Announcing the HoofMakeover Video Series: Farrier Hans Wiza's Case Studies on Restoring Hoof Health

"HoofMakeover" is a series of downloadable case studies of three trims and/or shoeings that each detail the rehabilitation of a hoof over a period of 100 days. Developed by Ontario, Canada farrier Hans Wiza, the videos attempt to simplify hoof re-balancing and de-fuse the challenges of working on horses with weak hooves and conformational challenges by using time, observation and horsemanship to keep the hoofwork in perspective with the whole horse, how he stands, and how he moves.

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What’s your best investment when it comes to helping horses with hoof problems?

Videos aren’t worth much. It’s what you learn from them that counts.

And theories aren’t worth much, either, unless you trust that you can and will apply them in the real world.

What is worth the most is the horse standing in front of you, and what he can show you about his legs, his back, his hooves, how he stands, how he moves. He can tell you where and how much he hurts.

And if you know how to look, you can see the horse he might be, if he didn’t hurt. If his hooves weren’t clubby or flat or flared or chippy or cracked. 
If only he didn’t stand that way. If only he didn’t walk that way. If only you knew where to begin to help him.

Once you’ve heard from the horse, the videos and the theory can be worth a great deal.

Hans Wiza uses a china marker to locate simple landmarks on the hoof wall and bearing surface, indicating where he will trim, or what the orientation of the hoof capsule is. You'll meet each horse and its hooves, and hear Hans' reasoning for why the hoof shape and condition have deteriorated.

Introducing HoofMakeover: Canadian farrier Hans Wiza has collected a lifetime of thoughts about the way horses are built, the way they stand and how their hooves compensate for it all, and he has illustrated his work on a group of unsound horses in a new professional video series that can be downloaded from the Internet.

HoofMakeover's case studies are collected with three videos per horse. Each video shows one trimming or shoeing visit, so that you can follow the horse's progress over a period of approximately 100 days. It's not a quick fix, it's not a miracle cure: it's a process, and you can learn by seeing the hoof improve over time.

An apple for the teacher? HoofMakeover videos consider the horse as the one with the answers. Just remember "HANS": “Hooves Are Naturally Strong”. That is just one of the things that Hans Wiza says that horses have to teach us, if we are willing to take the time to observe and plan our actions to help them.

Unfortunately, it is not until the hoof fails that many people start to look for help.

Plenty of people have explained their theories of rehabilitation on video, but often what we are shown is a malformed hoof capsule that is reshaped in a single trimming and deemed a success. If only time could stand still! But it doesn't.

Who is Hans? Hans has devoted himself to horsemanship--both classical and natural--because he believes that it is essential for a professional farrier to be an expert horseman. His many credits include 45 years of shoeing and trimming horses of all breeds, for all sports, going back to his early education in the forge at the University of Hannover vet school in his native Germany. 

He combined his love for horses with a strong education in shoeing to climb his way up the ladder of farrier success, including three years of international competition as a member of the Canadian Farriers Team in England and Scotland. 

But when it came to what Hans felt he had to teach, it was not specialty shoemaking--you won’t see a forge or a hot shoe in these videos. There are many, many people who can teach shoemaking skills. There are also many, many people who can theorize on hoof balance, on trimming techniques, and on anatomical reference points. 

There are people who would like to make things as complicated as possible, and as expensive as possible, and who make it sound like hoofcare proficiency is as hard to obtain as the brass ring that is just out of your grasp on the carousel.

And then there’s Hans Wiza, who wants you to help a horse find its own “perfectly ordinary feet” and run on them.

Even if you have no plans to grab a rasp and start trimming, the HoofMakeover videos will help you understand horse conformation, posture and hoof mechanics in a new way. Whether it is recognizing hour-glass flares, curving cannon bones or weak stifles, you’ll benefit immediately from a new way of looking at horses.

Videos may not be worth much on their own, but what you take away from them is. You’ll take away an optimistic, caring and very important new way of looking at horses and their hooves in the case studies detailed in the HoofMakeover series. 

Start downloading, start thinking, start caring, and start working toward a new way of looking at horses, with the help of Hans Wiza and the horses he chose to share with you because they helped him learn, too.

Farriers get frustrated when horse owners can't "see" a horse's conformation, but if the owner is asked to look at the position of the fetlock over (right foot, foreground) or behind (left foot, background) the hoof capsule, they can see right away that there is a difference. Owners will also notice when their horses start standing differently, or are more responsive under saddle. For some horses, it might mean being willing to go both ways around the arena.

How does HoofMakeover work? Each case study in the series is available as an individual download of about 1-2 hours in length. You purchase the video and download it to your computer to watch whenever you like, as often as you like, in total or in parts. If you don’t understand something, you can watch it again and again.

Are these videos made for farriers and hoof trimmers? Yes! The horses in the videos are all challenges that many farriers see in their everyday practices. By watching how Hans de-complicates the problems, farriers can find answers in their own horses.

Can a horseowner learn from HoofMakeover videos? Yes! in fact, they are made for horse owners, too, especially the ones who don’t want to give up on their horses, and who would rather try to understand their horses’ problems than write them off as incurable.

Can we use these videos in our classes? The HoofMakeover videos are well-suited for classroom use in farrier schools, equine study classes and for group meetings.

How do I pay for a video? Watch the trailer video for the cases. Click the download button next to the video you want to watch first. A new screen will ask you for credit card or PayPal information; once your payment goes through (usually almost instantly), you can begin downloading. Then sit back and watch!

How can I learn more from Hans Wiza? Hans is available for shoeing, trimming and horsemanship seminars and lectures. Email Hans to ask him about his education work.

See more trailers, download your first HoofMakeover videos, and read more about Hans Wiza and the HoofMakeover program on the HoofMakeover.ca website.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Hoof Blog (Hoofcare Publishing) received compensation for publishing this post. Hoofcare Publishing has no other material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned, other than products and services of Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.