How to Fit a Horse for Shoes

Horse shoes are a device nearly as old as history. For centuries, horse owners have been applying shoes to the hooves of their mounts to ensure that the horses remain sound and to give the feet traction and stability. Fitting a horse for shoes can be a time consuming and difficult process if not done correctly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Horse shoes
• Nails
• Hoof trimming tools
• Hammer
• Anvil
• Hoof cleaning tools
• Stiff brush
• Hose

1. Clean the outside of the horse’s hooves thoroughly. Brush the dirt off with a stiff brush and rinse them with the hose to be sure that you get all of the manure and mud off of them.

2. Pick up the horse’s feet and clean the sole and frog of the hoof. The frog and sole need to be clear of debris before shoes are fitted to the hoof.

3. Hold one hoof in your hand and line a shoe up over the bottom of the hoof. The edges of the shoe should align with the edges of the hoof. The shoe should fit even at the toe and should not hang over at the heel of the hoof.

4. Remove the shoe and shape it if necessary. If the shoe is too wide, hold it at the edge of the anvil and tap the edges together. If the shoe is too narrow, hold one edge of the shoe over the anvil and tap the opposite end further away from the center.

5. Refit the shoe to the horse after shaping. Check all edges of the shoe to make sure that it lines up evenly with all areas of the hoof. An improperly fitted shoe will warp the way the hoof grows and can cause lameness.

6. Nail the shoe to the hoof once proper fit is achieved. Hammer the nails all the way through the hoof and trim and file the ends to ensure there are no rough edges to cause injury.

7. Repeat the fitting process with the remaining three hooves until the horse is properly shod. Be sure to double check that all shoes fit evenly before nailing them on, and allow your horse to move to ensure that you have achieved a proper fit with all of your horse shoes.

Tips & Warnings

• Only used shoes approved for horses. Certain shapes and metals are not appropriate for horses and can cause lameness.
• Never attempt to shoe a horse if you do not know how. An improperly shod horse can go lame very quickly, rendering them virtually useless.

[ajmaddox]

on 7/23/2009 I would suggest having someone who is highly trained to do this. A horses hoof is very imporant and should be handled with extreme care and caution. Good article stating the facts!