Kirk Underschultz Farrier Services

01/18/2026

This is a very good explanation of DSLD.

Two experts describe this degenerative suspensory ligament condition in horses and what new information researchers are learning about it.

01/07/2026

05/21/2025

I am often asked “How often do you pick out your horse’s feet?”. My typical response is “Every time I trim them.” That is not often considered to be an acceptable answer!

All this flitted through my mind one day as I was trimming, and picking out, feet. So, I took some photos.

You can clearly see the bottom of the foot is filled with dirt. This gives great support and protection to the frog, sole and hoof wall. Leave this dirt in the bottom of a flat footed, thin soled thoroughbred and they won’t be ouchy on gravel.

With the dirt cleaned out you can see that this foot is long and needs to be trimmed. The last photo is the piece I trimmed off with a double A battery laying beside it for scale. The horse in my example happens to be barefoot but my observations apply equally to shod horses as
well. Overall length doesn’t matter. Dirt will give equal support to freshly trimmed feet, long feet or shod feet.

Over the past 10 years or so, great advances have been made using polyurethanes for hoof protection, frog support and sole support. One now common form used is called “pour in pads”. These pads are poured into the bottom of the foot as a liquid which quickly sets up as a soft, yet firm, gel, imitating the dirt for both form and function. Here is a link to a short YouTube video showing the procedure for a pour in pad.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ3cHAG1Hww&pp=ygUXcG91ciBpbiBwYWRzIGZvciBob3JzZXM%3D

Dirt - free.
Pour in pads - $40 to $80, every 6 weeks.

05/12/2025

Hi Folks. Attached is a letter from Ken Davis and Sons. They are a farrier supply warehouse in Richwood, Ohio. For the past 48 years I have purchased 85 plus per cent of my farrier supplies from them. I have received similar letters/warnings from both of my other suppliers as well, as has every other farrier I talk to. As such, be prepared for trimming and shoeing prices to increase as well. Some costs can and will be absorbed within the business, taking the best care possible of our clients, but at some point costs must be passed along in or to stay solvent and profitable. Thanks for understanding!

04/08/2025

I thought this was a fascinating read. Put out by the American Farriers Association.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanfarriers.com%2Farticles%2F11787-how-hind-end-geometry-improves-performance-and-balance%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6ZVpbezDwYwr5pnV1jZOzC0jAESrCNHsWkzM59ETg9E7JmLtDyWY0NH4pPZQ_aem_GBfrciQSu41Xj3YmG7h-1w&h=AT0ymZLdAInhWedkoGYvY7wYlcnKBNyYEQsMbYlA0b32FG5HCtmtC3748SbNHdoSHk9NsxeUxzfqj6jG6Ic3o4rr-ZKNmkWatH_CvO-iWkbc8xs7NAqFr2X_awvbwGu3pQTb8M1IET0FHryip4E&s=1

Car manufacturers know placing the power at the rear of the vehicle allows for better balance. Nearly all race cars are rear-wheel drive so that when accelerating from a stop, the vehicle’s weight transfers to the back of the car and provides increased traction.

02/23/2025

When riders sit/ride lopsided, it directly and negatively affects the movement and the soundness of their horse. The following illustrates this brilliantly!

🐴DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS🐴 Understand How Crooked Riding Affects Your Horse ...

Load a wheelbarrow heavily to one side as in the center illustration. Now push the wheelbarrow, and feel how it pulls to the weighted side and how you are forced to lean in that direction to compensate. That’s how your horse feels when you sit unevenly in the saddle, as shown in the left image. When you sit evenly, the horse will be centered and balanced as shown in the illustration on the right.
— Sharon Sweet

01/02/2025

Here is a link to a short video by Bryan Farcus. He is demonstrating how a horse owner can pull a shoe. https://www.facebook.com/share/3dU87gdo2d25rJ2E/

Demonstrating a safe and easy way to pull off a bend or loose horseshoe.

09/06/2024

08/08/2024

Here is the second trim showing how to gradually rebalance feet that are seriously distorted. It took 4 trimming cycles to restore these feet back to normal.

**NEW August UPLOADS** Check it out on " The Farrier Friendly Network" / YouTube channel...
S2.V1. https://youtu.be/f_Yh0I4nw1A?si=DVbCL3FApI_oUXe7
S2.V2.
https://youtu.be/1hEhP4bWxWk?si=YBXDu-gL5rVOg5Gv

Be watching for future uploads of..." A horse called Hank" ...
Coming in September ---Series #3
Coming in October -- Final Series #4