Dave Gilliam has been a professional farrier for over 20 years, and is based in Wellington, FL with regular travel out of state for select clients and during the show season. He has always had a strong focus on performance horses and lameness cases, and has attended countless seminars and continuing education events to further this focus. Dave recently graduated from the Royal Veterinary College's
Equine Locomotor Diploma program, and is the founder and president of the American Association of Equine Soundness Professionals. He has worked with several Pan American teams, past and present Olympic horses and riders, World Equestrian Games (WEG), and bi-coastal top circuit riders to keep their show strings in top performance condition. Some Recent Accomplishments Over the Past Few
Years:
• One of 12 farriers in the US to graduate from the
Royal Veterinary College in the UL with a degree in Equine Locomotor
Research focusing onbiomechanics and locomotion
• President of Equine Soundness Professionals
• Presenter/Speaker at the International Hoof Care Summit
• Presenter/Speaker at the Midwest Equine Podiatry Conference
• USEF Reserve Horse of the Year
• USEF High Performance Money Won (Hunter)
• WCHR Champion Junior Hunter 3’3”
• 2018 WCHR Champion Junior Hunter 3’3”
• Capitol Challenge 3’6” Jr Hunter Champion
• Capitol Challenge 3’3” Jr Hunter Champion
• Pennsylvania National Horse Show 3’3” Jr Hunter Champion
• Kentucky National Horse Show 3’3” Junior Hunter
Reserve Champion
• Multiple Grand Prix and Large Circuit Show WinsWEF, Thermal, Colorado
Horse Park, Thunderbird, Tryon, etc.
• Multiple US and International Derby wins- Thermal, WEF, HITS Ocala, WEC,
Ohio and Ocala, Tryon, etc.
• Multiple Zone Champions in multiple divisions
Setting up top hunters, jumpers, and dressage athletes requires understanding of their job and what is asked of them, as well as the anatomy and physiology. This is Dave Gilliam's specialty, as he has watched and studied hunters and jumpers in and out of the ring, providing him with the knowledge and experience to cater to these clients and optimize horses' movement and performance. Observation as well as communication with the rider and trainer give him the tools needed to set up each athlete to reach its full athletic potential. He is able to manipulate stride, speed or slow the forelimbs or hindlimbs, eliminate cross-cantering, and correct lead changes based on what each horse needs. It is inevitable that these athletes will suffer an injury at some point in their career, or have a soundness issue. This is where Dave's lameness background allows him to develop a shoeing protocol to get these horses sound and back in the show ring.
