c/farriers

Watch out for that new gravel mix on Price Road

I was out near the Larson farm on Price Road yesterday and that fresh gravel they laid down has these sharp little chunks that are chewing up my horseshoes something awful. Has anyone else had issues with that kind of aggregate messing with your shoe fit?

Stopped by an old forge in Lexington and felt like a dinosaur

I was down near Lexington last Saturday and walked past this old farrier shop that's been there since the 70s. The guy running it now is like 28 and uses all these composite shoes and glue-on stuff I never touched when I started out. I remember my first boss, old man Hendricks, who swore by nothing but forged steel and a hot fit. This kid showed me his setup, had a propane forge and a digital timer for cooling. I felt like I was looking at a different trade from the one I learned 20 years ago. He asked me if I still use a rasp by hand, and I just laughed. Does anyone else feel like the old-school methods are dying out faster than we expected?

Rasp quality went to hell after switching to a new supplier

I used the same guy for 8 years. Tried a cheaper outfit last month. Anyone else see a drop in bite with economy rasps?

Trick for keeping nails from slipping on wet hooves

I was fighting with wet hooves all last fall in Kentucky and kept dropping nails left and right. Tried wiping the hoof with a dry rag and then running the nail across a block of rosin before driving it, and that little bit of grip made all the difference. Anyone else got a go-to method for dealing with damp conditions without slowing down?

Chat with an old farrier in Kentucky changed my mind on hoof boots

Ran into a guy at a clinic near Lexington who said he uses them for 90% of his foundered horses instead of shoeing. I always figured boots were a crutch, but he showed me records from 60 horses over 2 years. Has anyone else tried making boots a permanent part of their rotation?

A twisted hoof wall had me chasing shadows for 3 hours

I had a client's horse in Modesto last week that was dead lame on the front right. I spent a good 2 hours checking for abscesses, hot nails, even a possible coffin bone fracture. Turns out a tiny piece of gravel got wedged up under a flared quarter that I kept overlooking because it looked like just dry wall. Next time I'm going straight for a thorough hoof knife scrape before pulling out the testers. Anybody else waste time on the wrong suspect before?

Switched from forge welding to TIG for making my own clips

I used to make all my side clips by forge welding them onto keg shoes, hot as hell and taking like 15 minutes a shoe. About 6 months ago I finally picked up a cheap TIG setup from Harbor Freight and now I tack them on cold in under 3 minutes each. Has anyone else made a similar move or still prefer the old school way?

Stumbled on a stat that 90% of horseshoes today are machine made

Was looking through some old blacksmithing records from the 1800s and found out that almost every shoe back then was hand forged on site. Now I bet less than 10% of the farriers I know even own a forge anymore. Anyone else still hand make shoes or am I just old school?

The morning a hot shoe split right in my hand near Lexington, Kentucky

Monday started out fine, but around 10am I was pulling a shoe off a big Percheron and the metal just cracked right down the middle while I was holding it. Never had a shoe do that before, and it left me scrambling to find a replacement in my truck because I didn't have another size 5. I ended up spending almost 45 minutes trying to reshape a different shoe on the anvil to get it to fit close enough. Has anyone else had a shoe fail on them like that in the middle of a job?

That drafty hoof problem that ate my whole Tuesday

Spent a solid 8 hours last week chasing a hot nail on a draft horse that kept pulling off shoes. Took me three tries to realize his hoof wall was way softer than I expected and I needed a wider nail pattern. Anybody else run into weird hoof density on drafts?

Overheard a farrier at a clinic say he's been using the same rasp for 8 years without sharpening it

That thing had to be tearing up more hoof wall than it was shaping, and it made me wonder how many of us are using dull tools and just not noticing until we grab a fresh one, has anyone else actually timed how long a sharp rasp really lasts?

Met an old timer in Kentucky who could read a horse's mood just from its feet

I was out in Lexington a few years back, helping a buddy at a barn, and this older farrier named Walt showed up for a few trims. He didn't even say much at first, just walked up to each horse and ran his hand down their leg before touching any tools. At one point he pointed at a mare's front hoof and told me she was nervous because the heel was chipping on one side and that meant she'd been stomping at flies wrong. I asked how he knew it wasn't just bad shoeing and he just laughed and said the hoof tells you everything if you shut up long enough to look. Then he showed me how the sole had these little stress cracks that lined up with her off days. It stuck with me because I spent so much time on angles and nails but never thought about reading the animal first. Has anyone else had a moment like that where someone pointed out something you'd been missing for years?

Watched an old farrier trim a horse with just a rasp and it blew my mind

He didn't even touch his nippers for the first 15 minutes, just shaped the whole hoof with a rasp and a steady hand. Has anyone else picked up a technique that looked too simple but actually worked better than the fancy tools?

Hard to choose between hand forging and factory keg shoes for this one client

Had a client last month with a big warmblood that moves weird. I usually hand forge everything but the guy wanted St. Croix Eventers because his old farrier used them. I went with the factory keg shoes because the horse has a decent foot and the timeline was tight. Took me about 2 hours to fit them with some minor mods. Horse moved better than I expected honestly but I still feel like hand forged gives me more control on tricky gaits. Anyone else stuck between speed and custom fit when a client pushes for specific brands?

Took me 3 years to admit I was wrong about egg-bar shoes

Honestly, I used to think egg-bar shoes were a gimmick. Been shoeing for 12 years now, mostly hunter jumpers in the Lexington area. I had this one mare with chronic quarter cracks that just would not heal no matter what I tried. My mentor kept telling me to try egg-bars but I brushed him off for like 3 years. Finally gave in last spring on a whim and put a set on her. The difference in her heel growth over the next 4 months was ridiculous. The crack grew out clean and she went sounder than she had been in 2 seasons. I still think they get overprescribed by vets who never pull a shoe, but for a horse with specific heel issues they work. What do you guys do when a vet recommends a shoe you think is overkill for the situation?

Learned a hard lesson about hoof angles at a clinic in Kentucky

I went to a clinic in Lexington last spring and figured I had the basics down after 8 years of shoeing. The clinician watched me trim a horse and said my angles were off by almost 4 degrees on the front feet. I had been reading the hairline wrong and compensating with the shoe, which made the horse land weird. He spent 20 minutes showing me how to feel for the correct alignment with my hands instead of just my eyes. That one session made me go back and redo a bunch of horses I had shod in the previous months. Has anyone else had a mentor point out a simple mistake that totally changed their approach?

An old timer in a Kentucky barn told me something I still think about

I was trimming a big draft horse about fifteen years ago, and the owner, a man in his seventies, watched me work. He said, 'You know, the hoof tells the story of the whole animal, not just the foot.' He pointed out how the horse's shoulder moved and how that showed up in the wear on the outside wall. It happened in a dusty stall on his farm near Lexington. That one line changed how I look at every horse I work on now. Do you have a piece of advice from an older farrier that stuck with you?

That $80 hoof knife I bought from a big catalog was a total dud

I ordered a fancy forged hoof knife from one of those huge supply catalogs last spring, thinking it would be a step up from my old one. The steel chipped on the second trim, and the handle started slipping in my hand after a week of use. I should have stuck with the brand I know from the local feed store in Lexington. Has anyone else had bad luck with those mail-order tools?

Appreciation post: My old rounding hammer finally gave out on a draft horse shoe in Boise last Thursday

Everyone says to buy the new composite handles, but I'm sticking with wood because the feel is just better for my swing. Anyone have a good source for hickory replacements that won't warp after a wet winter?

I used to think a hot rasp was just for show until a horse in Kentucky changed my mind.

For years I'd shape a shoe cold, then fit and nail it, thinking the extra heat step was a waste of time. Then I worked on a big warmblood with a shelly, crumbly hoof wall that wouldn't hold a nail without cracking, and the farrier I was helping pulled out his hot rasp to seal the nail holes. Seeing how it fused the horn and stopped the cracks cold made me a believer overnight. How many of you still work cold, and what would it take to change your mind?

Just saw a chart showing over 60% of lameness cases start in the foot, from a vet journal my wife left out.

A client's simple comment about hoof balance made me rethink my whole approach

About two years back, a dressage trainer in Ocala watched me finish a trim and said, 'Looks clean, but that left heel is still a bit high, isn't it?' I'd been so focused on the toe and the wall that I was missing the back half. I started taking a photo of the hoof from the back on every horse before I even pick up a tool. It adds maybe three minutes to my setup, but it forces me to see the whole picture. Now I catch imbalances I used to walk right past. What's one small piece of feedback that actually stuck with you guys?

Vent: My old stand grinder's wheel guard sheared off mid-job yesterday

It happened while I was shaping a shoe for a draft horse, and the whole wheel just exploded. Anyone know a good, heavy-duty replacement brand that can handle daily use?

My old mentor saw me using a new rasp and said 'speed is fine, but accuracy is forever'.

It was during a tricky quarter crack job in Boise, and that line stuck with me all week. Anyone else have a saying that changed how you work?

A vet in Bend told me my quarter crack patching was creating a pressure point, and switching to a full bar shoe with a heart bar extension fixed it completely.

He pointed out that my standard patch was too rigid and was actually preventing the hoof wall from flexing naturally during expansion, so now I always assess the whole hoof capsule's movement before deciding on a patch versus a supportive shoe.