Keith Horses and Humans Upright: Physical Demands and Prevention in Farriery

Project Title: "Keep Horses and Humans Upright"
Presenter: Jonathan Brood, University Honors Student.
Faculty Supervisor: Heidi Rosenberg, Discipline in English.
Scope of Project: An exhaustive study of the physical demands that horse farriering places on the human body, along with strategies to combat major health issues through physical conditioning and therapy.
Motivation: The presenter was inspired to find a topic focusing on blue-collar workers, specifically helping them maintain and improve health through their work. A personal interest in farriering also served as a catalyst for this specific research area.

Definition: A farrier is essentially a person who provides health care to work primarily for the horse's feet.
Historical Origins: The profession has existed for a very long time. A major period of development was during the Roman Empire, where farriers trimmed and shoed thousands of horse hooves to support the transportation and expansion needs of the empire.
Core Responsibilities of a Farrier: - Inspection: Examining the horse's hoof to ensure it is healthy and strong. - Cleaning and Trimming: Removing debris and trimming the hoof to maintain proper muscle balance for the horse and prevent overgrowth. - Creation and Installation: Designing and applying shoes to the horse's hooves to improve durability and reduce wear during vigorous tasks. While horses in some environments do not wear down their feet naturally, domestic use often requires supplemental protection.

Atmospheric Conditions: Farriers work primarily outdoors, subject to harsh weather conditions, especially during extreme winter months.
Ergonomic Challenges: The job requires holding extremely awkward positions for extended periods.
Animal Hazards: Farriers work with unpredictable animals that typically weigh approximately $1,000$ pounds. Interactions do not always end well due to the horse's nature and size.

The Foot: - Ironically, while farriers focus on the horse's foot health, they often neglect their own. - Problems with the farrier's own feet can have a profound effect on the entire postural chain. - An unhealthy foot leads to muscle imbalances throughout the entire body.
The Back, Knees, and Hips (The "Big Section"): - To trim a hoof, a farrier pulls the horse's leg between their own legs, pinches their legs together, and bends down. - Knee Strain: This specific posture creates significant strain on the knees, potentially leading to osteoporosis (as stated by the speaker) and other joint ailments. - Hip Flexors: The position causes hip flexors and the "poise muscle" (likely referring to the psoas) to tighten, shorten, and atrophy over time. - Back Strain: Leaning into the required position causes approximately $220\%$ more strain on the back compared to an upright standing position. When the farrier stands back up, the shortened hip flexors pull on the back, creating chronic pain.
The Arms: - Farriers frequently experience pain in the wrists and elbows. - Common clinical conditions include tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome. - The Strain Index: On the strain index, a score of $7$ is considered unhealthy. Measurements taken for farriers have been recorded as exceeding $20$ .

Proper Footwear: - Statistics indicate that $63\%$ to $70\%$ of people generally wear the improper shoe size. This size can change over time. - Ideal footwear allows for toe mobility, which helps ground the individual and promotes muscle balance. - Well-fitting shoes allow for proper circulation and healthy foot patterns.
Proper Tools: - Tools should be specifically sized to fit the farrier's hand grip. - A tool should feel loose and smooth in the hand rather than tight or awkward. - Maintenance: Using dull or poor-quality tools significantly increases the strain on the farrier's arms.
Body Mechanics: - Farriers are encouraged to use their legs more than their backs by maintaining a strong squat position rather than leaning over. - Keeping the arms closer to the body during work reduces the lever-arm strain on the upper limbs.
Stretching: - A flexible base allows a farrier to handle being thrown by a $1,000$ pound horse more effectively. - Flexibility aids in picking oneself up after an injury and relieves muscles that have tightened from hours of leaning over hooves.
Strength Training: - Strong legs are the primary support system that helps alleviate back pain. - Farriers experience significant muscle imbalance, particularly in the back; training the core and back is necessary to restore balance.

Learning Outcomes: - Gained deep knowledge of farriery processes and the associated muscle strain. - Developed skills in conducting a literature review and formatting in APA style. - Recognized that honors work demands significantly more independent research than standard coursework.
Challenges: - The topic of farrier health is very niche, making it difficult to find existing literature.
Future Improvements: - If starting over, the presenter would have sought permission earlier to use expert interviews to supplement the sparse literature available.

Audience Question: Are there particular exercises or methods recommended to help farriers switch from bending over to using their legs?
Jonathan Brood's Response: Much of the solution comes down to strengthening the legs through exercises such as squats, which are a very strong component for that. Ultimately, it is a "habit thing" involving posture awareness, as it is easy to catch oneself slipping back into poor posture.