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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 851
  
Location: West Texas | komet. - 2015-09-14 5:47 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-09-14 5:31 PM
komet. - 2015-09-14 5:08 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-09-14 3:29 PM
jessie85 - 2015-09-14 3:12 PM
My gelding is at 4 weeks now, and I'll likely leave his feet alone for another two weeks before we reset him. My husband and I are both farriers, so he definitely isn't ever left long, or get the opportunity to throw a shoe.
The problem with resetting too often too (other than what has already been stated) is that you can often end up with too many nail holes in the hoof wall, which weakens it's integrity. It's also hard to drive nails up above the old nail holes that are already established - nails like to follow the path of least resistance. If you have low nails, the horse is more prone to losing a shoe - and often a chunk of hoof wall along with it.
I have to disagree with the low nails/clinches in a foot being more prone to loosing a shoe.
If the farrier balances the horse properly, the horse should not over reach, and should not pull a shoe.
On my one gelding whose heels like to contract, we only had 3 nails on each side 1/4-1/2" up on the hoof wall, with the clinches rasped off, and 1/8" of shoe exposed all the way around his foot, he never lost one shoe in the 2 years we shod him like this.
It all comes down to how good the farrier is, I had one farrier who couldn't balance a shoe on my horse to save his life, 5 minutes after the farrier left, the horse pulled a shoe, 4 nails in each side 1" up the hoof wall. This occurred twice, then I changed farriers never had another problem.
The ONLY reason for a bad nail pattern is the shoe is not properly shaped to the foot. Contracted heels have nothing to do with the nail pattern. There should be no nails even Close to the heels. Most horses wearing shoes need to be reset at about 6 weeks. If you go much longer the clenches start raising up off the hoof-wall due to growth, and the shoes become loose.
Not sure what you meant by a bad nail pattern.
I was using my horses and experience as an example, as if the horse is balanced you can actually have less nails in the foot, and the nails closer to the ground, not as far up the hoof wall, as a balanced horse generally will not pull shoes. (I do know freak things happen and occasionally a shoe may come off )
The other horse had a nice nail pattern and the nails were higher up in the hoof wall, but not balanced and he would pull shoes as soon as the farrier left the driveway.
I know contraction in the heels doesn't have much to do with nail holes, but more the shape of the shoe, when I was dealing with it, and old highly respected farrier shod this horse and to release the heels he had to leave 1/8" of the shoe around the entire foot, as shoes if this is not done actually restrict movement of the foot and the foot cannot expand or contract therefore cannot function as god intended their foot to.
The only place the foot needs to expand with every step is at the heels, which is why you never put nails close to them. The 1/8 (correct ) overhang around the rest of the foot is to allow for natural growth of the hoof-wall without the shoe dropping inside the wall before it is due to be reset. Still, it helps to bevel the outer edge of the shoe slightly so if it should be stepped on or catch on something, the offending item will be prone to just slide off rather then pull the shoe. A good nail pattern consists of 6 or 8 nails (I prefer 6 on a good foot ) coming out of the wall about 3/4-inch above the shoe. Nails that will only come out higher or lower no matter what direction you start them is due to an improperly shaped shoe.
The best horseshoer I ever knew used to always put nails in the last hole by the heels. My dad and I were talking about that this weekend. We think that is why he never had any problems with contracted heels. I see contracted heels all the time now and never nails in the last hole?
Edited by Tdove 2015-09-15 2:18 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | cheryl makofka - 2015-09-15 11:07 AM
komet. - 2015-09-14 5:47 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-09-14 5:31 PM
komet. - 2015-09-14 5:08 PM
cheryl makofka - 2015-09-14 3:29 PM
jessie85 - 2015-09-14 3:12 PM
My gelding is at 4 weeks now, and I'll likely leave his feet alone for another two weeks before we reset him. My husband and I are both farriers, so he definitely isn't ever left long, or get the opportunity to throw a shoe.
The problem with resetting too often too (other than what has already been stated) is that you can often end up with too many nail holes in the hoof wall, which weakens it's integrity. It's also hard to drive nails up above the old nail holes that are already established - nails like to follow the path of least resistance. If you have low nails, the horse is more prone to losing a shoe - and often a chunk of hoof wall along with it.
I have to disagree with the low nails/clinches in a foot being more prone to loosing a shoe.
If the farrier balances the horse properly, the horse should not over reach, and should not pull a shoe.
On my one gelding whose heels like to contract, we only had 3 nails on each side 1/4-1/2" up on the hoof wall, with the clinches rasped off, and 1/8" of shoe exposed all the way around his foot, he never lost one shoe in the 2 years we shod him like this.
It all comes down to how good the farrier is, I had one farrier who couldn't balance a shoe on my horse to save his life, 5 minutes after the farrier left, the horse pulled a shoe, 4 nails in each side 1" up the hoof wall. This occurred twice, then I changed farriers never had another problem.
The ONLY reason for a bad nail pattern is the shoe is not properly shaped to the foot. Contracted heels have nothing to do with the nail pattern. There should be no nails even Close to the heels. Most horses wearing shoes need to be reset at about 6 weeks. If you go much longer the clenches start raising up off the hoof-wall due to growth, and the shoes become loose.
Not sure what you meant by a bad nail pattern.
I was using my horses and experience as an example, as if the horse is balanced you can actually have less nails in the foot, and the nails closer to the ground, not as far up the hoof wall, as a balanced horse generally will not pull shoes. (I do know freak things happen and occasionally a shoe may come off )
The other horse had a nice nail pattern and the nails were higher up in the hoof wall, but not balanced and he would pull shoes as soon as the farrier left the driveway.
I know contraction in the heels doesn't have much to do with nail holes, but more the shape of the shoe, when I was dealing with it, and old highly respected farrier shod this horse and to release the heels he had to leave 1/8" of the shoe around the entire foot, as shoes if this is not done actually restrict movement of the foot and the foot cannot expand or contract therefore cannot function as god intended their foot to.
The only place the foot needs to expand with every step is at the heels, which is why you never put nails close to them. The 1/8 (correct ) overhang around the rest of the foot is to allow for natural growth of the hoof-wall without the shoe dropping inside the wall before it is due to be reset. Still, it helps to bevel the outer edge of the shoe slightly so if it should be stepped on or catch on something, the offending item will be prone to just slide off rather then pull the shoe. A good nail pattern consists of 6 or 8 nails (I prefer 6 on a good foot ) coming out of the wall about 3/4-inch above the shoe. Nails that will only come out higher or lower no matter what direction you start them is due to an improperly shaped shoe.
I disagree with you comment that only the heel needs to expand.
There are a few really good YouTube videos what show the mechanics of the foot.
In a healthy foot, the entire foot expands.
When the horse puts pressure on the foot, the foot needs to expand to allow the frog to drop to allow for the pulling of blood into the foot. When the pressure is taken off of the foot, the frog retracts, and the foot contracts expelling the blood out of the foot.
I don't know what videos you are watching, but you have the order of mechanics, out of order. It is frog pressure that causes the expansion that allows for proper flow of blood. Not the other way around. If you lose frog pressure due to injury, thrush or heels that are too tall (like a halter horse or a club foot), you have no expansion and THAT leads to contracted heels.
Edited by komet. 2015-09-15 6:24 PM
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  Sock eating dog owner
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Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | My shoes dont last long enough for a reset . They are paper thin. | |
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| cow pie - 2015-09-15 9:04 PM
My shoes dont last long enough for a reset . They are paper thin.
I haven't had shoes reset in 30 years. If my farrier did that, he would not be back. He doesn't like resetting them any way. | |
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