn’t specialize in reiners as long as he’s willing to listen to what you want done and understand the goal.
Pics of his work would be good for us to help you. 
