Applying shoes to the feet of horses has been a common practice for more than 1,000 years, while the first horseshoes may have been used as much as 2,500 years ago. Generally, the feet of domesticated horses are trimmed to balance and reduce excessive hoof length, and, in many cases, horseshoes are applied as an aid for traction, protection, and to reduce wear of the hoof wall. Therapeutic horse­shoeing, therapeutic farriery, corrective shoeing, and podiatry are some of the terms that have been used to describe the care of a horse’s hoof to ad­dress abnormal conditions beyond this common practice. Since many farriers use various shoes, pads, and application methods, therapeutic shoe­ing is practiced by most farriers at various levels. It could also be argued that basic horse shoeing is therapeutic in nature.

There are various certifications and endorse­ments that farriers can acquire from a handful of farrier organizations, indicating specialty or ability. These involve additional training, apprenticeships, case studies, and testing. Additionally, there are veterinarians who are trained farriers with experi­ence and specialty achieved beyond the scope of what is provided in vet school. Depending on cli­ent base, geography, experience, and preference, veterinarians and farriers often specialize in certain disciplines or breeds.

As much as 80% of equine forelimb lameness is due to problems involving the feet. Some of the usual conditions where therapeutic horseshoeing is utilized include laminitis and founder, navicular disease, hoof cracks and defects, coffin bone inju­ries or disease, infections such as canker, white line disease and abscesses.

Soft tissue injuries involving tendons and ligaments as well as diseases involving bone and joints can also be addressed with modula­tion of the foot even though these injuries may be located further up the leg. For example, shoeing applications to reduce strain on a suspensory liga­ment can greatly improve healing and comfort for suspensory desmitis