video or info on using shoeing stocks?

I also recommend not locking down the foot while working on them. I have seen lots of pictures with them secured down tight. I have seen a horse come unglued and it aint pretty. If you have to trick him to get him in and shut the bars ,and both of you are nervous about it , I would work on it some more. I groomed mine, gave a little grain, and worked on haltering,bridal, etc without back bar in place. If he wants to move back, just bring him back in. After a few times and they were relaxed I then put up the back bar. I do not tie their heads down either. My horses had not been asked to lift a foot and were 4 and 5. The stocks helped me to teach them to give a foot and kept me safe. I never use my chains , top or underneath. I put a dog collar around and above the hoof , then snap a cotton lead rope in to the d-ring. Pick up the foot and place it on the rest and wrap the lead rope once around the rest. The collar slides and wont burn the leg and get tighter if they pull. I hold and the farrier does his thing. If the horse gets crazy you can give him his leg before he falls, then start again. I am going to make a long strap to go through the hole in the foot rest and hold not fasten that, then I guess I’ll have an extra dog collar or get another dog.

I disagree with the posts above. Stocks are made to fasten the foot secure. Mine have places to strap the foot down and once the horse finds 1) that the foot won’t give, no matter what, and 2) he is not going to fall down, I find they usually relax. I do drafts, quarterhorses, morgans, anything else too. Once they have been in stocks they seem to be easy to trim and shoe without stocks. Easy on me, easy on the horse, and makes things go smooth. Any questions, I would be glad to answer.

@BachelorFarmer 14100 wrote:

Shoes are good for ice and macadam, other than that they are a nuisance.

With the rock in our area, our horses would be walking on their coffin bones if they weren’t shod.

Never used stocks until about a year ago when I started using a new farrier. He is stellar and so are the stocks. Farrier comfort is paramount in my book. It is hard enough to find good farriers that will work on drafts anymore, so when you do find one its in your best interest to take real good care of them. I spent enough time upside down when I was a young wrangler to realize I just wasn’t built for that s***. My torso makes up the majority of my tall frame so I end up being bent in a ‘U’. Anything I can do for a good shoer to make them happy I will. Stocks, ice tea, working in shade,… whatever it takes.

The only issue I’ve had with my new spotted draft gelding in the stocks is falling asleep. He’ll start dozing off if I’m not watching him and cut off his wind when he slumps on the front crossbar and wake up with a start. Still better off dozing in the stocks instead of on top of the farrier.