The horse will tellif the trim is right!
As a Hall of Fame farrier, Ada Gates Patton provides elite consultations and clinics to help professionals achieve precise, anatomically correct hoof balance through the application of the Patton Hoof Ruler.
A Pioneer in Modern Farriery
Fifty years
serving horses.
In 1978 Ada Gates became the first female farrier licensed to shoe Thoroughbred racehorses in the United States and Canada. What followed was not a novelty but a career — Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar, the 1984 Olympic Games, and five decades of horses who got sounder.
The Philosophy
“The horse’s opinion is the only opinion that matters.” Ada Gates Patton
Measurement over opinion
The eye will lie. Numbers do not. Balance is something you establish with a ruler before you ever pick up a rasp — and something you can prove afterward.
Balance over tradition
A shoeing habit is not a reason. Each foot is trimmed to the horse’s own architecture, not to a shape that has been repeated for a hundred years because it was always repeated.
The horse answers
Relaxation, stride, stance, the willingness to move forward — these are data. Ada reads the horse’s response as the final confirmation that the work was correct.
Comfort is the outcome
Not a shape on a stand. Not a photograph. A horse that stands square, drops its head, and walks off sure-footed and willing.
The Patton Hoof Ruler
A measurable approach
to balance.
The ruler turns a judgment call into a number. Applied to the foot before and after the trim, it establishes medial–lateral balance — the 50/50 — and shows precisely where the foot is longer, taller or loaded unevenly.
It is not merely a tool. It is a method that can be taught, repeated, checked by someone else, and defended. That is what makes it teachable across a clinic floor and, just as reliably, across a video call to a farrier on the other side of the world.
- Medial–lateral balance
- Before & after measurement
- Repeatable by any farrier
Consulting, Clinics & Counsel
How Ada works
with professionals.
The Horse’s Response
The horse gives
the final answer.
After the trim, the horse is asked — and the horse replies. These are not sentimental observations. They are the outward signs of a foot that has been balanced correctly, and they are the same in Palmer, Alaska as they are at Santa Anita.
- Drops its head
- Licks and chews
- Soft eyes, ears forward
- Relaxed, forward stride
- Stands square, front feet under
In Their Words
Horsemen who have
felt the difference.
“For me, there’s been no farrier better than her, one of the best that ever entered the industry.”
Monty Roberts
World renowned horse trainer and author · Solvang, CA
Read the full account
“Farrier Hall of Fame member Ada Gates is a national treasure! The results have been astounding.”
Tad Coffin
Olympic Gold Medalist, saddle designer · Charlottesville, VA
Read the full account
“He was so forward and happy he didn’t want to turn around. This brings tears to my eyes.”
Brad & Margie Subers
Owners of Buddy · Palmer, AK
Read the full account
“You are a huge reason why I do what I do. Numbers never lie.”
James Ryan Wilkins
Farrier · Lexington, KY
Read the full accountUpcoming Dates
Where Ada will be.
Seen & Recognized
- Late Night with David Letterman
- The Today Show
- What’s My Line
- To Tell The Truth
- 1984 Olympic Games
- Tournament of Roses
- American Farriers Hall of Fame
- Time Magazine
- People Magazine
- Sports Illustrated
- Horse Illustrated
- American Farriers Journal
- Featured on US Networks ABC & CBS
Inquiries
Ask Ada about your
horse’s hoof balance.
Clinics, keynotes, audits, mentorship, case consultations and expert testimony — in person across North America, and by video call anywhere in the world.