Along with trainers, vets, and grooms, farriers play a key role in the success of elite riders and horses.

“Farrier to the stars” Neal Tredinnick began his career in Essex, U.K., where a young local athlete named Ben Maher was among his clients. “Ben grew and grew and started making a name for himself, including winning some Olympic medals, (and that success led) to people wanting to train with him,” Tredinnick said of Maher’s journey to become one of Britain’s most successful Olympic equestrians. Maher was on the gold-winning jumping teams at the London 2012 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and won individual gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Tredinnick went on to start shoeing the horses of riders who trained with Maher, and his client list snowballed as many decided that their horses were going better when he worked on them. “Suddenly I started flying with them and wherever they went, I went,” Tredinnick said. “I’ve been fortunate that I’ve got to travel the world doing a job that I love, horses have been my passion since I was a small child.”

Tredinnick and his family relocated to Wellington, Fla., two years ago and he now shoes Kent Farrington’s horses. Other notable riders on his client list are Leslie Howard, Mario Deslauriers, Alberto Michan, Jimmy Torano and Paul O'Shea. Tredinnick said he mostly works with jumpers but does dabble in dressage occasionally. 

Tredinnick says the biggest difference he sees when shoeing the horses of elite riders is how involved they are in the process. “The elite competitive clients know more about horses’ feet than most people,” he said. “These riders can feel if the foot is healthy or if something is wrong. They also know exactly what the foot should look like. They want to feel a difference in how the horses are going.” He also said veterinarians are very involved, and he often speaks to a client’s vet before going to shoe a horse.

“When I work with a vet, we focus on keeping everything central as much as possible so that the horse can work properly,” Tredinnick explained. “If you go too wide on one side of the shoe then it puts the horse off. You want everything central down the limb, and then you support it where it needs supporting, such as the heel or the toe. The foot is like Play-Doh - if you put too much pressure on the inside, for example, then it will flair to the outside. It's about keeping the pressure down the center so that the horse can work at its best and all the muscles and ligaments can work together.” While there are many different types of shoes or enhancements farriers use for various disciplines, Tredinnick believes less is more. “Balancing the feet is the most important thing, not how many products, new inventions or fancy shoes you can put on them ... just taking it back to basics works best,” he explained.

Tredinnick said to ensure adequate foot balance, and that the shoes have been put on straight, he will draw a line through the frog and down the toe so that he knows the shoe is perfectly centered. “We do a lot of shoes with no clips, so when you nail them on, it’s quite easy for the shoe to move a little bit,” he said. “The lines on the foot and shoe help a lot.” 

While he has a strong rapport with all of his clients, Tredinnick admitted there are certain horses who he really enjoys shoeing. “Without a doubt, Greya is one of my favorites,” he said. “Greya's personality is so chilled out; she is a perfect professional to shoe and loves attention. In addition, Kent is the absolute epitome of a horseman. His care towards his horses is second to none and he is a pleasure to work for. The horse comes first, nothing more, nothing less.”

Tredinnick shod Greya in June prior her and Farrington winning the Rolex Grand Prix Villa de La Baule in France. The pair were in phenomenal form going into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but unfortunately Greya was withdrawn from the U.S. Jumping Team due to an allergy concern, and they were replaced by Karl Cook and Caracole De La Roque.

Tredinnick went on to say that one of the best horses he has ever worked with is Tripple X III, a stallion Ben Maher bred and went on to win a gold medal with at the London 2012 Olympic Games. “I did his very first trim as a yearling in the field, then I shod him right up to them winning team gold in 2012,” Tredinnick said. After Maher sold Tripple X to Tiffany Foster, Tredinnick was flown across Europe and “then went wherever the horse was going right up until he retired (in 2019). I saw him last month in Belgium and he was out in the field loving life,” he added. “I don’t think many vets or farriers can say they’ve had one horse for its entire career!”

Common Winter Hoof Ailments

Winter brings potential foot issues for every horse, no matter their level of competition. Tredinnick said that a lot of problems occur from hooves getting too wet and starting to go soft, which is when thrush can set in. “I believe the feet should be somewhere in the middle, not too hard and not too soft,” he explained. “If you are going to turn your horse out in a field that is full of water, oil them up first to repel the water and stop them soaking it up.”

Tredinnick said that abscesses can also occur from standing on wet or muddy ground. “When the foot starts drying out and hardening, dirt and grit can get trapped in there. If you can put a barrier on the foot, that will stop any dirt from getting stuck and prevent it from getting too wet and saturated,” he said.

Even though winters are mild in Wellington, Fla., Tredinnick explained that there are still moisture issues because of the humidity. Neal has seen several grooms use wrapping to keep the horse’s hooves dry whilst being bathed to prevent them getting too soft.