Author Archives: Nancy Rich-Gutierrez

Horseshoe-free hoof proponents can be very enthusiastic and are often devoutly committed to the theory of "natural is best." Often, natural is best. However, shaming people for putting shoes on...

A big part of running a farrier business is educating horse owners. Everyone is at a different level of knowledge and comes to us with a different background, and we...

Every now and then in the farrier business, we find ourselves in appointments that get strange in a hurry. While we always try to serve every client to the best...

The diagnosis of a hoof abscess is something most equestrians are going to have to deal with sooner or later. It is icky, painful, annoying, and time consuming to figure...

Recently, my gelding injured his leg. He had some puffiness and low-grade lameness, so I treated it with ice wraps and stall rest with hand walking for a few days....

I always thought alfalfa was basically the worst thing you could feed your horse. Maybe not arsenic bad. But I had it hammered into my head from day one that alfalfa...

If there is one simple change to your horsey routine that doesn’t get mentioned much but would really make your farrier’s (actually, everyone’s) life easier, it would be these three...

When I first moved to Texas, my dog, Jackson, was behaving strangely a few hours after going to a dog park, so I took him to see the vet. No...

A few months ago, I fell off our three-year old son’s leadline horse. Chiquita is the sweetest, chillest, laziest mare you can imagine. Nothing bothers her—I could put Henry, who...

From your first riding lesson, you were told to pick your horse’s hooves out every single day (or you should have been). If you did Pony Club or 4-H, you...

I may own a farrier business with my husband, but I’m still an amateur rider and competitor. It’s a tough world out there. All the articles I see online mostly...

As horse owners, we all have enough to worry about. Horses are constantly determined to do themselves harm. You can literally put them in a padded room and they will...

The call usually starts innocently enough. “How much do you charge to trim a miniature horse?” (or foal, mini donkey, goat, any other little hooved animal). I ask a few...

A couple weeks ago, we had to say goodbye to my horse Robbie. He was the star of “5 Ways to Help Your Fidgety Horse Relax for the Farrier,” because even...

Does your horse turn into the Tasmanian Devil every time he sees the farrier’s truck arrive? Do you dread any activity that isn’t active with your way-too-energetic partner in crime? Obviously,...

One of the biggest annoyances for horse people is when a horse throws a shoe. They always do it at the most inconvenient times—the morning you’re leaving for a show...

As anyone who has been around an equestrian knows, put ten horse lovers in a room and you'll get 11 different opinions. We're a passionate bunch with strong views on EVERYTHING. Literally....

Farriers are an enigma, but as horse owners, we can’t live without them. When my husband and I were dating, he wanted to go to farrier school. I supported this...

As I mentioned in The Mare Agreement, my Arabian mare, Haley, is a bit of a drama queen. She does not tolerate discomfort of any kind under any circumstances—unless it is...

It has been said that there is no such thing as a stupid question, and for the most part, that’s true. However, sometimes people don’t think before they speak. At...