Virginia Tech’s Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, Virginia, has hired Paul Goodness, one of the most highly respected farriers on the East Coast, and his team to provide full-time, on-site services at the center.

Goodness and his team will work closely with center faculty, referring veterinarians, and farriers to help make diagnoses, alleviate pain, and provide therapeutic shoeing for horses with problematic feet or joint pain.

“Paul and his team are among the most highly regarded and advanced farriers in the country,” said Michael Erskine, center director. “They are a perfect fit here at the EMC where our culture of caring and collaboration ensures the best treatment and services for our clients.”

Goodness, a certified journeyman farrier with the American Farrier’s Association, has been shoeing horses for four decades. His sport horse shoeing practice, Forging Ahead, attracted clients and farriers from all over the country. In the past, Goodness served as the United States Equestrian Team farrier between 1992 and 1996, and participated in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Goodness will be joined by his son, certified farrier Luke Goodness, and a team of assistant farriers. They will provide lameness consultation and therapeutic shoeing for patients in a fully equipped shop that includes all-weather work stalls and additional holding stalls. The farrier shop will be open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“This is very special. Having vets and farriers working closely together is so much more effective and helpful for both the owner and the horse,” Goodness said. “There are few other places in the country where full-time farriers and veterinarians come together to treat horses under one roof.”

A campus of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, the EMC is a full-service equine hospital located in Leesburg, Virginia, that offers advanced specialty care, 24-hour emergency treatment, and diagnostic services for all ages and breeds of horses. The veterinary college also offers full-time farrier and podiatry services at its Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, where it sees approximately 1,200 cases annually through the equine podiatry service. The college also recently opened a new equine podiatry center on its Blacksburg campus.

Share this story