c/farriers

19

spencer199•15h ago

Watched a horse go full gremlin mode during a trim yesterday

I was out at a barn near Fort Collins doing a routine trim on a mare I've seen a dozen times. She's usually pretty chill, but this time she locked her jaw and started grinding her teeth as soon as I touched her front left. Took me 20 minutes to get through because she kept trying to pull her foot back every time I lifted the rasp. Turns out she had a tiny pebble wedged deep in her frog that had been bothering her for who knows how long. Has anyone else dealt with a horse hiding a foot issue like that, or was mine just being dramatic?

15

jadeg81•20h ago

Old timer told me my clinches were garbage, he was right

Been shoeing for about 6 years and thought I had my clinching down. Last month a retired farrier watched me finish a set and just said "your clinches look like they were done with a butter knife." He showed me how to use a lighter hammer and not over-rotate the nail. First horse I tried it on took half the time and the clinches sat flat as a dime on glass. Anyone else get a tip that made you feel like you had been doing it wrong for years?

17

ninaross•1d ago

Spent a whole Saturday fixing a hoof crack that should have taken 2 hours

Had a nasty quarter crack on a client's horse in Nashville, figured I'd patch it and move on, but it took me 8 hours because the old epoxy wouldn't bond with the moisture seeping in from the wet ground. Anyone else run into this where the weather just ruins your whole timeline?

25

tylerr29•3d ago

Old timer told me my clinches were garbage, he was right

Been shoeing for about 5 years now and thought I had my clinch game down. Last spring Bob, this guy who's been at it since the 70s, watched me finish a set on a draft cross and just shook his head. He said I was pulling too hard and not cutting the nails short enough, making the clinch weak and the foot look like crap. I bit the bullet and let him walk me through it his way, shorter nails and way less force on the pull. First few horses felt weird but now my clinches hold way better and the owners actually compliment the look. Any of you guys ever have to unlearn a bad habit an old hand called out?

17

karent75•5d ago

Is a $400 forge really worth it over a $150 one?

I been shoeing for about 8 years now and I finally decided to upgrade my forge. I dropped $400 on a new propane forge from a brand I won't name yet. Thing heats up fast and even. But my buddy swears by his $150 one he got off Craigslist 5 years ago. He says it works just as good and I wasted my money. I got to admit his shoes come out fine. But I feel like mine are more consistent now. What do you all think? Is spending more on a forge actually paying off for you or is it just hype?

10

the_hugo•7d ago

Nicked a tendon sheath on a tough front hoof last Tuesday

Had a mare that wouldn't stand still while I was trying to trim her and my knife slipped right into the white line, ending in a vet bill for $350 and a week of stall rest, has anyone else had a close call with a dangerous cut like that?

28

skyler516•25d ago

Overheard a farrier say he never uses a rasp on the lateral walls

Was at a clinic in Lexington last month and an old timer mentioned he only touches the toe and heel with a rasp. He said messing with the side walls makes the hoof brittle and cracks show up in 6 weeks. Anyone else follow that method or stick to a full rasp down?

20

ninaross•25d ago

Had a talk with an older farrier that made me look at my workflow different

I was trimming a standardbred last Tuesday when an old timer, been shoeing 30 plus years, stopped by my rig. He watched me pull a shoe and asked why I was still using a 4 pound hammer for everything. He said I was wasting energy and making the horse nervous with all that extra force. Told me to try a 2.5 pound head for most of my work and save the heavy one for cold shoeing only. Has anyone else switched hammer weights and noticed a difference in their hand or the horse's behavior?

26

ivan_fisher99•29d ago

An old rancher taught me something about hoof angles in Nevada

I was trimming a mustang for this old guy outside Elko about 3 months ago. He walked over and just pointed at the hoof and said "that angle is gonna make him sore in 2 weeks." I thought I had it right but I checked his notes and he was dead on. Has anyone else had a customer just know more than you about their own horse's feet?

23

wesleypatel•1mo ago

PSA: Cheap rasps will wreck your hands after a week

I bought three $15 rasps from a farm supply store last month thinking I was saving money. By day 7 my right hand was so sore I couldn't grip a hoof for two days. Has anyone else had a bad run with budget tools like that?

23

lewis.charlie•1mo ago

Tried a new hoof stand from a buddy's design, threw my back out anyway

My friend welded me this fancy adjustable hoof stand that lets you tilt the foot sideways. I figured it would save my lower back on those big draft horse shoes. After 3 tries with a Percheron yesterday in Madison, I ended up hunched worse than before because the stand kept wobbling on gravel. The angle was nice but the base just wasn't wide enough for uneven ground. Anybody else find those portable stands useless outside the shop?

8

harper_gibson2•1mo ago

Okay I gotta admit I was wrong about hot shoeing in winter

I always thought hot shoeing below freezing was pointless because the shoe would just cool off too fast to seat right. Read a study from the UK farrier association saying it actually helps the shoe grip better on frozen ground. Has anyone else tried it and seen a difference in how long the shoes hold?

15

christopherwilliams•1mo ago

Had my anvil stand collapse mid-shoe yesterday. Horse was not impressed.

I was just getting ready to nail on a front shoe on a big draft cross when the whole stand just gave way. Lucky the horse didn't spook. Turns out a bolt I had holding a leg together had sheared off sometime in the last week. I managed to get the shoe off and calm the horse down, but it took me an hour to rebuild the stand with a backup I had in the truck. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail on them at the worst possible time?

22

lilyo30•1mo ago

My favorite hoof knife finally gave out after 12 years

I was out on a job Tuesday morning up near Salem, trimming a big draft cross with some pretty gnarly thrush. Went to make a clean cut around the frog and my trusty old hoof knife just snapped right at the handle. That thing has been with me since I started shoeing back in 2010, I think I paid like 40 bucks for it at a trade show. I had to finish the trim with my backup, which is a cheap one I hate using, and it took twice as long. Now I gotta find a replacement that feels the same or I'm going to be fighting every trim for a month. Has anyone had luck getting a specific knife model rehandled or do you just bite the bullet and start over?

29

charlie_roberts87•1mo ago

Bought a $150 hoof knife sharpener and it wrecked three of my good knives in one afternoon.

Had to spend another $80 to get them professionally re-edged and now I just use a basic stone and strop like my mentor showed me - has anyone else had bad luck with those electric sharpening rigs?

29

amy692•1mo ago

My favorite anvil stand cracked right down the middle during a job last Wednesday

I was reshoeing a big draft horse and right as I set the foot down, I heard this loud pop. Looked down and there was a crack running from the top bolt all the way to the base plate. It was a 4x4 oak stand I built myself about 2 years ago, so I honestly thought it would hold up longer. I had to finish the shoe on the tailgate of my truck, which wasn't fun. Has anyone else had a wooden stand suddenly fail on them like that?

2

angelaellis•1mo ago

Took me 3 years to realize I was trimming hind feet backwards

I've been shoeing for about 6 years now, mostly on my own. Yesterday I was working on a 4-year-old draft cross in Tulsa and my buddy stopped by to chat. He watched me trim the left hind and just sort of tilted his head. He asked why I start at the toe and work back on the hind but start at the heel on the front. I told him I didn't even think about it, that's just how I always did it. He pointed out I was basically fighting the natural motion of the leg, making the horse shift weight weird. I pulled up a video from a clinic I went to in 2021 and sure enough, I had been doing it opposite the whole time. The horse even stood quieter when I tried it his way for the right hind. Has anyone else had one of those moments where you realize you've been doing something basic completely wrong for years?

1

derek_dixon78•1mo ago

100th shoe set this morning made me question my whole method

I hit my 100th shoe set of the year this morning on a Percheron in Spokane, and counting them up made me realize how many times I could've done better... what number milestone made y'all change something about your routine?

2

angelaellis•1mo ago

Vent: My hoof knife snapped on a tough quarter crack yesterday

It was a 10-year-old Mustad blade that finally gave out mid-cut. Had to finish the job with my nippers, which was a real pain. Anyone have a favorite heavy-duty brand that can take a beating?

19

troy_owens•1mo ago

I switched from a 2 pound rounding hammer to a 3 pound for a draft horse job in Lancaster

Always used a lighter hammer for control, but this big Belgian needed a lot of shaping on some thick bar stock. My buddy Jake said to just try his 3 pounder for a few nails. The extra weight did the work for me, and I finished the set in half the time without my arm getting tired. Anyone else find a heavier hammer works better on the really big feet?

8

parkerkim•1mo ago

Shoutout to the old guy in Boise who told me to use a rasp on hot shoes

I was at a clinic last fall and this retired farrier kept saying you should shape the shoe while it's still hot from the forge, using just the rasp. I thought it was some outdated, messy shortcut. Last week, I had a tough quarter crack on a draft horse and nothing was fitting right. Out of frustration, I heated a shoe and tried his method. The rasp cut through the hot steel like butter and I got a perfect fit in maybe 2 minutes flat. Totally changed how I handle custom fits now. Anyone else use hot rasping for tricky corrections?

26

emmafisher•1mo ago

Update: My client's draft horse went from stumbling to smooth in 8 weeks

He's a big Percheron with flat feet, and his owner said he was tripping a lot on their gravel driveway. I started a trim every 5 weeks and added a rolled toe, and now he walks with way more confidence. Has anyone else seen this kind of turnaround with a similar hoof shape?

26

linda_clark•1mo ago

Read an old book that said a horse's hoof grows about a quarter inch a month

I was looking through a farrier manual from the 1970s at a used bookstore. It had a section on hoof growth rates and stated the average is roughly a quarter inch per month. That's about three inches a year, which seems fast when you think about it. I always knew they grew, but never put a number to it. It makes you think about how often some horses really need a trim. Has anyone else come across different numbers in more recent studies?

11

skyler516•1mo ago

PSA: I switched from a standard rounding hammer to a cross peen for shaping shoes

I was working on a draft horse last week and my old hammer just wasn't getting the right curve on the heel. Grabbed a buddy's cross peen and shaped a perfect quarter clip in two hits. Do you think the hammer type makes a real difference or is it just about getting used to the tool?

8

skylerc86•1mo ago

Rant: I was trimming a draft horse in Kentucky last month and finally saw why my bevels were always off

An old guy watching me work just said, 'Your rasp is talking to you, kid, you're just not listening,' and I realized I'd been forcing the angle instead of letting the tool's sound and feel guide me, so has anyone else had a moment where a simple comment from another farrier made a basic skill click?