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Let's see your work

20K views 120 replies 28 participants last post by  Horseman56 
#1 ·
There seem to be quite a few farriers/trimmers here that readily offer their advice regards management of the equine distal limb but rarely do I see any photos of their work.

Thought this would be a good opportunity for participating horse owners to see samples of work done by participating farriers and trimmers and offer their comments about that work.

So, farriers and trimmers, here's your chance to show off your stuff and see what horse owners think of it.

Should prove interesting and perhaps educational.

Cheers,
Mark

Barshoe to provide additional support/float over soft arena footing.





 
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#5 ·
Not sure what new growth you are referring to. This horse grows hoof wall at what I'd call an average rate of about 1/4" per month and is kept on a 6 to 7 week cycle. I've provided service to this particular animal for several years now.

Fantastic thread idea Mark! Look forward to seeing more.
Thanks, I thought it would prove interesting. There are a number of practitioners that participate in the forum and seeing some of their work could provide fodder for good discussion.

I'm particularly interested in any questions posed by horse owners about any of the work posted in this thread.

Cheers,
Mark
 
#10 ·
One thought concerning this thread. You may also want to include the amount of time for the shoeing,trimming,whatever. As well as 1/2 set or full set and mods/corrections needed.

Pretty is as pretty does. I've show horses that need a quality finish. They get it and pay for it as well. I also have horses that walk directly into the mud from where I shoe. There time is of the essence and finish not so much.

Doesn't change what the horse needs, but both make a difference to a given group of customers.

Mark,
Was there a reason you shorted the lateral heel? Did it have anything to do w/ toeing in on that foot? If yes, a bit more roll in the toe on the lateral side might be a good thing.

Me, I just pull the shoe and don't worry so much where the frog is pointing if I'm not building the shoe.
 
#12 ·
One thought concerning this thread. You may also want to include the amount of time for the shoeing,trimming,whatever. As well as 1/2 set or full set and mods/corrections needed.
Bnt, I didn't time the work but it was a half set and probably took about an hour and forty five, including time to weld up the bars. Standard half set will take me about an hour fifteen.

Pretty is as pretty does. I've show horses that need a quality finish. They get it and pay for it as well. I also have horses that walk directly into the mud from where I shoe. There time is of the essence and finish not so much.
It's rare that I'm in a "time is of the essence" mode. Horse shows between classes or if the horse is under sedation would be exceptions.

The cost of finish is built into my fee schedule. Doesn't matter if the animal will immediately walk off into a muddy paddock or into a show ring.

Doesn't change what the horse needs, but both make a difference to a given group of customers.
Horse owners are often unaware of the nuances of farriery. Sometimes, from their perspective, the only visible difference between two jobs is the finish quality. I do the best finish I can on every horse I work on and consider it to be part of the job.

Mark,
Was there a reason you shorted the lateral heel? Did it have anything to do w/ toeing in on that foot? If yes, a bit more roll in the toe on the lateral side might be a good thing.
Shorting the heel suggests I didn't cover the buttress. I covered both heels. In this case, the medial heel is slightly jammed and the shoe is fit to provide equal coverage/support without excess leverage on either side.

Me, I just pull the shoe and don't worry so much where the frog is pointing if I'm not building the shoe.
Direction of frog point can indicate where the forces are being applied but it's an easily distorted soft tissue so I won't necessarily use it as a guide. I focus more on the capsule shape and symmetry.

Good points and questions Bnt. Post a few of your own to kick things off and encourage additional participation.

Cheers,
Mark
 
#18 ·
Everyone is telling and no one is showing :lol: for "show and tell"
Well, mine are always unshod, and I usually can't take full credit for their "trims" since the road does a lot of it for me under normal conditions. I just check them when I clean them each day. Most of what I do is maybe cut a bar down a little or cut off any loose frog. But there are times when a trim is needed, even if it's not to often. Ends up looking the same whether I do it or the road does.

Don't have any pictures taken to "show my work" :lol:, but I have some taken for someone who wanted to see how their feathering was growing in (a friend, not someone on this forum). I cropped it to show the hoof for here. If I remember I can take one of the bottom tomorrow. Since I'm not going to trim her any time soon, because she doesn't need it, I'll show what her feet look like normally.
 

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#22 ·
He front feet have even more/longer hair, but since these were shots of the feathering the front didn't show the foot. Always getting in when picking or trimming her feet. Leg warmers work if you ever had to deal with holding it back.
 

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#23 ·
Oh, I have one to share!! Afraid it's only one though, I don't often carry a camera when I bring out the rasp and nippers LOL.



Back hoof barefoot trim :) Of course if anyone has critique I'm all ears. Looking forward to following this thread, hoping to learn a few new things.
 
#28 · (Edited)
No, there is a lack of understanding and education here. The knowledge of some of the readers on here is coming from YouTube videos and barefoot promoters. Let me clear up some myths about shoeing:


1. Shoeing DOES NOT cause stress rings

2. Shoeing Does NOT constrict blood flow

3. Shoeing DOES NOT make horses sore or uncomfortable

4. Shoeing DOES NOT make walls brittle, cause cracks, low heels, club footedness, etc.

Shoeing DOES effectively treat all the above. That's the purpose of it: PROTECTION AND CORRECTION. Most of what we know about farriery was known 100 years ago, and random posters and YouTube barefoot activists on the internet are not farriers. They have little or no experience with shoeing. If you want to continue soaking up information from random sources, be my guest.

SkyeDawn, I was not disagreeing with you. I agree if you don't need shoes, no need to have them.
 
#30 ·
I thought this was a thread about showing off your hoof work? Why are we opinion bashing?
I don't personally have my horse shod, and I don't agree with it for several reasons, all of which are medically valid. However, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the hardwork and craftsmanship that goes into blacksmithing and shoeing. Keep the pictures comin, folks!
 
#34 · (Edited)
#40 ·
Put shoes on Gator tonight. It was after dark when I got started, so just reset the front. #2 St. Croix Xtras. Nothing special on my horse. I just fit them a little tighter (in terms of expansion) because I don't want to get out and lose a shoe. I can get away with it because I do them pretty often.

View attachment 90652
AC, fairly tidy work. A few questions.

Was this work done cold?

Were you satisfied with the toe fit?

Do you box your quarters off the hammer?

Do you use a clinch gouge?

Cheers,
Mark
 
#37 ·
I know very little about the work of farriers.... but to my uneducated eye - aren't the heals too low in the pic posted by its lbs not miles?
Does Tianimalz not have a funny angle going on as well as the lower heal?

To both of you, it's more me not understanding and not seeing what I am used to, so asking more.
 
#41 ·
I know very little about the work of farriers.... but to my uneducated eye - aren't the heals too low in the pic posted by its lbs not miles?
Does Tianimalz not have a funny angle going on as well as the lower heal?
Probably do a little bit :) I'm still learning, and still have to have the more experienced people help me out from time to time. That picture is also a few years old, just happens to be the only one I have on this computer :lol: that's why I'm here; to learn all I can!
 
#38 ·
Just a question.. Why do some shoes have toe clips and others don't? Is there a reason or is it just because?
My boy has always had shoes with toe clips and I never even knew shoes existed without them till not long ago
 
#45 ·
This little horse goes bare without a prob on all but the worst trails. He's booted for those, as most of his work is on just dirt/gravel trails & bitumen roads & he lives in a 'nice' paddock.
 

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#46 ·
Still a little way to go with this one, but coming along nicely. 'Befores' are on the top row, 'afters' underneath are approx. 5 months later.
 

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#47 ·
Neglected pony with good but overgrown feet. Befores & afters of the 1st trim.... & the last - the owner reckons they only need doing once or twice yearly:-(
 

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#50 ·
The bar shoe, that looks interesting. How does affect cleaning the frog cleft? I suppost you could floss it! :)
I don't have anything against shoes. I always kept my horses shod - unless they were turned out for extended periods of time. I went to boots for a myriad of reasons, not b/c I think shoes are evil. One of the reasons was, I hate shopping for farriers in search of one that can shoe well...ugh. It is not standardized - you never know the true skill level, etc.,.
But, I think horseshoeing is interesting in this sense - in old timey photos the hooves (always shod) often appear "long" to me by today's standards. Makes you wonder about ever changing conventional wisdom.
 
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