My Mare's Feedback Was Clear

My Icelandic mare went barefoot for a long time. In her old stable (a paddock trail with exclusively soft surfaces), this worked without any problems. After moving to an active stable (with a high proportion of paved areas plus a sand paddock), you could practically watch her hooves getting shorter and shorter. My mare became increasingly footsore, and after a faulty trim by our old farrier, who didn't take the new wear situation into account, she became very reluctant to walk on hard ground and would immediately move stiffly.

Two of my stable companions were already absolutely thrilled with the Goodsmith, so I decided to give it a try as well.

My mare's immediate feedback after fitting was unmistakable: she wanted to trot off right away in the stable aisle, whereas an hour earlier without the Goodsmith she had been moving very stiffly on the concrete floor.

We started by fitting the Goodsmith only on the front hooves. I had great support from my stable companion, and after a good hour we had fitted the Goodsmith without any major issues. I think that with each application more routine will develop and the time required will certainly get shorter. The online video tutorial explained the process very well, and on top of that we were lucky that the 3D-printed size we ordered barely needed any adjustment.

My mare walks very contentedly with the Goodsmith. Whether on the arena, in the indoor school, on hard ground or out on trails - she manages every surface without difficulty or footsoreness.

I'm absolutely thrilled and would choose the Goodsmith again and again. My mare's feedback is also unmistakable. We are absolute fans. I also think it's great that you can, for example, simply reattach a tab if something comes loose (though this has never happened to us). A great system that I can recommend to anyone :-)

Photos: Magdalena Müller