Calks, corks and caulks ?

Ditto for Rick’s comment.

From Wikipedia…. “Some horseshoes have “caulkins“, “caulks”, or “calks”: protrusions at the toe and/or heels of the shoe, to provide additional traction.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe)

So I followed that link to Caulken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caulkin) “A caulkin (or caulk; US spelling “calkin” or “calk“) from the Latin calx (the heel) is a blunt projection on a horseshoe that is often forged, welded or brazed onto the shoe.^[1][2] The term may also refer to traction devices screwed into the bottom of a horseshoe, also commonly called shoe studs or screw-in calks. These are usually a blunt spiked cleat, usually placed at the sides of the shoe.”

Hope this makes thing a lot clearer…… :confused:

Carl

Re-upping this thread to see if any one knows or has experience with hoof boots with caulks as an alternative to caulked shoes? Question comes up because we are planning to do some timberstand improvement/firewood harvest in our woods next fall and winter. Our horses have always been barefoot so are trimmed towards that end, plus we probably won’t have enough woods work to justify the cost of shoeing.

Thanks for your response, Carl. And I entirely agree with your perspective, those of us doing “non-commercial” work in our own woods can afford to pick and choose when we go according to favorable weather/ground conditions. I just started wondering whether hoof boots might also be an option because it has been so darn icy up here this winter—there were even some stretches where it was so bad I wished the horses had caulked shoes just so they could navigate their winter paddock more safely.

Hi Stephen:

I work my horses 4-5 days/week November-February (and part time for a few months on either side) pulling a combination of saw logs and firewood. I have never shod my horses and haven’t felt the need to….most of the time. I have learned to plan ahead and have different sections of my woods set aside if my main roads get iced over. I also diligently place waterbars in key sections of my main skid roads so that they don’t get permanently iced over when things freeze.

This winter was rough one though. I was shut out of the woods for nearly a month because of extreme icy conditions. However, for two of those weeks shoes wouldn’t have made a difference b/c the trees were so iced over it was too hazardous to cut wood (or even be in the woods for that matter!)

I agree with Donn that even if they made boots with caulks, I wouldn’t consider them. I have a pair of EasyBoots that I use on occasion on one of my horses b/c he is prone to sole bruises and abscesses. I generally put on these boots in the fall when the mud freezes up and the ground is very hard and bumpy. I did drill some studs in these boots and even when they are well fitted they are hard to keep on while logging – just not made for those forces.

Good luck and keep us posted on the harvest next year.

George

Stephen-
I had a mare that could not be shod due to while line. I ordered a pair of studded boots to try, but they did not look like they would stay on worth a lick. I would let the hooves grow out a bit and put shoes on if you need them.
-Brad