Tim Dodd has a BS in biology with a chemistry minor from BGSU. He started shoeing in 1983 and apprenticed with Tom Bland at Hammer Song Farm for 6 months. Tim then apprenticed with Joe Mason from Canton for 3 years. While working with Joe they did all of the Cleveland Metropark trail and school horses at both Brecksville and Rocky River stables.

Tim joined the Mid-Eastern Farriers Association and the American Farriers Association. As a member of the AFA Tim is a Certified Jouneryman Farrier. In order to achieve this title one must take a written test on anatomy, corrective shoeing, and therapeutic shoeing. Finally one must shoe all 4 feet of a horse with handmade shoes in 2 hours from scratch and pass the criteria set by the AFA examiners.

Over the years Tim has shod show arabians, hunter jumpers, endurance horses, trail horses, show morgans, saddlebreds and back yard champions. Some of his most notable horses - besides the Horsehaven members - was Bi Mi Sultan's Wine (WC 3 gaited saddlebred), Alliance WC arabian park horse, Gdanega arabian english pleasure horse, and Sweet Fancy Moses RC national show horse.

Tim's Tips
  • If you remove your horses shoes for the winter make sure you put them back on 2 weeks before the ground in your area dries out and hardens for the spring, in Northeastern Ohio that would be the 2nd week of May.
  • Think twice and consult your farrier before deciding to pull off your horse's shoes for the winter. An all too common practice to save money, most times ends up costing more because the horse tears up his hoof and has to be re-shod. If you are concerned about turnout in the snow and ice with shoes ask for snow pads and studs.
  • I highly reccomend the Horseshoes Advice page which is chock full of Farriery articles written by experts in the field. There are nine sections ranging from General Essays for Horse Owners to the details of Hoof Anatomy & Function.
  • Be kind to your blacksmith! Provide him with a safe, level and well-lit area to work on your horses. Always have them clean and ready when he arrives and don't forget to call him ahead of time if you have more or less horses than he expects to work on.
  • Hoof conditioners only need to be applied to the coronary band of the foot. It is the only live part of the foot. By applying it here and massaging it in you will stimulate good growth of your horse's foot. Remember your horse has 4 feet!