The New Plymouth company developed the Hoofjack® and Tooljack® systems for hoof care providers
Equine Innovations Inc., located in New Plymouth, started out as a garage business in Star. The company developed out of Kevin Keeler’s desire to make his career as a professional farrier easier and safer, so he created a unique hoof support system named Hoofjack®.
The company was founded in 2000 by president/owner Keeler as a means to promote the newly developed Hoofjack®. One year into Kevin’s career as a farrier, while working on the hind foot of a horse, the horse collapsed. Keeler’s right knee was damaged to the point of having to remove the cartilage in that knee. As the years passed, Keeler worked on an idea of creating a hoof support system that would support the horse while working on the hind foot because his damaged knee could no longer bear the strain. This enabled him to return to work earlier than would have been possible since it no longer was necessary to place the hoof between his knees and bear the weight of the horse.
As Keeler was soon to realize, not only had he invented a safer and easier way to do his work, but the horses loved the stable and comfortable support as well. Fussy horses settled down, and colts stood still – truly a win-win situation. It didn’t take long before his clients began to ask for a Hoofjack®. Wanting to help horses and humans alike, Keeler decided to offer the Hoofjack® to the market.
In addition to the Hoofjack®, Keeler also designed a unique farrier tool box called the Tooljack®. Made using the same durable materials as the Hoofjack®, the Tooljack® also stands up to the hard demands of working around horses.
Hoofjack® has been well received by the hoof care industry, receiving “Product of the Year” awards by both Equitana USA and Equi Fair (Canada), in addition to being listed as one of the top inventions in the hoof care industry in the past 35 years by the American Farriers Journal. The products are sold worldwide through 260 domestic dealers and 65 international dealers.
This year, Equine Innovations was awarded a State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant through the Idaho Department of Commerce. The company used the funds to finance a trip to New Zealand to attend the large agricultural show Fieldays. As a result of attending Fieldays, there has been a significant increase in orders shipping to both New Zealand and Australia.
To learn more about Hoofjack, Tooljack, and Equine Innovations, visit www.hoofjack.com/ To learn more about the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant administered by the Idaho Department of Commerce, visitcommerce.idaho.gov/international/-state-trade-and-export-promotion-step-grant/