Process of Shoeing a Horse
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Prepping the Hoof
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All of the old horse shoes need to be pulled off. First, the clinches (sometimes spelled clenches), or nail ends need to be cut off with a tool known as a hoof nipper or clinch cutter. Once the clinches are off, the shoe can be pulled off with a tool appropriately called a pull-off. The shoe needs to be pulled away from the horse's hoof and your face. The hoof is then cleaned with a hoof pick. According to The Ultimate Horse Book, a hoof grows up to one inch per month. This needs to be trimmed, or the horse will go lame. The new growth is cut off with a hoof knife, also called a hoof cutter. Finally, the hoof is smoothed with a large rasp. Having the horse walk around when all of the hooves are bare can help make sure the hooves are even and the horse is walking comfortably.
Shaping Shoes
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Horse shoes are pre-made in steel, aluminum or plastic. A good farrier will have many sizes on hand, but these usually will not fit a horse's hoof. The shoe needs to be adjusted or shaped in order to fit the hoof. Never make the hoof fit the shoe. This will make the horse lame. The pre-made shoe is placed against the hoof and compared. The shoe is taken to a portable forge to be heated up. Some people can pound a steel shoe without heating, but cold-shoeing does not make the shoe as flexible as hot-shoeing. This process is repeated until the shoe fits the hoof.
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Attaching Shoes
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Some modern horseshoes are glued onto the hoof, but many horse owners prefer the shoes be nailed onto the hoof. The hoof wall does not contain any nerves, so the horse does not feel any pain but can be disturbed just with the impact of the nail going into the hoof. Most horse shoes have holes ready for nails. There can be as many as eight holes in a horseshoe. According to Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook, four nails are often all that is needed to hold a shoe in place for six to eight weeks. The nails are hammered in. The hoof is turned to expose the spike of the nail through the hoof. The claw end of the hammer is used to bend the nail so that it resembles a staple. The nail ends are then filed in order to get rid of any sharp edges. The horse is walked around to be sure the shoes fit comfortably. If the horse walks awkwardly, then one or more new shoes are pulled and the process starts again.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit C. Goodwin: Wikimedia COmmons
Comments
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PackinMom
Jan 05, 2010
First, it is known as a "shoe puller". Second, the hoof is trimmed not with the hoof knife, but nippers. Third, in all my years as a hoof care provider, I have yet to see a hoof grow a full inch per month. Fourth, a hoof knife is used to remove solar material as needed. Fifth, there are indeed various nerve endings contained with in the hoof capsule. The hoof is a living thing- it is not a block of solid material. Inside the capsule are many layers of very much alive, sensitive tissue. Please conduct a bit more research, before posting improper information that misleads horse owners.
