c/farriers

Chat with an old timer made me rethink my shoeing approach...

I was out at a clinic near Lexington last month and this guy named Bill, been a farrier since the 70s, said something that stuck with me. He told me I was focusing too much on the shoe shape and not enough on how the hoof actually loads when the horse moves. Said he watched me for 10 minutes and could tell I was chasing symmetry instead of function. Hit different because he didn't say it mean, just matter of fact. Now I'm spending more time watching the horse stand and move before I pull out my nippers and rasp. Has anyone else gotten feedback from an older farrier that totally shifted how you work?

Took me 45 minutes to pull a single shoe because I forgot my nippers

I was out at a barn in Lexington last Thursday and realized I left my nippers in the truck. Had to drive back 20 minutes round trip while the horse stood there looking at me. Anyone else forget a basic tool and waste half a morning?

That draft horse that kicked me in the arm taught me more about shoeing than any clinic

I was working on a big Belgian draft at a farm outside Springfield last winter. The owner warned me she was touchy on her fronts but I figured I'd seen it all. Soon as I picked up her left front she planted and kicked back hard, caught me right on the forearm. Bruised for two weeks but it made me slow way down and watch her breathing before every step. After that I started spending a full 5 minutes just standing with a new horse before picking up a foot. Has anyone else had a horse teach you a lesson the hard way like that?

Watched a guy in Kentucky shoeing a mule, learned something new

I was down in Lexington last month visiting family and stopped by a barn where a farrier was working on a big mule. The mule was acting up and he just pulled out a rasp and tapped it on the hoof wall a few times, real soft like, and the animal settled right down. Never seen that done before. Any of you use a rasp tap to calm a nervous horse or mule?

Spent 45 minutes chasing a hot nail that kept bending on me

Working on a big draft cross yesterday in Memphis and every nail I tried on the inside heel kept curling up no matter what I did. Turns out my anvil was sitting on a uneven patch of gravel and throwing my angle off by a few degrees. Has anyone else had a simple setup issue waste way more time than the actual shoeing?

Old timer told me to ditch my aluminum shoes for steel on wet roads

A farrier named Bill at a clinic in Ohio said steel shoes grip better on slick pavement and after 3 months of trying it, I've had way fewer horses slipping in the parking lot - has anyone else noticed the same thing?

Had to choose between a cheap rasp and a good one last month

I was at the supply shop in Lexington and saw two options for a hoof rasp. One was 12 bucks and the other was 45. I grabbed the cheap one to save cash and man did I regret it after three horses. The teeth wore down halfway through and I was fighting the whole time. I went back and got the good one and it cut clean for the whole day. Has anyone else found that cheaper tools just cost you more time in the end?

Got schooled by a old rancher about hoof angles in Wyoming last month

I was shoeing a older gelding near Laramie and this guy in his 80s just watched me from the fence for 20 minutes. He walked over and pointed out I had the toe too long by about a quarter inch, said his dad taught him that trick back in 1942. I checked my work and he was dead right, the horse moved way smoother after I fixed it. Has anyone else had someone with zero tools give them the best advice of the week?

Barefoot trimming changed my whole approach after 8 years of shoeing

I started seeing a huge difference in hoof health about 6 months after I committed to barefoot trimming - the frogs got way stronger and the walls stopped chipping like crazy. A client in Kentucky switched her whole barn over after her dressage horse grew a better foot in 4 months off shoes. Has anyone else noticed their horses moving different once you ditch the steel?

Used to pull front shoes cold every time till a gelding kicked me in the ribs in Billings

I used to yank front shoes without any prep, just grab the pull-offs and go. Then this one gelding in Billings, he was a big draft cross, got ornery and caught me square in the ribs with a hind foot. Took me about three weeks to heal up. Now I always soak the foot in warm water for five minutes before I pull, especially if it's been dry weather. Loosens the clinches and nails way easier, less fight from the horse. I also started tapping the shoe with my hammer first to feel if they're hot-set or not. Anyone else change their routine after getting hurt like that?

Rant: That expensive rasps hype finally got me

I've been using the same $12 rasp for 8 years and swore the $80 ones were a waste of money. Borrowed a co-worker's nicofor rasp at a clinic near Kansas City and finished a hoof in half the usual time. Anyone else fight the urge to upgrade tools only to realize you were just being stubborn?

That fancy forge welder I swore was a gimmick - now I use it every day

A buddy of mine convinced me to try one of those propane forge welders about 8 months ago. I was dead set that my old coal forge was the only way to get a proper weld on shoes. First couple tries with the propane rig were a mess, uneven heat and bad bonds. But after I figured out the gas pressure settings and got a decent fire brick setup, I've been using it for maybe 70% of my work now. The welds hold up fine on draft horses and it saves me about 15 minutes per set of shoes. Anyone else made the switch and found it worked better than they expected?

Old school anvil vs my fancy new one with the hardened face

I spent 6 months trying to get a clean forge weld on a new $600 anvil and then borrowed my grandpa's beat up 80 year one and nailed it first try, anyone else find newer gear just doesn't hold heat the same?

Rant: Wasted $400 on those fancy "no-seam" shoe pads last spring

I bought a bulk box of those new no-seam pads from a catalog back in March, thinking they'd save me time on hoof prep. Tried them on three horses and every single one had the pad shift within 2 weeks, one even caused a bruise on the sole. I contacted the company and they said I was "applying them wrong" but I followed their video step by step. Has anyone else had this problem with aftermarket pads, or did I just get a bad batch?

Rant: Thought hot-forging was just for show horses until I tried it on a heavy draft last month

Been shoeing for 8 years and always did cold forging for everything. Figured hot was just extra steps for people trying to look fancy. Then this Percheron came in with some serious quarter cracks and the owner insisted on hot. Had a guy at the local feed store talk me through it, showed me his setup. Tried it on that draft, metal fitted way better, no gaps, crack's healing faster than I expected. Now I got a small forge in the shed. Any of you guys use hot for your bigger horses regularly?

Visited a big training barn in Ohio and noticed nobody was using wedges

I was out at a jumper barn near Columbus last Thursday checking some of their competition horses. Out of 12 horses I trimmed, not a single one had wedge pads or any kind of built-up shoe on the hind end. The trainer told me they just focus on balance and let the hoof do the work. Kinda made me rethink how often I reach for wedges on my regular clients. Has anyone else seen a shift away from wedge pads in the last year or two?

Took me nearly 4 hours to pull a single stuck nail from a draft horse's hoof yesterday

Been doing this 12 years and that one nail fought me like it was welded in, finally had to drill it out bit by bit, anyone else ever have a shoeing job just snowball on them for no good reason?

TIL I was completely wrong about how I was nailing horseshoes

Honestly, I had this old timer named Jim watch me work a front shoe on a draft cross at his barn in Fort Collins. He stopped me mid-swing and said "son, you're driving those nails way too shallow, they'll bend every time." Changed my angle to about 10 degrees steeper and I haven't had a clinch pop since. Anybody else gotten a simple tip that fixed a bad habit overnight?

Watched a new guy trim a hoof and saw my own old mistake

He was rasping the wall at a super steep angle, just like I did for my first two years. The owner's trainer pointed out the horse was landing toe-first on that foot, which finally clicked for me. Anyone else take way too long to connect the trim to the actual breakover?

I used to think hot fitting was a waste of time for most horses

For years, I'd only do it for the really tough cases, like a draft horse with a bad flare. Then I worked on a Quarter Horse in Cheyenne with persistent heel soreness, and the owner insisted we try it. We hot fit a set of handmade shoes, and the relief was almost instant. Has anyone else had a simple change like that fix a long-running issue?

PSA: Saw a ranch in Bend, Oregon using glue-on shoes exclusively

They had about 40 head of trail horses all in glue-ons, no nails at all. The owner said it's better for hoof health and they never have lost shoes. But their farrier charges almost double per horse. Is that the future or just a fad for certain barns? What's your take on the cost versus benefit for a whole operation?

Shoutout to the old-timer who helped me with a sprung shoe in Redmond

I was working on a big draft horse yesterday when the shoe twisted right as I set the last nail, and the owner was getting nervous. An older farrier I know from the feed store happened to be driving by, stopped, and showed me a trick with a crease nail puller to lever it back into place without pulling the whole shoe.

Tried a new rasp on a draft horse and it went sideways fast

I was working on a big Percheron in Springfield last week and grabbed a new Heller rasp I just got. The first few strokes felt fine, but then it started to grab and skip across the hoof wall like crazy. I realized the cut was way more aggressive than my old one, and I had to slow my pressure down by half to keep it from chattering. Anyone have a go-to rasp for heavy breeds that doesn't fight you?

So I was trimming a draft horse in Lexington yesterday and the rasp just SNAPPED mid-pull

Had to pick between a new rasp and fixing my old anvil stand last week

The stand was wobbling bad, but I also needed a fresh rasp for a bunch of yearling trims. I spent the money on the steel to weld the stand solid, and it made the whole day's work feel so much safer and smoother. What's a recent tool or repair choice you had to make that paid off?