BERGY'S BIO

Born in the small farming community of Wessington Springs, South Dakota in 1949, Lyle (Bergy) Bergeleen developed an appreciation and love for horses at an early age. This particular interest in equines spurred his decision at age nineteen to make a career for himself in horseshoeing. His practice lasted for eight years until Bergy's natural desire for excellence in his craft prompted him to seek out formal training. He enrolled in a semester-long horseshoeing program at Montana State University (MSU) in 1977 and soon left as a certified professional farrier. While being trained at MSU, Bergy came to the realization that conventional horseshoeing methods were based on outdated traditions handed down from farrier to farrier rather than on research proving which shoeing methods were most beneficial to the horse. This realization led him to search out alternate methods of shoeing founded more on scientific examination than custom. Bergy's quest culminated in 1977 when, while attending an American Farriers Association (AFA) convention, he was given a life-changing piece of advice from an old farrier named Vern Olinger. The advice Vern gave about how to balance a foot was simple: "You let the hairline tell you. If you have a bump in the hairline, you've done it wrong."

These two short sentences changed the way Bergy thought about shoeing forever. He resolved to test this "straight hairline" theory when he moved from Montana to Washington state to continue shoeing. Once he began work in Washington, he began to see, through trial-and-error practice on hundreds and hundreds of horses, that each horse's individual hairline was indeed the deciding factor in determining the right trim and shoe for any particular horse. To further reinforce his conclusions, Bergy studied the hooves of wild horses in different states all over the American West to see how their hairlines looked in a natural setting. When, through these experiences, he saw that straight hairlines are the natural state of the hoof when given adequate moisture and diverse terrain, his theory was confirmed. (Of course, there are exceptions. Depending upon specific environmental circumstances, it is possible to see almost any type of hoof in the wild.) This nature-based verification of the straight hairline theory was all Bergy needed to fully devote himself to shoeing by this method.

Since discovering the true secret to trimming and shoeing horses correctly, the results have been amazing. Using this method, Bergy has recovered thousands of unsound horses just by trimming and shoeing them fitly. In 1992, Bergy decided to publish a book containing the knowledge that he had gathered throughout his years of study. HoofTalk: The Hairline Tells It All, Bergy's first book specifying his extraordinary theories and methods was the result of this decision. Since that time, another book HoofTalk: The Natural Trim (1998) and four videos have been published in the hopes that other horse owners and lovers can be benefited through their information. Today, Bergy Bergeleen is a farrier in Austin, Texas, specializing in lameness recovery and prevention. He regularly teaches clinics for horse owners wanting to learn hands-on techniques to care for their horses. Additionally, Bergy trains farriers interested in learning his methods. Bergy lives with his wife of 24 years, Becky Bergeleen. They have five children: Heather, Beth, Laura, Caleb and Joshua as well as five grandchildren.