c/farriers

Warning: that old forge in the back of the barn might not be as solid as it looks

I was working on a ranch outside of Bozeman and using their ancient coal forge to shape a shoe. The firepot was cracked, and when I gave the blower a hard crank, the whole thing just gave way and dumped hot coals everywhere, lol. I had to smother it fast with a wet burlap sack I keep in my truck for emergencies. Anyone else had a close call with old equipment they didn't know was about to fail?

Shoutout to the old timer in Cheyenne who showed me a trick with a rasp that saved a whole day's work

A cold morning in January showed me my rasp angle was all wrong

I was finishing a quarter crack repair on a draft horse, and the owner, an old timer named Frank, just watched me work. After about ten minutes, he said, 'Son, you're fighting that rasp like it's a saw.' I realized I was holding it almost flat, just skimming the hoof wall. He showed me how to tip it to a sharper angle, letting the teeth really bite and pull. The difference in control and the finish was night and day. For those who learned on their own, what's one basic tool move you had to unlearn?

This client in Bakersfield kept calling me a 'horseshoer' while I was trimming her Percheron.

She said 'just nail 'em on, horseshoer, it's not rocket science' as I was explaining the founder rehab plan. Anyone else get that from people who don't get the difference?

Appreciation post: Bought a $350 hoof jack for a draft horse job. Thing folded like a cheap lawn chair.

Question about a draft horse shoeing setup I saw in Lancaster

I was at a big draft horse show in Lancaster last weekend and noticed a farrier there using a portable propane forge right from his truck bed. He was heating and shaping shoes on the spot for a Percheron with a tricky hoof angle. Have any of you tried working with a mobile forge like that for big horses, and is it worth the extra gear to haul around?

I've been trimming quarter cracks wrong for years and only just noticed

I was working on a horse in Boulder last month and the owner's vet pointed out my trim was making the crack spread. He showed me how I was cutting too much wall away from the center. Has anyone else had a vet or another farrier catch a bad habit you didn't know you had?

Saw something odd at the county fair in Springfield last weekend

I was walking through the horse barns at the Springfield County Fair and noticed a draft horse with shoes that looked way too small. The hoof wall was overgrown past the shoe on all sides, and the horse was standing a bit off. I didn't want to overstep, but I quietly mentioned it to the handler, who just shrugged and said the farrier was coming 'next month.' It really got me thinking about client education. How do you guys handle it when you see a horse that's clearly overdue for a reset in a public setting? Do you say something, or is it considered bad form to comment on another farrier's work?

I finally bought a proper hoof stand after years of just using a bucket

Spent about $180 on a basic but solid one from a local tack shop. My back was killing me after a full day trimming five horses at the Miller ranch last week, and I was done. That first shoe I set with the stand felt completely different, way more stable and controlled. Anyone have tips on keeping the rubber foot from wearing out too fast on gravel?

I was trimming a draft cross in wet mud last week and my rasp kept clogging instantly.

On a whim I sprayed the rasp with a little cooking spray before starting, and it cleared shavings way better for the whole job. Has anyone else tried something like this, or is there a better trick for wet conditions?

Remember when we used to shape every shoe by hand on the anvil?

Back in the 90s, I'd spend a good 20 minutes just drawing and shaping a bar shoe for a navicular case. Now, with a good forge and pre-made bar stock from a place like Centaur, I can have one ready to fit in maybe 7 minutes. The change really hit me around 2010 when the quality of factory-made blanks got so much better. It saves my shoulder a ton of wear, but I still keep my rounding hammer sharp for the final tweaks. Anyone else find they miss the handwork but can't argue with the time saved on a busy day?

Noticed a big shift in how we handle hoof wall separations lately

Five years back, the go-to was often just to cut it out and patch. Now, with better imaging and glue tech, we're seeing way more attempts to save the wall. That new acrylic resin from Hoof-Tech has been a game changer for me. Anyone else changed their approach on these?

My apprentice used a zip tie to hold a shoe on a spooky horse

We were out at the Miller farm and this big draft horse kept pulling his shoe off before we could finish. My kid grabbed a heavy duty zip tie from the truck, looped it around the hoof wall and the shoe's clip, and it held long enough to get the nails in. Anyone else have a weird tool save the day like that?

A client's simple comment made me rethink my whole approach to hoof packing

I was working on a big draft horse in Bozeman last fall, packing his feet with my usual clay mix. The owner, a quiet older woman, watched for a bit and then said, 'You know, he always seems to walk tender for a day after you pack them that tight.' I'd never really thought about it, I just packed them firm like I was taught. But she was right, I was probably overdoing it. The next week, I tried a much lighter pack, just enough to fill the sole without pressure. The difference was clear. The horse moved off way better right away. Now I use about half the material I used to, and I check in with owners about how the horse feels after. Has anyone else had a client point out something obvious that you were just missing?

Rant: A 3-day old colt in Cheyenne taught me to always pack extra rasp handles.

The little guy kicked mine into a water trough on the second hoof, and the backup saved me a 40-mile round trip to town. Anyone else have a go-to piece of gear they learned to double-check after one bad day?

Serious question, why does everyone think you need to pull the shoe for a quarter crack?

I mean, I've seen this so many times at clinics and on forums. People act like the first step for a quarter crack is always to pull the shoe, reset the foot, and start over. But idk, maybe it's just me, but I've had way better luck leaving the shoe on and patching it in place, especially on performance horses that need to stay in work. I learned this from an old timer in Kentucky about five years ago. He showed me how to use a good acrylic patch and a couple of clips to stabilize the area while it grows out. It keeps the hoof protected and the horse comfortable without the stress of a full reset. I've done it on three different eventers now and they've all stayed sound through the healing. Has anyone else tried patching in place, or am I the only one who thinks pulling the shoe right away can sometimes cause more problems than it solves?

Heard a trainer at the county fair talk about hoof balance differently

I was getting a lemonade and overheard a horse trainer telling someone that a horse with a 'toe first' landing can sometimes be helped more by adjusting the breakover point than just adding more heel. It made me rethink how I look at a lame horse's gait before I even pick up the foot. Do you guys ever change your approach based on what you see in the horse's movement first?

Appreciation post: My old boss told me to always check the frog first, and it saved a horse in my care last month.

I was working on a big warmblood that was just a little off, and the owner thought it was a shoeing issue. I almost started trimming, but I remembered what he said. I lifted the hoof and found a deep, packed gravel pocket in the frog that was starting to get sore. Cleaned it out, packed it, and the horse was walking fine in two days. What's the best trick an old hand ever gave you for spotting a problem before it gets bad?

Hot take: I was trimming way too much heel for like three years

I was working on a big draft cross last week, and the owner, an old timer, just watched me for a minute. He finally said, 'You're leaving that horse standing on its toes, son.' I looked at my work and realized I'd been taking the heel back way too far, trying to get a 'clean' look. It clicked that I was making the breakover harder for the horse. How do you guys judge how much heel to leave on a big, heavy foot?

Just trimmed my 1000th hoof and found a weird surprise inside

I was working on a big draft horse named Gus at a farm near Springfield. When I pulled the old shoe off his front left, a perfect, shiny 1978 quarter fell out from under it. The owner said Gus had been a little off for about a week, so I guess he was literally walking on money. I've seen nails, rocks, and pine cones, but never actual change. What's the strangest thing you've ever found packed in a hoof?

Finally got a tricky draft horse to stand still for a full trim

Last week, I was working on a big Belgian named Gus out at the Miller farm. He used to dance around so much I could barely get one foot done. This time, I spent about ten minutes just talking to him and letting him sniff my tools before I even picked up a hoof. By the end, he stood calm for all four feet and the owner said it was the best he's ever been. Anyone have other tricks for real nervous draft types?

Had to choose between a hot shoe and a cold shoe for a crazy draft horse in Cheyenne

This massive Percheron came in with a cracked hoof wall, and the owner needed a fix fast. I could either try a hot shoe to shape it perfectly, or go with a cold shoe to save time. I picked the hot shoe, thinking I could get a better fit. The horse was fine until he caught a whiff of the burning hoof smell and decided my anvil looked like a toy. He nudged it over, and my new shoe went flying into a water trough. Ended up doing a cold shoe anyway after fishing it out. Anyone have a good method for keeping curious giants away from the forge?

Had a draft horse in Spokane last Tuesday that just would not pick up its near hind foot.

I tried my usual calm talk and hip bump, but the owner said it's been a problem since a trailer incident two years back. Ended up using a soft rope loop above the pastern to get the lift I needed without a fight. What's your go-to method for a horse that really plants a foot and won't budge?

My old rounding hammer finally gave out after 15 years last Tuesday

The head just flew off while I was working on a draft horse shoe in the shop. Has anyone found a good replacement that holds up to heavy forging?

Just found out how much a horse's hoof grows in a year, and it's way more than I thought

I was reading an old farrier textbook from the 80s I picked up at a yard sale, and it mentioned that the average horse's hoof wall grows about a quarter inch per month. I did the math, and that's about three inches a year. For some reason, I always pictured it being slower, maybe an inch or so. It really puts the whole trimming schedule into perspective, especially for the pasture pets I see every eight weeks. You're basically keeping up with a solid half inch of growth each visit. It makes me think about how much the hoof capsule actually moves and changes shape over time. I guess I never stopped to really calculate it out before. Has anyone else come across a basic fact like that that made you look at your routine a bit differently?