c/farriers

I swore by aluminum shoes for years until a client's horse slipped bad on wet pavement

After that fall cost me a $600 vet bill and three weeks of rehab, I switched to steel with borium studs and haven't looked back - anyone else had a boss or owner push back on the cost difference?

2 comments

seana14•15d ago

Just figured out a trick for dealing with those stubborn front feet that won't stand still

I've been fighting with this one horse for months now, a big draft cross named Gus, and every time I go to work on his fronts he shifts his weight around like he's dancing. Tried everything - tying him short, having the owner hold a front leg up, even tried those calming sprays that never do anything. Then last week I ran into an old farrier at a clinic in Columbus and he told me to try putting a little pressure on the shoulder with my knee while I'm picking up the foot. Honestly thought it sounded dumb but I gave it a shot this morning and the horse just stood there like a rock. It's just about shifting their balance before you even reach down. Anyone else pick up little body language tricks like this that make a huge difference?

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nancy_owens•16d ago

Had a horse's shoe get stuck on a railroad tie at a show in Kentucky last month

The tie had a loose spike and the shoe caught on it mid-stride, took me 20 minutes to cut the nail out with hoof nippers. Anyone else run into random debris issues at unfamiliar barns and have a go-to way to prep for it?

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terryj45•17d ago

Shoed a mare in Bakersfield last Thursday that had hooves like iron

Took me three hours and broke two new rasps before I got it done. Anyone else run into horses with hooves that hard?

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karen_sanchez10•17d ago

Wasted $200 on a set of 'custom' rasps that went dull after three horses...

Bought them off a Facebook ad claiming they were forged in Sweden but they couldn't even hold an edge through one full reset, has anyone else fallen for those flashy online tool deals?

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mia_fox98•19d ago

Tried a different angle on my anvil stand and it saved my lower back

I've been shoeing horses for about 8 years now, mostly out of a trailer in rural Oregon. Last spring I started getting this nagging ache in my lower right side after a long day of welding and shaping. I figured it was just part of the job, you know, getting older. But then I swapped out my old wooden anvil stand for a taller one with a slight tilt toward me, maybe 10 degrees. I took the idea from a guy I met at a clinic in Bend who said he did the same thing after a back injury. First week I noticed I wasn't hunching over as much, and the ache faded almost completely. Has anyone else messed with stand height or angle to fix posture issues? I'm curious if it's just me or if this is a known thing.

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nancy_owens•19d ago

Realized I had been heating the nail wrong for 8 years

I was at a clinic in Missoula last month and the instructor watched me for about 30 seconds before asking why I was cherry red on the tip. I always thought you heated the whole nail head, then quenched the tip. He just shook his head and showed me how you only heat the top half and let the rest stay cool. All those hot nails sliding right out of the hoof... Makes me wonder what else I'm doing backward. Anybody else have a moment like that where a simple fix changed your whole day?

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derek_burns•19d ago

Question about cleaning old forge scale off shoes

Been dealing with a stubborn build up on some shoes from a retired draft horse. Tried a wire cup on an angle grinder, took forever. Ended up using a vinegar soak for 2 hours then hit it with a stiff brass brush. Came off way easier. Anyone got a faster method for this?

2 comments

seana14•21d ago

Watched a young horse go from refusing to pick up a back foot to standing square in 3 sessions. Here is what changed.

Had a 3 year old coming in last month that would nearly fall over when you touched his hind legs. First visit took me 45 minutes just to get him to lift that back foot for a second. I focused on positive reinforcement with a carrot after each time he let me hold the foot. By the third session he was standing square and letting me clean and trim without a fight. The owner was shocked but it was just taking my time and rewarding small steps. Has anyone else had luck with this approach on a nervous horse?

2 comments

theagarcia•22d ago

Old timer told me to soak my rasps in vinegar overnight...

A farrier I met at a clinic in Ohio swore that soaking my rasps in white vinegar overnight would keep them sharp way longer than just wiping them down with oil. I tried it for two months and honestly my rasps are lasting maybe 50% more shoeing before they need replacing. Anyone else ever tried this or am I just getting lucky so far?

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kevin_sullivan•22d ago

Hot take: old timers aren't always right about hoof angles

My mentor told me to set front feet at 50 degrees no matter what, but after three horses went lame last summer I switched to matching each horse's individual conformation. Has anyone else had better luck ditching the one-size-fits-all angle rule?

3 comments

patricia_king23•22d ago

Found an old trick for pulling front shoes on tricky feet

Been seeing more horses with those flat walls and underrun heels lately... finally tried that method an old farrier from Kentucky showed me back in '98. You file a small notch into the toe clip and run your crease nail angled forward instead of straight down. Tried it on three horses this week at the Miller farm and all of them held tight through a muddy paddock. Anybody else use that clip notch trick or have a better way to keep shoes from shifting?

2 comments

wesley873•22d ago

Took me 8 months to figure out why my hind shoes kept twisting

Kept having this problem where my hind shoes would shift laterally after about 3 weeks. Drove me nuts. Tried different nails, different clips, nothing worked. Finally I watched a guy at a clinic in Lexington and realized I was leaving too much heel on the shoe. Trimmed it back a quarter inch and boom, no more twisting. Has anyone else dealt with something that simple making that big a difference?

2 comments

faith_perez•22d ago

Switched from keg shoes to natural balance plates after 3 tries and my horses are way happier

Ive been shoeing for about 6 years now and always used traditional keg shoes on my ride horses. Last month I got a client whos mare kept tripping and landing on her heels. Tried keg shoes twice with different toe clips but she still stumbled. Switched to natural balance plates on her front feet and the difference was night and day after just 2 weeks. The mare is moving way smoother and the owner said shes not tripping at all anymore. Has anyone else seen a big improvement switching to a wider web shoe on problem horses?

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theagarcia•23d ago

Was dead set against glue-on shoes until I tried them on a foundered pony

I've been a traditional nail-on guy for 15 years. Always thought glue-ons were just a gimmick for rich horse owners who want to look fancy. But last month I had this old pony with laminitis and his hoof walls were so thin and crumbly I couldn't get a single nail to hold. Client was desperate so I finally caved and used a set of glue-ons. Honestly that pony moved better after a week than he had in months. The glue held solid for 6 weeks too. Made me rethink my whole attitude. Any other farriers out there changed their mind on something they swore they'd never do?

2 comments

stellat87•24d ago

Switched to a flat rasp for hoof prep after 8 years of using a curved one

My horses kept getting quarter cracks till my mentor Bill at the Oklahoma clinic told me to try flat and now I haven't seen one in 6 months has anyone else made that switch?

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roseb47•25d ago

That week last July when nothing went right with shoes

Had a horse last summer that just would not stand still no matter what I tried. Took me 45 minutes just to get the fronts done because she kept shifting weight every time I got close with the rasp. Then my forge propane ran out halfway through heating the back shoes and I had to drive 30 miles to the nearest supplier to refill. By the time I got back it was pushing 95 degrees and the horse was sweating worse than me. Has anyone else had one of those weeks where you question if you picked the right trade?

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angela_park•25d ago

Old mare last week taught me a lesson about patience

I had a call last Tuesday out near Springfield to shoe a 20 year old mare that was supposedly easy. The owner said she had been fine for years. Soon as I picked up her front hoof she jerked away and nearly knocked me into the stall wall. I spent 20 minutes just letting her sniff my tools and getting her to relax. Finally got all four done but it took twice as long as a normal shoe. Any of you dealt with a horse that just suddenly changes behavior like that without warning?

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simon_davis•25d ago

Six months of using my new forge and finally got a consistent heat on a full set of shoes.

Switched from a coal forge to a propane one back in April and after ruining a dozen shoes from uneven heat I finally nailed the airflow and got all four fronts and backs uniform in one session, anyone else struggle with the propane learning curve?

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carter.julia•25d ago

Kinda miss when shoeing was more about feel than numbers

I was trimming a draft cross last week in Bozeman and realized I've been staring at angle gauges more than the hoof itself. Three years ago I could tell by eye if the hoof-pastern axis was off, now I second guess without a digital readout. Any of you old timers still trust your eyes over the tools?

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barnes.jamie•26d ago

Picked up a used anvil at a farm auction last Saturday for $40

Spent two hours cleaning rust off it with a wire wheel and found a Peter Wright stamp underneath. Has anyone else found good farrier tools hiding under a layer of crud?

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carter.julia•26d ago

Three hours on a single front hoof has me questioning my methods

I had a client's horse last Tuesday with a quarter crack that looked straightforward but ended up taking me three hours to trim and reset. I kept thinking I had it balanced right but the frog kept showing pressure points I missed. Now I'm debating between sticking with my old rasp and knife routine versus switching to a power tool approach for these tough ones. Has anyone else spent way too long on what seemed like a simple job and did you change your process afterward?

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lisa_wilson87•26d ago

Hot take: synthetic pads don't save as much time as people claim

I keep seeing guys at competitions and online pushing those pre-made synthetic frog pads like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Last month at a clinic in Lexington I watched three farriers slap one on a horse with a thin sole and the thing was off within two weeks. I've been doing this for 12 years and I've never had a leather pad cause that kind of shifting or pressure issue. Am I the only one who thinks people are just lazy about cutting their own pads?

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fionarodriguez•28d ago

Picked hot vs. cold shoeing for a nervous mare yesterday

Had to decide between a hot fit and a cold fit for a new client's mare who gets jumpy. I went with hot shoeing because the quiet rasping seemed to calm her down. Has anyone else noticed horses relax more with a hot fit?

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derek_burns•1mo ago

Had to pick between aluminum and steel shoes for this one nasty front hoof last week

Got a horse with some serious quarter cracks and the owner wanted to keep riding through winter. I was torn. Aluminum would be lighter and might let the hoof flex more, but steel holds up better in mud and gravel. I went with steel, welded on a clip, and put some packing in there. Three days later the owner called saying the horse was dead lame again. Turns out the crack was deeper than I thought and the extra rigidity of the steel was making it worse. Now I gotta pull them and try aluminum. Anyone else run into this where the "tougher" option backfires?

2 comments