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Horse Shoeing & Hoof Trimming Tips for Success
Horse Shoeing & Hoof Trimming Tips for Success!
Hoof care, whether it be shoeing or hoof trimming is not just a case of getting a rasp and filing a horse’s foot! Although watching a trained professional may make it look easy, the thing most people don’t see is the years of training it takes to perfect the hoof trimming or shoeing process. We must always remember that horses are living creatures, therefore we have a duty of care to ensure we do all we can to perform our task to the best of our ability.
As farriers and hoof trimmers in Australia, mostly we work alone. This requires us to be our own quality control officer as well as the secretary, CEO, worker and so on.
For those reasons, in this blog we will examine how we can improve efficiency, quality and productivity to ensure we as farriers and hoof carers, as well as the horses and their owners, get the most out of the shoeing or hoof trimming process.
Firstly, we will examine the 5 P’s: Prior Planning and Preparation prevents Poor Performance. The adoption of this saying is a great asset.
Prior Planning
Knowing prior to an appointment, exactly what the requirements of the job you are about to undertake is essential. Things I ask clients are:
Preparation
Preparation may include:
- Review and contact the Vet for veterinary instructions or X-rays.
- Making or purchasing any horseshoes, tools or horseshoe nails that will be required to complete the task. These items may be in addition to your normal inventory. These may include Hoof pads, Therapeutic Bar Shoes, stud holes, Dental Impression Material, Hoof Cast, Glue on Shoes etc.
Preparation is the key to being able to efficiently and cost effectively perform any shoeing or hoof trimming task required. Over the years I have witnessed farriers turn up to shoe horses without the equipment they needed! Subsequently, they then had to go away and get what they needed to complete the job. This not only costs time and money in fuel but is also inconvenient, for the client who may have taken the day off work, as well as the horse that requires treatment.
Planning and preparation will inevitably save you time and money. Keeping good records and information on the tasks you have undertaken, as well as the outcome of the work will be a great benefit to any farrier or hoof trimmer. Keeping an inventory of the shoes or tools, you used e.g. shoe type, hoof shape/angle or specific notes for future visits, will also save you time and money. This will make you more efficient and save you having a large quantity of product in your truck that you don’t use. A great tool for your record keeping is the Mustad EQUINET app. This app has a number of applications to enable you to keep a comprehensive history of your business, including client contact numbers, horse log - including photos, inventory, bookkeeping and invoicing as well as an RSVP feature that is designed specifically for farriers and trimmers.
Horse Shoeing & Hoof Trimming Efficiently
Once you have done all the preparation and planning, next we need to perform the task. This too requires a plan! Adopting a shoeing or hoof trimming plan instantly shifts your mindset from short term to long term.
What do I mean by this? Short term means you do the task, get paid and move on, not necessarily caring about the long-term or future outcome for the horse.
Long term on the other hand means having happy clients and sound horses. A sustainable consistent business and pride in your craftsmanship, creating longevity for both the horse and your practice.
What is a Horseshoeing or Hoof Trimming Plan?
A shoeing or hoof trimming plan is a comprehensive plan that enables you to consider the horse’s history and decide how we can best help the horse going forward. A shoeing/trimming plan should take into account:
- Horses Age
- Medical and Shoeing History
- Discipline
- Shoeing cycle
- Conformation
- Environment
- Outcome - Shoe wear or hoof wear
Why age, medical and shoeing history are important…
The horse’s age is of utmost importance to us when it comes to hoof trimming & shoeing. For example, if we are attending a foal, we would take into account that the growth plates are still active. On the other hand, if we are attending a fifteen-year-old showjumper that is showing signs of lameness on the turns we would be mind full of changes associated with age.
Likewise, the horse's medical and shoeing history is important. Perhaps the horse is a retired racehorse that had an injury, resulting in it being repurposed. This may influence how we go about shoeing the horse for its current needs. An example of this may be a horse that suffered a pedal bone fracture in the past and subsequently may require an Aluminium Bar Shoe whilst working.
Discipline the horse is involved in:
Equally it is imperative we consider the discipline or task the horse is currently performing. This will determine what type of shoe or shoe modification is required. If the horse is retired or on rest in the paddock, chances are it would only require hoof trimming. However, the horse may be an eventer, and the client may require stud holes in the shoes. An appropriate selection for that discipline would be a shoe with a concave section e.g. O’Dwyer Performa and a nail to suit such as the Mustad Concave Nail.
The correct horse shoe, nail selection and the clip choice are important factors when deciding what horseshoe to use. Choosing the appropriate type and section of horseshoe and nail to suit that shoe is imperative. Using too large a section will influence nail positioning and require bigger nails. For instance, you wouldn’t use a 25 x 12 section and an E8 nail on a thoroughbred. Nor would you use an aluminium plate and a Hammer Head 2 on a draught horse.
Clip choice is also important. You may choose not to clip a horse with an Aluminium EQ plate as the nails easily provide shoe retention. On the other hand, a horse may require better breakover behind, so you choose to apply quarter clipped hind shoe and set the shoe under the toe, to achieve the required outcome.
Cycles of Horse Shoeing & Hoof Trimming
When determining the cycle of shoeing or hoof trimming, we may take into account the horse’s discipline, environment and perhaps its conformation as well. All these factors may influence the rate of hoof growth during cycles.
For example, if the horse is a 4yr old thoroughbred racehorse that is currently racing we are required to use Aluminium Race Plates (discipline). The horse also has a long sloping pastern (conformation) and it is in a good environment on good feed so the hoof is growing fast (environment).
When we incorporate all this information into our shoeing plan we come up with:
- Shoeing the horse with an aluminium side clipped St Croix Concord EQ to facilitate breakover. With a Hammer Head 2 nail to match the shoe (conformation & discipline)
- Shoeing the horse at four-week intervals to facilitate growth (conformation & environment)
- Monitoring the result and changing shoes or shoeing cycles as required
Another example may be an older 18 year old retired gelding that is kept in a large paddock, on a hay diet and paddock trimmed, in a moderately mild climate.
This horse may be receptive to being trimmed on a six-week rotation due to his age, environment and nutrition. Therefore, his hoof growth may be slower and may not warrant hoof trimming on a more regular basis.
Monitor the Outcome
Once we have formed a plan and completed the task, taking all the above into consideration, the next thing we need to do is monitor the outcome.
Keeping good records and monitoring the result of your work will influence how you shoe the horse in the future. Just because a horse has been shod a certain way and performed well doesn’t mean we should be complacent. The horse and its environment are constantly changing and so may be the work the horse is undertaking.
By observing the wear on the horses’ shoes or hoofs, we can determine where it breaks over, if the shoe or foot are wearing out too fast or wearing unevenly. This may influence the shoeing cycle or our hoof trimming protocol. We may be required to lengthen or shorten the cycle, or perhaps modify the shoe, to facilitate more breakover or add more support.
If the horse is unshod and only trimmed, it may be the case that the hoof is wearing faster than its growing. This may be due to environmental changes or increased workload. Shoes may be required to prevent foot soreness until things normalise.
As farriers and hoof trimmers, we should be vigilant, keeping good records so that we recognise any changes that may occur. Things are constantly changing. As the horse’s foot grows, having a plan will help you to identify changes, and allow you to modify your plan to counter any problems that may arise.
The adoption of a shoeing plan will enable you to keep better records and subsequently learn what works best for you and the horses in your practice. This in turn will enable you to learn by way of, recording what has or has not worked for you in the past. Helping you to become more productive as well as keeping the horses you care for safe and sound.
I hope you enjoyed this blog. Until next time, all the best.
Dean Lewis AWCF