- January 22, 2025
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With his arms wrapped around the back leg of a warmblood horse and his farrier's tools in hand, Casey Kantenwein was having a calm morning in the TerraNova Equestrian Center's main barn.
That's a good thing, too, because it's not always the case.
"I've been kicked, bit, jumped on," said Kantenwein, who lives in Myakka City and operates as Casey's Farrier Service. "It's something for every occasion."
Even while working on his preferred warmbloods, which he said tend to be quiet while being shoed, Kantenwein said things can get a little nuts at times.
"You've got to be able to deal with a lot of different horses," he said. "You have to control your temper.
"Sometimes you just grab ahold and hold on. Even then, I ignore him. The more fight you give them, the more they will want to fight you."
A horse being spooked, or objecting to what is going on, can manifest itself in an instant, but Kantenwein has the experience, and the touch, to protect himself.
"If he is going to explode," he said. "I know it before he does it."
It's no surprise to those around the TerraNova Equestrian Center's barns that Kantenwein knows horses inside and out.
Zach Ketelboeter, co-founder of TerraNova with his wife, Hannah Herrig-Ketelboeter, became friends with Kantenwein when they were both farriers in Illinois. After Zach and Hannah got together and had horses at Windsong Farm on Fruitville Road in Sarasota, they would fly Kantenwein from Illinois to shoe their horses.
That was despite Florida having many choices in farriers.
'"After I moved to Florida, I knew he had done good things with my horses and I continued to fly him down," Zach Ketelboeter said. "We have very high-end horses and I have seen horses having to be put down when their feet got messed up. We were not taking that risk.
"With Casey, it's his attention to detail. He doesn't fall into the category of following what the trends are. He sticks to the basics of what he was taught about the anatomy of a horse. The current trend is to have horses being changed to encourage them to be better at whatever the discipline. That doesn't mean it is what is better for the horse's health. Casey is going to do what is best for that horse. He will shift or make modifications at what makes the horse most comfortable. He doesn't shoe a single horse the same."
Lauren McElhaney is another farrier who works at TerraNova Equestrian Center and she said she wants to one day be at Kantenwein's level.
"He takes a look at each horse's confirmation," she said. "He takes the time. Some do every horse the same way."
Kantenwein, 42, is not shy about showing his disdain for farriers who fall into the "one-size-fits-all" school of shoeing, or who will shoe a horse based on an event as opposed to what fits that particular horse.
"How they function is through their feet," he said, noting that he does a lot of medical shoeing. "You might be doing a different set up for a collateral ligament injury. You might have a suspensory (ligament) branch that you want to take the pressure off ... keep pressure off that side. I like the stuff that makes me think outside the box."
On this particular day, he was using Play-Doh to build a dam that would hold silicone between the horse's hoof and a leather pad and horseshoe. The horse he was working on had medical woes, including cancer, and Kantenwein was using his expertise to make his life a little more comfortable.
"I use a lot of Play-Doh," Kantenwein said with a laugh. "Like this one has a goofy foot ... divots, dents, the way it grows."
Kantenwein grew up in Fox Lake, Illinois and learned to love horses through his father, Bruce, and step-mom, Christine. His dad was a helicopter broker, but he always had horses and his step-mom rode Western pleasure. He grew up riding since he was 9 and eventually learned to break trail horses, through his dad.
He was in his early 20s, working as a welder and pipe-fitter when he got laid off. His father pushed him to go to horseshoeing school, which he did.
He still worked in different jobs, such as firefighting and welding, before he turned to being a farrier full-time. He moved to Myakka City from Illinois five years ago to continue working with the Ketelboeters. Through that association, he met his future wife, Nadia Yahraus.
Yahraus, who gives equestrian lessons, also is in the business through her Black Moon Equestrian Services. Call 320-2746 to find out about her show horse lessons.
Meanwhile, they spend a lot of time at TerraNova, which continues to offer high quality equine competitions, such as the Combined Driving Event at Terra Nova that takes place Jan. 23 through Jan. 26.
While those who compete in such events at TerraNova often can find Kantenwein in the barn for services required that particular day, he takes most joy working on a regular basis with clients who can schedule him every four to six weeks and allow him to keep a regular schedule with a horse he knows.
"Everything starts at their feet," he said of his horses. "People don't understand how precise these have to be."
He said he will travel as far south as Fort Myers and Inglewood, but he has been kept busy right here in Manatee County, along with his once a month trip to Ocala.
He notes he currently is looking for an apprentice who has experience working around horses and wants to learn the craft.
Hannah Ketelboeter said the person would be learning from someone extremely talented.
"He is so creative and he thinks outside the box," she said. "We used to fly him down because the feet are everything."
Besides being talented, Zach Ketelboeter said Kantenwein has been a great friend.
"Casey is a guy who whenever I needed something, he was one of my first calls," Ketelboeter said. "No matter what it was, no matter the situation. He also is a guy who, as a former firefighter, will come across car accidents, and he doesn't look away.
"He is very proud of his work, and very talented in what he does."
