Horseshoeing is probably one of the most strenuous things I've ever done in my life. It takes
a lot of stamina. In the summertime you're dripping sweat as one can imagine doing this
kind of work. The HoofRest just makes it easier.
I'm John Halko, and I invented HoofRest.
Horse owners a lot of times have to pick the horse's foot up, do some kind of maybe medical
treatment to it, maybe pick out the bottom of the foot. And if they have to hold it up
for more than 30 seconds, it becomes very strenuous for them. And most horses are smart
enough where they'll lean on you and ask you to carry their weight. And what HoofRest does
is transmit all that weight to the ground. It's got a cushioned cradle. It's got a footplate
that's fairly stable, it's flexible. You bear very little if any weight on yourself.
If you need it a little higher or lower, it goes up and down. If he's more comfortable
up here -- which I think he is going to be more comfortable up here today for some reason
-- we'll just move it up there and leave it there.
Horseshoers are very much like an athlete. They have a finite career. You can't shoe
horses full time holding all this weight up for 40 years and expect to have any kind of
decent retirement after 40 years. It'll kill you. It's very hard work.
You're okay. You're okay. Nobody's going to hurt you. No. No. You need your feet trimmed.
Yes, you do. Yes, you do.
A horse is unique in the animal world. People ride horses and look at horses and go to horse
shows, and you watch the Kentucky Derby and all these races, and you usually get goosebumps
when you watch them. And I do a lot of times.
Horses are different. Horses, uh...
No, I'm just getting a little weepy eyed.
Horses are different. Horses smell different. Horses feel different. When you're looking
at a horse, you're looking at his athletic ability, his noble features. I mean, he's
different than a camel, a cow, an elephant. And one of the big things that makes him different
and able to look that way and do what he does is because of his hoofs. When you look at
a camel race or an elephant going quickly, there's nothing graceful about it. And a horse
would become that if he wasn't walking on his ring of hoof. So what we do as farriers
is we install these shoes to preserve that ring of hoof.
We have a retail store where we sell horseshoe supplies. and HoofRest is something that I
know eventually will really take off and be used as a part of one's normal equipment to
shoe a horse. Right as of today, it isn't. But we're on the right track.