Your farrier gives your horses’ feet some love every 4-6 weeks. This keeps the entire horse healthy and comfortable - no hoof, no horse as they say. Being a company focused on horse health, Team Absorbine rubs elbows with farriers from around the world at the International Hoof Care Summit in Cincinnati. Here we learn the latest in hoof care from the farriers and veterinarians who make healthy horses their life’s mission. Now we’d like to share some of that experience with you in our Absorbine Farrier Spotlight!

Margie Lee Gustafson, International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame Inductee, Performance Horseshoeing, Woodside, CA

Absorbine: What made you decide to become a farrier?

Margie: I had a horse with a lot of soundness problems. And the farrier that the vet brought with her was someone I went to high school with. I was like 'Really? You can do that?' (I was 21 years old) Just seeing Joanie do it, I had not met another woman farrier. 

A: Do you have any hoof care tips you’d like to share?

M: Don't worry about it unless I tell you to!

A: What are some things you’d like your customers to do/remember before your visit and in between visits?

M: Have a flat, covered area for use to work in. Have your horse clean, and pick out their feet. No mud, and don't mess with your horse before we get there; let them relax and be relaxed. 

A: What is your most memorable hoof recovery story where you helped solve a hoof issue?

M: There was a pony named Hazardous Horse. She was a laminitic pony. We tried doing trimming, we tried taping stuff on her feet. We finally tried making some open-toed heart bars for her and glued them on her little feet. Then she was a happy pony, and it got her through the laminitis. And then she lived for another 10 years, she was already in her 20's. She was a great pony, she had a heart of gold. 

A: What are your favorite Absorbine products and why did you start using them?

M: I'm really liking the honey (Silver Honey Ointment) I got it in the tube and I'm finding that to be really useful. 

A: What is the funniest thing a non-horse person has said to you about horses?

M: They say 'Are you kidding me? You do that? You shoot them?' No! I SHOE them haha

You can read more about Margie in an AFJ article here: americanfarriers.com/articles/11832-hall-of-fame-inductee-margie-lee-gustafson