c/farriers

7

wyatt_ross27•10h ago

Just hit 500 shoes on my new anvil and the difference is real

I bought a new 70 pound anvil about six months ago and have been keeping a rough count. I finally hit 500 shoes shaped on it this morning. The horn and face have worn in just right, and my hammer strikes feel way more solid now. It took that many to really break it in and get a feel for the steel. Has anyone else noticed a big change after hitting a certain number on a new tool?

12

sam530•1d ago

Saw a barn in Kentucky using a totally different hoof stand setup

I was down in Lexington last month for a clinic and got a chance to peek into a big operation's barn. They had their hoof stands set up on these low, rolling carts, maybe 8 inches off the ground, instead of the usual tripod or single-post stands. The farrier would just roll the cart under the horse's hoof, do the work, and kick it to the next foot. The guy running it swore it saved his back and cut his time per horse by a solid 15 minutes because he wasn't constantly bending and repositioning. But it looked bulky, and I can't see it working in a tight stall or with a nervous horse that might kick at a moving cart. It got me thinking about how much our tools shape our work flow. Has anyone else tried a mobile setup like that, or is sticking with the classic stand still the better call for most jobs?

2

ivan_perez•1d ago

Spent 3 hours on a quarter crack that looked simple

It was on a draft horse with a deep, old crack that kept crumbling when I tried to patch it. I had to clean it out way more than I thought and use a different glue mix. Anyone have a better way to handle those crumbling cracks?

-1

derek939•1d ago

Vent: The state fair hoof care tent was a total mess this year

I was at the county fairgrounds last weekend and the setup for trimming was just unsafe, with kids running around loose horses. How do you guys handle public demos without it turning into a circus?

11

gonzalez.anna•3d ago

Saw a horse with a weird shoe at the county fair last weekend

I was at the county fair in Springfield, just walking through the barns. Saw a draft horse with a shoe I'd never seen before. It was a wide web, but with a weird extra piece welded on the outside quarter. Looked almost like a side clip but not quite right. Talked to the owner for a minute. He said his old farrier put it on for a persistent quarter crack, about 6 months ago. The horse was moving okay, but I could see the hoof wall was starting to flare out around that spot. Made me think about how a fix for one problem can sometimes start another if you're not watching. Anyone ever see a weld-on mod like that actually work long term?

2

oliviadixon•4d ago

So I switched from a standard rasp to a Heller file for finishing work about three months ago, and the difference in how clean the hoof wall looks is honestly wild.

I mean, the finish is just so much smoother now, and I'm not fighting to get those last little ridges out, which saves me like five minutes per horse easy, so has anyone else tried a specific file that made their finishing work way faster?

20

julia843•6d ago

Found a nail way too close to the white line on a draft horse last Thursday

It was a big Percheron in for a reset. My boss said 'that's a bruise waiting to happen' and had me pull it and start over. How do you guys handle it when the old nail holes are already crowding the good spots?

8

elliotc10•6d ago

Bought a cheap pair of nippers from a farm store and they lasted about a month

I was in a pinch and grabbed these 'Farrier's Choice' nippers for $40 at the Tractor Supply in Springfield. The first few trims were fine, but then the pivot got loose and the cutting edge chipped on a tough hoof wall. I had to go buy my usual brand anyway, so I wasted that $40 plus the time it cost me on the job. Anyone have a good mid-price brand they trust that won't break the bank?

7

tylerw72•7d ago

Serious question, has anyone else had issues with that new 'quick set' acrylic filler?

I bought a tube for a quick patch job on a quarter crack last week, cost me about 35 bucks. It set up way too fast, maybe 90 seconds, and I couldn't get a smooth finish at all. Ended up having to pull it all off and start over with my regular stuff, wasted over an hour of my morning. What do you all use for a reliable, workable filler?

4

uma_lopez•7d ago

Thinking back to the first time I had to cold shoe a draft horse in the rain

Last week I was teaching a new kid how to shape a shoe, and he pulled out his phone to check a video. Three years ago, I was in a barn near Salem, Oregon, and my old boss just had us watch him do it once, then handed us the hammer. I remember the rain coming through a hole in the roof, hitting the anvil. We used to learn by feel, not by screen. Now everyone wants a perfect reference before they even start. Does anyone else feel like that hands-on trial and error is getting lost?

19

wrenwilson•8d ago

Pro tip: a chat about hoof testers changed my approach to navicular

I was at a clinic in Boise and heard a vet tell a farrier, 'You're not feeling for pain, you're mapping the structure.' I started using my testers more slowly, focusing on the hoof's give in each quadrant. Anyone else tweak their technique after a comment like that?

9

nora10•8d ago

Spent a whole morning on a quarter crack that looked simple

Had a client's horse in Salem with a small quarter crack on the left hind. Figured it would be a quick patch job, maybe an hour. Ended up taking nearly 4 hours because the crack went way deeper than it looked and I had to do a full bar shoe with a plate. Anyone else had a crack that fooled them like that?

13

wyatt_green•10d ago

A trainer in Lexington told me my toe clips were too long for the horse's breakover, and now I measure from the apex of the frog every time.

After he pointed out I was adding almost a quarter inch of unnecessary leverage, I switched from eyeballing it to always using a ruler, and the difference in the horse's gait was immediate.

4

amy858•10d ago

Watching a lot of newer farriers skip the proper rasp angle on the quarters

I've seen at least five different horses in the last two months come in with uneven breakover because their last trim was done with the rasp held almost flat, which just rounds the edge instead of creating a clean, supportive wall.

15

shane_ross•11d ago

That time I tried a hoof stand vs. just holding the leg up for a whole day

Had a big job at a ranch near Boise last month, 12 horses to do. For the first three I was stubborn and just held each leg up like I always have. My back was screaming by horse four. Switched to my portable stand and finished the other nine without a single ache. Why did I ever think the old way was fine? Anyone else have a tool they fought against that turned out to be a lifesaver?

18

black.margaret•12d ago

Serious question, has anyone else been over-trimming the frog?

I was working on a big draft horse last month, a Percheron named Gus, and his owner pointed out he was still a bit tender after my last visit. She said, 'He walks better when you leave more of that middle part alone.' I realized I'd been trimming his frog way down, thinking I was preventing thrush, but I was actually taking off too much of the natural cushion. It clicked that I was making the foot less comfortable, not more. How do you all judge how much frog to take off on a heavy horse?

11

the_rowan•12d ago

That week I had three horses with the same weird quarter crack

Last month in the middle of a heat wave, I had three separate clients in the same county call about quarter cracks on their horse's front feet. All three were on the outside quarter, all left front, and all on horses that stand in wet paddocks overnight. I patched two with acrylic and bar shoes, but the third owner wanted to try just a pour-in pad and no shoe change. It's been six weeks now and the two with bar shoes are sound, but the one with just the pad is still off. Makes me wonder if we're too quick to jump to the full corrective package, or if that's still the gold standard. What's your go-to for a wet environment quarter crack?

19

uma_reed26•12d ago

A client in Bend asked me to leave her horse's feet a bit long for a trail ride

I was trimming a quarter horse for a regular client about three weeks ago. She watched me work and then asked if I could leave the toes just a little longer than usual. She explained they were going on a rocky, five-day pack trip and she thought the extra length would give the horse more protection. I told her I was worried about the breakover, but we talked it through. Has anyone else had a client make a specific request based on the terrain they ride on?

1

the_blair•13d ago

That week in March where every horse seemed to have a hoof crack

I had three different horses in the same week, all from different barns around Lexington, come in with quarter cracks on the same front foot. It was wild. The vet at Bluegrass Equine said the sudden temperature swings from our weird spring weather likely caused it. Anyone else see a spike in specific hoof issues with the changing seasons?

19

alexlewis•14d ago

A trainer in Kentucky told me something that changed how I handle nervous horses

I was shoeing a young thoroughbred at a farm near Lexington last fall, and the horse was really jumpy. The trainer, an older guy named Hank, watched me for a minute and then said, 'You're holding your breath when you pick up his foot. He can feel that tension.' I had no idea I was doing it. I started focusing on my own breathing, and the horse settled right down. Has anyone else had a simple tip like that make a big difference?

4

shane_ross•15d ago

Back in my hometown of Redmond, the old feed store's farrier corner is just a coffee bar now.

Tbh, it hit me that the spot where I first saw a hoof being trimmed is gone, and I wonder if new folks even have a place like that to start. Anyone else notice their local horse supply spots fading away?

7

the_david•16d ago

I thought those new composite shoes were just a gimmick until a client in Boise insisted on them

A regular client with a big warmblood had constant issues with pulled shoes on his rocky pasture. He asked me to try a set of those composite glue-on shoes, and I was pretty sure they wouldn't hold up. I put them on six months ago, and I just checked them yesterday. Not a single one has come loose, and the hoof wall looks great with no stress cracks. I had to eat my words. Has anyone else had a good run with these on a heavy horse with tough terrain?

7

mason283•17d ago

That time a vet in Bozeman told me to never trim a hoof past the white line

I was working on a quarter horse at a ranch outside Bozeman, Montana, and the vet on call, Dr. Ellis, watched me for a minute. He said, 'If you cut past that white line, you're just asking for a lame horse and a call back in two days.' It stuck with me because I'd always been taught to get it as short as you can. Has anyone else had a vet or trainer give you a hard rule that went against what you learned?

18

matthew_owens9•18d ago

Can we talk about trimming those big draft horse feet?

I used to just start nipping away at the hoof wall on my Clydesdale client in Lancaster, but after a bad flare last fall I switched to marking my lines with chalk first. Now I spend five minutes drawing where I want to cut, and it saves me from taking off too much heel. Does anyone else have a better trick for keeping those giant feet balanced?

29

masona62•20d ago

Serious question, why do so many new guys skip the proper hoof mapping?

Back in the day, my mentor in Lexington made me map every hoof with chalk before I even picked up a knife. Now I see folks just eyeballing it and going straight to trimming. Last month, a client's horse developed a quarter crack because the farrier didn't account for a 3-degree medial deviation. That extra five minutes with a protractor and a line saves months of rehab. Anyone else still doing the full map, or am I just old school?