Horses, Hooves, and Hammers - Farriery Discussion

TheFarrier

fits wrote: »

I saw it in person but didn't take any photos. It looks like they are up on wedges..

link

I don't really know what the idea of that is, photo isn't clear enough even to make whether the wedges are of some kind of pad or a raised heel shoe.

TheFarrier

TheFarrier

colm1988 wrote: »

So as the economy is still slow in Ireland, what is the Farrier Game like these days? Busy? Slow?

I'm flat out at the minute, always busy enough that I'm constantly filling my day,
the very odd time I'd have a quiet day doing almost nothing, but rare enough.
other lads will tell me they're doing nothing but I don't know if thats just misery among Irish farriers.
How are things your end??

TheFarrier

colm1988

TheFarrier wrote: »

I'm flat out at the minute, always busy enough that I'm constantly filling my day,
the very odd time I'd have a quiet day doing almost nothing, but rare enough.
other lads will tell me they're doing nothing but I don't know if thats just misery among Irish farriers.
How are things your end??

TheFarrier

WA is a big place and there is alot of horses. But its a Australian know more than we will ever know...EVER....if fact they invented the wheel!!! Hopefully coming home for September. But I will just try to work for other farriers due to no customers :rolleyes:

silverfox88

So interesting to hear farriers side of things, especially shoe jargon - a whole other world we only know the basics of!

TheFarrier

silverfox88 wrote: »

So interesting to hear farriers side of things, especially shoe jargon - a whole other world we only know the basics of!

Ha. You think you only know the basics??? As a qualified full time professional farrier, there are shoes out there that I couldn't even begin to imagine a method of producing. Hell, I still drive myself demented trying to turn out standard shoes that I am happy with. It's a mental game, is farriery, frustratingly complicated, yet oh so simple, it's no wonder farriers are renowned for being contrary hoors, especially the old boys. I'm only a young fella and it does drive me demented. There are times when I feel like jacking the whole lot in, but I love the game, and I honestly couldn't do anything else day in, day out. Every day under horses brings new challenges and learning opportunities.


TheFarrier

colm1988

TheFarrier wrote: »

Ha. You think you only know the basics??? As a qualified full time professional farrier, there are shoes out there that I couldn't even begin to imagine a method of producing. Hell, I still drive myself demented trying to turn out standard shoes that I am happy with. It's a mental game, is farriery, frustratingly complicated, yet oh so simple, it's no wonder farriers are renowned for being contrary hoors, especially the old boys. I'm only a young fella and it does drive me demented. There are times when I feel like jacking the whole lot in, but I love the game, and I honestly couldn't do anything else day in, day out. Every day under horses brings new challenges and learning opportunities.


TheFarrier

^^^This man knows the story^^^

fits

Gah... got my mare shod for first time last week. Just two fronts on. I was away when it was done. Now she looks pigeon-toed on one side, and she's not pigeon-toed. show next weekend so...

I might post a couple of photos and see what ye think.

TheFarrier

fits wrote: »

Gah... got my mare shod for first time last week. Just two fronts on. I was away when it was done. Now she looks pigeon-toed on one side, and she's not pigeon-toed. show next weekend so...

I might post a couple of photos and see what ye think.

A photo of the ground surfaces would probably be the handiest.

TheFarrier

Things are gone fierce quiet around here

M0030

I had a problem with my last farrier i just want your opinion on, during the winter months I bed my horses on woodchip, easy to maintain and last alot longer than straw.

Anyway one day last winter I organised my farrier to come, I left the horses in for him when I went to work, they were happy it was miserable outside. I came back the shoes were on I was happy... until I went to clean out the stables and found he had left all of the sharp nail tops in the bedding. I ended up having to completely rebed them. one of the mares ended up with a drop two weeks later which makes you wonder.

Anyway this is hardly standard practice,could he think this was ok to do?

TheFarrier

M0030 wrote: »

I had a problem with my last farrier i just want your opinion on, during the winter months I bed my horses on woodchip, easy to maintain and last alot longer than straw.

Anyway one day last winter I organised my farrier to come, I left the horses in for him when I went to work, they were happy it was miserable outside. I came back the shoes were on I was happy... until I went to clean out the stables and found he had left all of the sharp nail tops in the bedding. I ended up having to completely rebed them. one of the mares ended up with a drop two weeks later which makes you wonder.

Anyway this is hardly standard practice,could he think this was ok to do?

Tbh it's not something I've ever had a problem with, but I very rarely shoe in stables, I prefer to pull horses out into the centre aisle of the stable block, or into the hay shed, anywhere really with more space than a stable, as in my opinion stables are too tight for shoeing in, from a safety point of view. This way I have all the space I need to shoe, and all hoof trimmings, raspings and nail tips can be swept up.

I appreciate your concern regarding potential dangers of leaving nail tips around, but the portion of the nail wrung off is that short I wouldn't say it creates a risk worth worrying about. But theres always a chance. Also, if your farrier uses 6 nails in each shoe, then that's 24 nails per horse. As each nail is driven, the tip is wrung off, and falls to the floor. Considering that the tips are so small it would not be practical for anyone, farrier or horse owner to search the stable for 24 miniscule tips.

Have you a spare stable that could be left unbedded for your farrier to shoe in, or maybe even another shed. Other than that I would suggest you talk to your farrier about it the next time he calls, if you haven't done so already, and see if ye can't work out a solution.
Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

TheFarrier

convert

From my experience, most farriers will let the (tiny) nail tips drop onto the floor when they're shoeing any horse. I'd usually have a spare stable for the farrier to shoe the horses in, or, if that's not feasible, then I'd make sure that the bedding was banked against the walls so that there was a clear space on the floor for the farrier to work in.

Surely if there was a problem, it should have shown up sooner than 2 weeks later? Maybe it was just a coincidence?

Rips

I have my horses shod in the stable now (no hardstanding outside) but its a big stable (12x18ft) and I sweep the bed back out of the way so I can sweep up these bits after, and any dropped nails (just in case!)

Not sure what farrier could have done in this instance. Maybe sweep the bed back next time?

Again in my experience, most farriers let these bits drop to the floor, but are always swept up after. I've had one or two farriers even look for a brush themselves

M0030

Both stables are large and only half the stable bedded because they are quite large... so when i came home i couldn't understand why he had shoed them in their beds. One on the horses have extreme flat sprawled feet, its her conformation. which means any tips from nail aren't tiny they are more like tack nails.

Anyway I dunno why he shod in the stable and not the concreted area outside.

But anyway just sharing the experience

davethefarrier

hi,
this may be a bit off the subject but I am wondering if anyone knows of a master farrier the is willing to take on an apprentice.
I have been involved in horses all my life and have decided I would like to become a farrier.

TheFarrier

davethefarrier wrote: »

hi,
this may be a bit off the subject but I am wondering if anyone knows of a master farrier the is willing to take on an apprentice.
I have been involved in horses all my life and have decided I would like to become a farrier.

Sorry so long replying, meant to do so long ago.

A bit more info would help if you don't mind.
What age are you, what part of the world are you in , what experience with horses do you have , and most importantly why do you want to be a farrier ??

M0030

Hi just said i'd post here too, I'm looking for master/great farrier in Cavan area. i live 10 mins from Cavan town for corrective shoeing?

Any ideas?

TheFarrier

Just thought is bump this thread back into the land of the living, and see if we can keep her alive another while.



It's too dang hot to be shoeing hunters.
:-(

Ah_Yeah

My mare has a little crack in her hoof - thin as if you drew a line with a pencil, but hoping it doesn't widen. Have been oiling it every day since I spotted it, but wondering should I start adding Biotin to her feed?

TheFarrier

Ah_Yeah wrote: »

My mare has a little crack in her hoof - thin as if you drew a line with a pencil, but hoping it doesn't widen. Have been oiling it every day since I spotted it, but wondering should I start adding Biotin to her feed?

I wouldn't worry too much about it, cracks for the most part are superficial and harmless. Oil will help, but by the time any feed supplement takes effect the crack will be long gone.

Rips

Cornucresine is great for cracks, the ointment, not the supplement. You can put it on the crack and also on the coronet to encourage growth.

Oil on the other hand is often water-repelling and lack of moisture makes hooves brittle over time.

Ah_Yeah

Thanks guys. Have been using Cornucrescine as well, but I use oil regularly to strengthen her hooves. I will keep an eye to see if she develops them any more and maybe Biotin will be an option if it's a recurring issue.

TheFarrier

Rips wrote: »

Cornucresine is great for cracks, the ointment, not the supplement. You can put it on the crack and also on the coronet to encourage growth.

Oil on the other hand is often water-repelling and lack of moisture makes hooves brittle over time.

A common misconception is that the purpose of hoof oil is to prevent absorption of moisture, when in reality it is to prevent loss of moisture from the hoof. When the natural seal of the hood wall (periople) is damaged eg a crack, use of oil will prevent too much moisture being lost from the hoof, helping to prevent dry brittle horn