hoof questions

[PeytonM]

I’m really trying to do as much research as I can on here and else where about hoof care because I’d really like to be able to do my own hoof care, I have 6 drafts, 4 belgians and 2 perch and I’d really like to be able to do them on my own.

I’ll say I’ve been trimming them well enough so they don’t have a bunch of over growth but I will admit I didn’t really understand the theory of it all meaning why you do some things and not others.

one thing I found on here was a topic about logging horses having their shoes set back and their toes run down some and it caused the horses to get up on their toes more and dig in use their whole hoof like a cleat in a way. I have a Belgian mare and she was once a pulling horse and the guy I got her from cut her foot so she had a slight cup in her sole don’t know if he really knew he was doing it or not but I know when he would shoe her he would take 1/4x 1 inch bar stock and cut about 4 inch lengths depending on shoe size and weld them on the toe of the shoe, horses use to being bare foot like my mare he would have at about a 50* angle really steep cause the horse would get up on their toe and it would dig in, horses use to being shod around his farm kept their hoof flat so then the front cleat would be about a 70* angle, question on all of this would your angles change from your front to your rears? I’m not going to put a huge cleat on the front of my horses, If they are shod, it will mainly be because of ice reason and I want drill tech or some sort of traction device on them.

I don’t know how many people here if any make their own shoes but do you use any special steel? just regular 1020 to 1080 3/8 by 1 1/4 carbon steel or is it some special?

Another thing I wanted to know is when you make your own shoe what is the point to heat the middle and hit the end, I think its called Upsetting the shoe, I understand it would shorten the over all length and make the middle a little bit thicker. if you didn’t up set it how would it effect things?

Has anyone ever tried making a shoe with the clip and then on each side of the clip hammering two points down that would act as a cleat , wouldn’t be very long, just a stout little cleat in a sense that would add in traction, or that’s the idea anyways.

What is the going rate of a keg shoe? bout 15-20 bucks what does a farrier charge for a shoe made from bar stock?

Thanks for the help. feel free to add any advice tips or tricks that you do

Peyton

[Will Stephens]

Peyton. The Principles of Horse Shoeing by Doug Butler. version I is out of print and it may be up to a third addition. It is the best, very comprehensive book I have found. A first print copy was given to me by the woman who taught me to shoe. You can’t learn it all from a book but this will get you going and really understanding .

[PeytonM]

Thanks for the tips, Know if there would be any stores that would carry it or would I have to order it form online some where?

[Author]

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