Luke Cain Awcf farrier.

Luke Cain Awcf farrier. Luke Cain AWCF Registered Farrier
Specialising in all aspects of farriery, barefoot trimming and remedial shoeing.

- Based in Penzance, covering the south west of Cornwall
- I offer a professional, patient and reliable service
- All aspects of shoeing and trimming undertaken including remedial work
- Experience of shoeing many different types of horses in a wide variety of
disciplines
- Any enquiries, small or large, please do not hesitate to contact me

These 3D printed lower limbs are a great educational tool. This one I added a lot of notes on-daily hoof care-signs of l...
29/08/2026

These 3D printed lower limbs are a great educational tool.

This one I added a lot of notes on
-daily hoof care
-signs of lameness
-poulticing
-hoof ailments
-tips on management

Whilst away this week, I had the privilege of doing a talk and a couple of demos for the new Isles of Scilly Pony Club B...
29/08/2026

Whilst away this week, I had the privilege of doing a talk and a couple of demos for the new Isles of Scilly Pony Club Branch .

We went through daily management of hooves, points of the hoof. Signs of lameness and poulticing.

We also used the emergency shoe removal kit , kindly loaned from Tom smith. Learning how to remove shoes is a very valuable skill.

Looking forward to doing something again in the near future.

Couldn’t get the time away to do things like this without having a great team back at home keeping everyone going, Dewi Rhys Davies holding the fort. Tom Williams busy making shoes for the coming weeks.

🌧️ finally we’ve had some rain, everything has been desperate for it. 🛘horses feet are no different, they’ve been like r...
22/08/2026

🌧️ finally we’ve had some rain, everything has been desperate for it.

🛘horses feet are no different, they’ve been like rock for the last few months.

If it looks like your horses soles and frogs are falling off, it’s because they are . Natural exfoliation is another very cool feature of a horses hoof, this process allows the hoof to naturally manage the thickness of the sole.

During the hard ground / dry weather months horses will develop extremely thick hard soles, we leave as much of it as possible when shoeing. Personally I don’t agree with stripping feet and leaving the hoof compromised , horses are telling us they want it there for a reason. A natural pad some are better at this than others.

As soon as it rains and the ground softens slightly, the soles will loosen and the frogs shed, we will remove whatever is loose and flaky. So don’t panic 😱

Some before and after pictures of a lovely ID mare I shod this morning.

Over the coming months, a lot of you may start seeing writing on the soles of your fluffys feet. A lot of our stock is h...
12/08/2026

Over the coming months, a lot of you may start seeing writing on the soles of your fluffys feet. A lot of our stock is hand made, and keeping a database of images will allow us to make accurately fitting shoes, increasing productivity at the horse.

Don’t be alarmed, these are just measurements to allow us to cut the right amount of steel and hand make shoes. Taking the picture of the feet gives us a lasting reference of the individual foot, shape and dimensions.

This chap had his shoes made on site by Dewi Rhys Davies, a very tidy job in 40min. Start to finish 👌. Because what else would you want to do in 32 degrees 😂

🐎 Hind feet move you. 🛞 Front feet steer you . Some days, we have to remind ourselves how well designed these fluffy’s a...
08/08/2026

🐎 Hind feet move you.

🛞 Front feet steer you .

Some days, we have to remind ourselves how well designed these fluffy’s are. Speed, strength and agility all wrapped up into an irrational,flighty wrecking ball.

*THOUGHT OF THE DAY*A refitted handmade shoe, always makes me appreciate the job more. Not only has it been made by one ...
24/07/2026

*THOUGHT OF THE DAY*

A refitted handmade shoe, always makes me appreciate the job more. Not only has it been made by one of very few apprentices, shaped and nailed on 6 weeks ago, it was applied to a living animal.

Said animal has had it attached for over a 1000 hours, during that time it’s survived every near death experience a horse could have concocted in its head, some examples

-flys 🪰
-shadows 👻
-wildlife 👽
-other horses 🦄
- change of wind direction 🌪️
-being ridden ( for some it’s close ) 🐎
-general day to day life 🙄

I’m pretty sure there is no other trade that can handmake an item, attach it to an animal and come back at a later date and it still be there 🤷‍♂️

*On that note*

Me and the rest of the cain clan are away next week.

So if your delightful fluffy decides it no longer wants its piece of metal, call the normal number . Dewi will be around to cover all emergencies .

May the odds for ever be in your favour 🫡

🪰🪰🐴TGIF🐴🪰🪰What a week, averaging 28-35 degrees on some yards this week☀️🔥🤯But the flys have superseded everything else a...
17/07/2026

🪰🪰🐴TGIF🐴🪰🪰

What a week, averaging 28-35 degrees on some yards this week
☀️🔥🤯

But the flys have superseded everything else and caused chaos. I recon we’ve had more lost, twisted and sprung shoes due to stamping with flys and hard ground in these last 2 weeks than we have all winter 🤦‍♂️

Keep up with the moisturisers , lotions and potions , fly rugs and boots if you’ve got them. Breaks from the sun and plenty of electrolytes in water.

Don’t worry it’ll be winter soon and I’ll be whinging about the wind, rain and mud 🤦‍♂️

Couple of pictures from this week of fly and weather affected feet

Hope everyone has a great weekend
🐴☀️

🤦‍♂️ Side effects 🤦‍♂️Over the last 12-18 months we’ve had several horses treated for Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGU...
15/07/2026

🤦‍♂️ Side effects 🤦‍♂️

Over the last 12-18 months we’ve had several horses treated for Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS).

The symptoms can be complex and numerous, as are the causes. However we only tend to be seeing a very nasty side effect, that directly impacts our job.

Equine Omprazole aka, GastroGard and UlcerGard. Is commonly the treatment we hear of the most. By suppressing the production of stomach acid, it allows the gut to heel.

I will attach a link about the drug here

https://share.google/DTmmLYRro8L8nl2Ze

It’s a very interesting read, and well worth looking at the side effects.

It’s been proven that over the course of the treatment, magnesium and calcium are significantly indigestible. This in turn has a significant impact throughout the body, including the feet.

A few good footed horses I’ve shod for a period of time showed a rapid decline in hoof quality and strength. In some cases completely falling apart, unable to hold shoes on for more that 3-4 weeks and increased shoe loss, with significant damage sustained.

The more I see horses having the treatment, the more I see these side effects.

I’ve recently asked for feedback from other farriers have seen a significant amount of horses showing the same symptoms. Some even suggesting more extreme symptoms such as laminitis .

Whilst there is very little farriers can do regarding the treatment of ulcers it’s important to discuss the side effects, and adapt the shoeing plan accordingly whilst treatment is ongoing.

I’ve attached 2 pictures of a young mare that up until her treatment, had some of the best feet I’ve seen. You can see a significant change in hoof quality half way down the hoof capsule , and extensive bruising. The structural integrity of the hoof is compromised, with no noticeable landmarks of the solar surface ie, whiteline, hoof wall and bars. Which is apparent in all 4 feet.

Luckily this owner is incredibly vigilant and her management is where it needs to be to recover well 🤞

I’d be interested if anyone here has also noticed Changes similar to these pictures, in their own horses .

County show season is upon us. Busy couple of weeks ahead for horses and people. This is one of our hunters off todo her...
19/05/2026

County show season is upon us. Busy couple of weeks ahead for horses and people. This is one of our hunters off todo her thing 🤞🤞

We will both be away from tomorrow afternoon crossing the Tamar , paying to shoe horses 😆. Any emergencies will be sorted on Sunday once I’m back .

This job certainly won’t ever let you get bored. A busy month ahead with a couple of county shows and competitions, mixe...
15/05/2026

This job certainly won’t ever let you get bored. A busy month ahead with a couple of county shows and competitions, mixed in with our day to day work 👌

Hope everyone has a good weekend 🍻👍

Address

Based In Gulval
Penzance

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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