The term “corrective shoeing” is often overused and misunderstood. It sometimes implies that the farrier can correct conformational faults of feet and legs. In reality, often very little can be done to change the way a horse is built. Trying to fix a horse’s conformation problem via “corrective shoeing” will just put more stress on other parts of the limb.

No horse’s limbs are perfectly symmetrical or perfectly aligned and balanced. A fine line exists between acceptable and poor conformation; it depends on how the horse is put together, how he handles his feet and legs, and his use. If he can manage to run, jump, cut cattle, or finish a hundred-mile endurance race without trouble and stays sound, you don’t need to worry about “correcting” his faults. You can, however, make small corrections with each trimming or shoeing, to keep the feet as well balanced as possible to prevent limb interference.

Most farriers strive to keep the feet balanced, and only in a few cases try to do “corrective” work. True corrections are generally done by trimming, not shoeing, because true corrections are only effective on foals