>>>> I have never thought it did. I use the same farrier for my TWH, my Standardbred and my Icelandics that we've use for all the endurance horses.
Same here. We've used the same farrier for 15+ years, and he's done my walkers, my app, my Arab, my QH's, and the Icelandic's. He trimmed the Arab when he was being a hunter pony, a dressage horse, and a trail horse - the same way the whole time. He'd never trimmed an Icelandic before he did mine, and he didn't have any trouble recognizing an Icelandic frog and an Icelandic sole - they really do look a lot like any other horse feet! :) >>> I love it if I can have Hunter shod about one week before a competition. He just floats over the trails. He's a little less floaty when his feet begin to grow out, making me wonder about the show ring tradition of long feet on TWH's. They must never go in the mountains. The ones with the longest feet never leave the barn, except to go into an arena or show ring. But, even the ones with just "plain ol' long feet" usually can't go without shoes. A hoof that is out of balance is more likely to chip and break due to the mechanical stresses...reminding me of that stallion at the recent World Championships. Something must have been really awry for him to blow that much hoof on a groomed, flat track. He was a breeding stallion, right? I wouldn't want to breed to a stallion with questionable feet, unless I could prove that the questionable issues were man-made and not genetic. Karen Thomas, NC
