If The Shoe Fits #1 © Randy Sublett (Randy, a practicing farrier, writes articles oriented to horse owners.) "He's a damn good shoer cuz he only charged fifteen bucks." Yeah, but did the shoes stay on, or even worse, can your horse still walk? Conversely, just because the cost was fifty dollars does not mean it was a great shoeing job. Unfortunately, there is not always enough money to go around when it comes time to buy new sneakers for Trigger. If paying a farrier to shoe your animals is an unbearable expense (ah hah! now everyone is listening), then you should learn to at least trim the hoof properly yourself or buy horses that do not need shoeing. Oh yes, horses that do not need shoes exist, but I own most of them and they are not for sale. When the time comes to shoe the horse, you need to know a few basics to determine if the job was correctly performed. This knowledge becomes extremely important because of the high turnover rate of farriers in any given area. There are many people out in the world who think they know the job, but really don't know you-know-what from Shinola. It is a Catch-22 of sorts. People will usually try a new farrier if the price is cheap, but then the farrier cannot afford to stay around because jobs are hard to come by and he really is not making much money. And then there is the fact that probably 50% of the people who claim to be farriers should not be allowed to shoe horses. In Great Britain all farriers are registered with the government, are required to spend five years of apprenticeship with a master farrier and must pass a battery of tests in order to be licensed. In this country the only farrier registration available is of two types. The first is the American Farriers Association, of which I am a member. A farrier may take a basic test first, and after having a basic certification for at least two years, he may take a journeyman test. At the present time there is no master's test. This is all done on a voluntary basis, and at this time, farrier registration and testing is not required by any state. The second type of registration is for farriers that work exclusively or mostly at race tracks. These farriers are called platers on the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse tracks, and are called blacksmiths on the trotter and pacer tracks. In any case, you can get a racing license if you pass the F.B.I. check and whatever tests the track stewards require. You will also need a separate license for each state you work in. So since we are not in England or at the track, how can you tell if the farrier is competent and doing a good job? Open your eyes, that's how. First, you should always be with the farrier when he is working on the horse. I have learned the hard way not to work on horses not being held by someone. If and when the horse blows up I want a person holding a lead rope, not the previously attached fence rail that is now traveling towards my head at a high rate of speed. Plus if I get hurt, unless you own Mr. Ed, someone is going to have to call the ambulance. By staying with the farrier during the shoeing, you will get a good feel real quick if he or she is a competent farrier or is just trying to pay tuition to beauty college. Secondly, keep your eyes open. Watch how your horse travels before and after the shoeing. Major shoeing mistakes will show themselves right away. The foot should land on the ground flat, not side to side. The angle of the hoof should be natural, a subject that we will discuss in the near future at length. At no time should the toe of the foot be at or near vertical, what is often called "dubbed off". This is the true sign of the shoer who should be in beauty college instead. The heels of the shoes should be slightly visible at the sides or rear quarters of the hoof. This means that the farrier has left enough heel for expansion of the hoof. If expansion is not left, it is similar to your wearing a size 9 shoe all day and all night, when you really needed a size 10. The heels should also be the correct length. Normally if you draw an imaginary plumb line from the bulbs of the heels down, the heel of the shoe should end at that line or just before it. If you pick up the foot and can see any part of the heel of the hoof protruding past the heel of the shoe, tell Mr. Expert Farrier to pull the shoes and get out of town. The shoe should fit the foot. If the farrier took the shoe out of the box, nailed it on, then rasped the hoof wall off until he hit steel, take a piece of steel and hit the farrier. Shoes need to be shaped to the natural shape of the foot. Along the same lines, all of the flare should be removed from the hoof. The nail line should be at least 1/2" but no more than 1" up from the ground surface of the hoof. Nails lower than this will pull out and nails higher than this, called "close nails," will cause inflammation of the internal structures of the hoof. A nail that draws blood, or a "quick nail," should be removed immediately. Quicking a horse happens to the best farriers occasionally, but the best farriers also admit the mistake and pull the nail. Finally, take a look at the overall job. Are there large gaps between the shoe and the hoof? Unless the hoof was in bad shape to begin with, there should be a good seal between the two. How is the overall finish? If it looks like a third grader attacked the hoof with a chain saw, chances are that is exactly what happened. A good shoeing job should look just like that - good job. Randy welcomes comments or questions about his articles. Randy Sublett Return to Randy Sublett Return to Equine Health
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