book18

18. Shoeing.

Of all the faults that can be found in bad shoeing, two are the more common. Contracted hoofs and a wrong hoof angle. Contracted hoofs can depend on the make of shoes the farrier is using. In many cases you see, the shoe has been too long in the branches.
When the shoe is fitted, the heels are bent too much inward. The farrier can adjust the shoe, if he wants too, but that makes the work slower. For many farriers, time is the prime factor, speed is the same as ability, if then the shoeing is not so good matters less, anyway, how many horse owners notice the difference?
A normal fee is for at least 1 hour's work, if the horse is shoed in 20 to 40 minutes makes the profit bigger, which in no way helps the horse.
While adjusting the heel of the shoe there is a danger of deforming the holes for the studs, it takes time to drill the holes, so the farrier avoids correcting the shoe. The shoe that sells most is made of hard material and normally lasts for one reshoeing, but is more difficult to fit cold. Therefore the shoe is normally too narrow at the heels, sometimes the shoe reaches all the way to the frog. Dirt sticks underneath easily and with time the hoof is contracted, thrush follows etc.
When trimming a hoof for going barefoot, the angles are normally fine. But as soon as a shoe is put on, the angle is wrong. Why? For some reason the heels are always trimmed all the way to the bulbs, the wall at the toe can not be trimmed as much, then it will bleed. This makes the hoof angle wrong.
To make the hoof look not too long the toe is cut all the way to the whiteline. The weight of the horse rest for the most part on the wall of the hoof. It does not help the horse if the surface he is standing on is diminished. If you ask why the toe is cut, the answer is the toe has to roll, which is true for the wrong angle, but is not right for the horse.
If you want more support for the hoof, the branches may be longer, but they must not be fitted inward toward the frog. If the shoe is too narrow at the heel, the hoof will be deformed

The harness race trainers are testing with the hoof angles to change the arch in the hoofs forward movement, but no horse becomes faster from unnatural angles. To shoe in this way can be damaging. Some horses have windpuffs at the fetlock joints only because the hoof angle is wrong. If you change the angle, the windpuffs disappear in most cases.
If the angles are right the risk of losing a shoe lessens. It is the interest and ability of the farrier that decides if will be good or bad. It can't be a coincidence that so many farriers shoe in the same way, a common factor is where they have received their education. You can see in the technique if the horse is shod by an educated farrier, you can also see if there are influences from abroad. Of course it is fine if the farrier is good at forging shoes, but nothing can guarantee that the person who forges perfect shoes is able to put them on the horse. The ability of forging and horsemanship are two different camps, both are necessary for a good result.
Pulling off.
All horses pull a shoe sometimes. The most common is when the horse is romping around on his own in the field. In springtime there is a big risk for spontaneous loose shoes, the ground is not too good and the horses may get a bit too energetic.
There are also horses that always pull shoes, the fault is almost always in the horse's way of moving. If a knowledgeable chiropractor looks over the horse and treats what he finds the horse should no longer pull his shoes. When the horse again pull his shoes, the chiropractor must be contacted, not only the farrier.
That a farrier fastens the shoe so loose that it falls off is not probable but of course it may happen. When you have a lost shoe it's a good idea to look over the horse to see if the horse has torn himself somewhere, when you see how bent a lost shoe can be it is odd that not more horses break their legs.
The horse normally rips off his front shoes by himself, he is normally given help with the hind ones, from another horse that steps on the shoe. A gelding may cover mares and step on the mare's hind shoe. The way a horse is ridden can also make him pull shoes sometimes, if he is ridden out of balance he can step on his own feet.

1. The angle of the hoof has been kept, if a rolled toe is desired, the shoe can be shaped at the toe.
2. The angle is wrong and the toe is removed until the white line, the wall has been levelled with the rasp to fit the shoe.

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