Advanced Shoeing

Ok so first off, Keg shoes are your standard "off the rack" shoes that can be heated, shaped and modified. (see Beginner for parts of :) These come in a variety of sizes and styles and can be used for many horses.

However, horses with movement related issues may need therapeutic shoes. Changes to the shoe (ie weight, shape, angle, etc) can make a critical difference to how the foot breaks over (by adding a roll), it's flight pattern, and how it lands. Here are some of the more interesting shoes that can be used for corrective purposes:



1. Trailer Shoe - this has one heel extended; used to help a foot that naturally twists land straight.

2. Square Toe - these are sometimes used on hind feet to limit forging and over-reaching (see Movement)

3 and 7 Rolled Toe - used for horses that stumble or trip often as it aids in the breakover phrase of the stride (see Movement). Aka Rocker toe.

4. Bar Shoe - therapeutic shoe used to remove or apply pressure to different parts of the foot.

5. Heart Bar Shoe - particular bar shoe often used for horses with laminitis (more on this another Thursday!).

6. Egg Bar Shoe - another standard therapeutic shoe, often used for horses with navicular (more on this another Thursday!)

Other Shoe-Related Items:

Pads - these are often added between the foot and the shoe. Can provide protection to the sole (esp if your horse has super-sensitive feet), help reduce concussion, and help treat some issues. There will be oakum (traditionally - less common now) or some other substance (the blue foamy stuff is particularly entertaining) packed between the pad and the shoe.

• Pads are leather (traditionally) or synthetic (more often). Regular ones are of an even thickness and cover the whole hoof.
  
• Cut-out pads (aka rim pads) have a hole cut-out of the middle, so they go around the rim of the hoof. We're back to the creative naming system. These cover the heels and the edge of the foot, but some of the frog and the sole are still exposed. These are used to help adjust the angle of the hoof.
  
• Wedge pads (aka degree pads) raise the heels. They are used to change the angle of the hoof while providing the same protection as regular pads. Used for horses with iffy confirmation (ie low heels). They are also often used for horses with navicular.
  

Studs are used for added traction. The shoes must have holes tapped into them and then a variety of studs are available to screw in based on footing. Generally pointed studs for hard footing and rounded for muddy.

Road studs - are small (usually square) and used for hard surfaces (including firm dry grass footing)


Bullets - are used for ground that is reasonably firm but has loose footing on top.



Blocks - these tend to be quite substantial and are used for deep muddy footing.


Others - as with everything in riding there are many "specialty" items for everything you can imagine.

Studs can do serious damage if incorrectly used. Remember these basics:

• Always use studs in pairs
  
• Use the smallest studs possible for the footing.
  
• Remove the studs as soon as you're done riding.
  
• Never turn a horse out with studs (could injure himself or another horse).
  
• Put protective boots on your horse when she's wearing studs
  
• Never trailer a horse with studs in

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Intermediate Shoeing

The farrier is the person who shoes your horse (as opposed to a blacksmith who works with metal in general -- and in older times often shoed horses as well). He'll use several tools in this process:



1. Rasp - used for, well, rasping. Think of it as a horse-sized nail-file.

2. Clinch cutter - I'd say the use is fairly self-explanitory. At least if you know that the clinches are the part of the nail that pokes out (and is folded over) at the top of the hoof.

3. Pritchel - This is a scary looking metal spike that the farrier uses to hold the hot shoe. Also used in forging to create the nail holes in the shoes.

4. Toe Knife - once-upon-a-time used for trimming the hoof; now rarely seen as preference seems to be for the specialized tools of the drawing knife and the hoof trimmer.

5. Drawing Knife - used to trim the frog or pare away excess sole. This knife is easily recognizable because it has a hook on it.

6. awww comeon, you don't really need me to tell you what this is do you? What's it look like? Yes, it's a Hammer.

7. Shoe Puller -- used for... yup, pulling shoes. Also sometimes called Pincers

8. Hoof Trimmer -- yet another inventive name. Also sometimes called Nippers

9. Clincher -- for closing the part of the nail that sticks out, thereby making the clinches.

Now that you know what tools your farrier will be using, how about what he's going to do?

1. Remove the old shoe. This has a few steps in itself:

• Open the clinches
  
• Either extract nails or use shoe-pullers to pull shoe (always pull toward the frog; both heels, then toe, repeat till off)
  
• Remove any remaining nails

2. Evaluate the hoof (the farrier will check wear patterns, balance, shape and symmetry).

3. Trim the hoof.

4. Select a shoe and reshape it to fit the hoof (it's important that the shoe be fit to the hoof not the hoof to the shoe!)

5. Nail on shoe. Amazing how the simplest instructions arguably requires the most skill.

6. Set and file clinches.

7. Farrier may choose to apply hoof sealer or fill in old nail holes.

And then once that's done, how do you know if your farrier has done a good job?

• the shoe should fit the hoof (shoe reaches heels - or possibly past if necessary)
  
• the shoe is held on by six to eight nails
  
• the toe and heel of each pair of feet should match (ie one front foot should look like the other)
  
• the bulbs of the heels should be even
  clenches should be even; they will usually be about cm from the bottom of the foot
  
• when moving the feet should land evenly
  
• angle of the hoof matches the angle of the pastern
  
• **the frog should touch the ground - this one gets a couple stars because depending which paper you read or which farrier and/or vet you talk to, you'll get a different answer. All agree it should touch the ground when the horse is moving, but there's debate over whether it should be in contact when standing still. Reasonable in-between seems to be yes if on soft ground but not necessarily if on hard ground.
  

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Beginner Shoeing

My horse gets new shoes considerably more often than I do. Why? Because she wears them out. But horses in the wild don't have shoes, why does yours need them? Well, there's a couple reasons for that. Horses hooves continually grow -- much like your finger nails; in the wild, they wear out at about the same rate as they grow while the horse wanders around grazing. In a domestic environment though, a horse who's ridden is required to carry more than their natural weight (tack and rider!), and work on non-hoof-friendly surfaces than they would in the wild and so their hooves get worn faster. The other issue is that in the wild evolution kicks in and over time, horses with stronger feet are going to survive. People, however, have focused breeding on other traits (such as speed) leaving some breeds with less than ideal hooves. We put shoes on to counteract this issue. Shoes also allow us to add studs for traction when necessary. Note that shoes are *not* necessary for all horses. Some, particularly sturdy ponies, can go barefoot their whole lives.

Ok short version. Why shoe?

• Protection: work on hard surfaces will wear the hoof faster than it can grow.
  
• Traction: shoes with corks can help prevent slipping, esp on slippery surfaces.
  
• Improving Movement: changing the weight, shape, balance of the shoe can significantly alter the horse's movement.
  Soundness: horses with issues such as laminitis or navicular can be helped by special shoes.
  

If your horse needs shoes, you need to know about them! They'll need to be reset or replaced every 5-8 weeks. Resetting is when they take the shoes off, trim the hooves, and put the same shoes back on. You can usually do this once, sometimes twice, before new shoes are needed.

So how do you know when your horse needs the farrier?

• Regular appointment time - your horse should be on a regular schedule, usually once somewhere between 5 and 8 weeks.
  
• Missing, thin, bent or twisted shoe - particularly in the case of a bent or twisted shoe call the farrier right away as that can cause problems with their legs (by stressing tendons, ligaments, etc) and their feet (bruised sole).
  
• Shoe is loose - you'll hear a noticeable clicking sound when the horse walks and can wiggle or move the shoe.
  
• Toes are long - you can see this by looking; the toe seems to grow past the shoe. If they're really long the horse will start to trip as he travels.
  
• If the shoe rests on the soul of the foot.

And because I know how much you really want something to memorize... The parts of the shoe:



Not noted here but worth being aware of are clips. Clips stick up either one at the toe, or two - one on either side (think 10 and 2 position). These are called, not surprisingly, toe or quarter clips, and are used particularly for horses involved in high-impact sports, to stop the shoe from twisting or shifting.
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