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Volume 5: Issue 1

A PUBLICATION OF PRACTICAL IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS FOR FARRIERS

THE LAST ISSUE of the NaturalAngle addressed some of thefundamentals of good hoof prep.The ideas are not just one of thebasic aspects of certificationtesting. The reality in today'shorse world is that the farriersthat give special attention tothe trim and finish are farriersthat are keeping horses soundand customers happy. This alwayspays off when it comes time towrite the bills and collect forthe work. The quality of shoesavailable in today's market hasgiven many farriers additionaltime to spend on their hoofprep.

Companies like Kerckhaertare making shoes that havegood shapes, nail placementand require minimal work tofinish. The pictures in thisarticle will give you someindication of the fit that manyfarriers are targeting in theireveryday work. In comparison,the perimeter fit required in theAFA certification test dealsmore with the mechanics ofshaping and applying a set ofobjective standards. It is notrecommended as the way tofit all your shoes. But if you canmeet the standard, your abilityto fit as you feel is most beneficialto the particular horse you areshoeing, is fairly easy to do. Inthe past, many farriers

Shoe Fit Beyond the Perimeter

struggled to fit factory shoes togive the expansion and supportthey felt was needed. This wasdifficult because of the tendencyof drop forged shoe manufacturersto make a tapered branch- oftenending up with a relativelynarrow heel. It was almostimpossible to fit the shoe full atthe heel quarters and still havegood hoof bearing on the shoe.You will notice today that theKerckhaert shoes, no matterwhat the style, have an evenwidth all the way to the heelcut. This allows the shoe to befit full, scotched or boxed, andstill carry the hoof load.

For many shoers, the goal isto fit the shoe to the coronaryband, not the perimeter of thewall. A perfect wall perimetermatched to the coronary is the

1,2 Typical foot that has gone too longbetween shoeings, not wall over shoeand long toe.

3 Shoe has narrow heels, making it difficult to fit for growth or expansion.

4 Try to fit shoe to match coronaryband shape, box or bevel edges to minimize risk.

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4ultimate goal. But most of thetime you don't see the perfectmatch and you have to fit yourshoes accordingly. One aspect ofyour fit will be to make sure thefrog is in the center of the shoewhen you measure from side toside. This is one of the easiestguides to shoe position from themedial-lateral perspective. You

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may fit one side full and theother snug to get this balance. Ifyou are concerned with thefullness of any area use a beltsander or grinder and taper theshoe from the wall to theground surface. If you areheating the shoe to fit you canalso hammer finish some of thebevel you are looking for.

Under-run heels on thefront and hind present themost common challenge. Thetrim would be your first step butin fitting the shoes your firsteffort to correct this situationmight be to widen the branches,boxing them to lessen thechance of them being steppedoff. At the same time you willprobably extend the heels togive better support. Thiscondition sometimes has to beaddressed with more than just alittle extra expansion and lengthand you could consider the eggbar shoe. But this article ismainly concerned with the fitof open shoes. Another

common occurrence is to seetoes that are long and pointed.This is often just a result of toomuch time between shoeings. Butit can be a result of continuing toperimeter fit shoes- and usingshoes that have too much pointin the toe. Farriers today arehaving good success using shoesthat have a nicely rounded toefor the fronts- sometimes even

making them bolder than thepre-shaped front shoes. On thehind end a boxed toe- notnecessarily squared, is workingwell for many horses. Any timeyou see an expanded white lineat the toe- and especially if yousee discoloration or bruising-you can feel secure in fitting thetoe broader and even backing itup. The expansion, discolorationand bruising are all a result ofstress, indicating breakover is aproblem.

Don't expect the changesyou make in shoe shape tocorrect imbalance, poor hoofshape or wall condition in thefirst shoeing. You need to makesure your owner understandsthe problems didn't developovernight and you can't correctthem that quickly either. Go asfar as is reasonable in workingtowards the goal of matchingthe hoof shape to the coronaryband. Evaluate the shoes youare using to be sure they arepunched well enough for you tofit fuller. Check also to see thatthe branches have enough

5,6,7,8 This shows fit to broaden toe andexpansion to inside that is boxed off. Shoe wascentered to frog.

9 Right Hind, with good length and plenty ofroom on outside for expansion.

10 Left Hind, boxed even more on inside toavoid shoe being stepped on. Both left and righthave been set back to allow easier breakover.

11 This angle gives you a good look at bevel ofbranches that match up to the hoof wall angle.

Bloom Forge/Breckenridge ToolsExceeding the ordinary(800) 468-2879 (502) 633-5767

RELIABILITYANDPERFORMANCE

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material to allow you to box ortaper the web to minimize thechances of the shoe beingpulled. If the heels are toonarrow you will find it nearlyimpossible to change your fit toimprove the under-run orcrushed heels.

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There are as many waysto set up a shoeing rig asthere are farriers. The goal isto make certain that the rig isequipped and set up for max-imum efficiency. Very few ofyour clients will pay you fortime and energy wasted.

Setting up a rig shouldn'tbe complicated. It is muchbetter to keep everythingsimple and easy to organize-from the work area to thestorage of your supplies.There are many differenttypes of rigs from the morespecific farrier bodies likethe Monetta Farrier Specialtiesand Stone Well Bodies to

generic caps. No matter whatyou choose, do all you cando to set it up for maximumefficiency. Keep it neat andorganized-after all yourclients see your rig as anindication of your attentionto detail.

The cost of buying abody and outfitting it is aninvestment in your businessand your image. Going cheapdoes not always make goodeconomic sense. The body isa long-term investment andshould serve you well forquite a few years.

There are a lot of creativeideas out there and you

shouldn't hesitate to usethem. In addition to theforge and anvil don't under-estimate the value of having abelt sander and drill press onyour rig. You need to be sureyou buy power equipmentthat is durable and will stand

up to the daily rigors of yourwork.

Our thanks to MonettaFarrier Specialties of SouthCarolina and Stone WellBodies and Equipment ofNew York for the photosused in this article.

Equipping Your Rig to Help with Efficiency

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(800) 468-2879 or (502) 633-5767Visit our website at:

www.farrierproducts.com

What’s New atKerckhaert?

The NewSX-8Straight Baravailable in sizes 0-5

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The tradition of excellence continues.(800) 833-5085 (510) 460-0373

BELLOTA PROVIDES TWO SMART CHOICES-YOU DECIDE.

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1 The back end of this rig is set up sothat the forging area is free ofany clutter and tools are close at hand.

2 This is another Monetta body with aswingout arm for the forge.

3 From the side of this rig you haveaccess to (left to right) a padcutter, a manual tapper and acombination belt sander/grinder. Thepads are stored above the area.

4 The shoe rack should be easy to get to and give you enough holders toseparate the different styles and sizes of shoes.

5 The shoe rack is even more critical if you use a topper or cap insteadof a full body. You have to make it easy to get to the shoes.

6 You can never have too many storage bins. These protect your nails andother miscellaneous shoeing items.

7 This rig has all the good stuff. Drill presses, grinder, vise, beltsander and bandsaw. All lined up to allow for efficient access.

8 Slide outs can help make the access to the power equipment mucheasier.

9 While welders are not always needed these days, storage of one likethis can conserve on floor space. Notice the reels in the upper right handcorner for power cords, etc.

10 This full slide-outdeck was made by afarrier in Canada. Thedeck carries all hismajor equipment andhe has full accessthrough the sides of hisrig to miscellaneoussupplies.

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1098

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ClassicClassic

TopSharp

TopSharp

11 Keep it simple but put in the equipment that saves you time and makesyou money.

NEW PRODUCTS

Natural AngleWebsite

The NA website receiveda major overhaul recently.Check out the new info,features and design at

wwwwww..nnaattuurraallaannggllee..ccoomm

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BLOOM FORGE STRAIGHT PEIN

Bloom Forge is now making astraight pein hammer in 1-3/4and 2lb weights. This hammeris drop forged, providing a verydurable tool.

SX-7 AND SX-8 STRAIGHT BAR

You can now buy the farrierproducts™

clipped shoes in a straight bar. TheSX-7 is available in sizes 00-3 and theSX-8 is available in sizes 0-5. Thisline now offers almost every style themarket needs- egg bar, heart bar andstraight bar.

Equi-Pak™

The soft and supportive instant padmaterial (clear). To prevent sore feet

or comfort a sore-footed horse.

call Vettec at 800.483.8832 for more infomation.