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RE: [RC] [RC] Shoes and a flat hoofwall - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

From: Howard Bramhall howard9732@xxxxxxx

Well, that believe sure would put a lot of hot shoers
out of business.  They sure don't leave any gaps between
the hoof and the shoe. I thought that was kind of the
idea when hot shoe'n.  No gaps left behind.  Are you
anti-hot shoe'n, Kat?

No, I am not anti-hot shoe; although only one of my shoers does hot shoe
(unless they need to pull clips or build a special shoe or something).  The
one that does regularly is a woman and the reason she hot shoes is that
iron is easier to bend when it is hot; however, even she does not put them
on the horse's foot hot.  Neither I, nor any of my shoers, has ever been
much of a proponent of the burn the shoe into the foot thing.

However, even if the shoer were to practice this, it still doesn't mean
that the hoof wall has to be totally flat before doing so.  Level, yes,
flat, no.

I'm not quite sure why you would leave a gap, at the
quarters, between the hoof and the shoe.  For one thing,
it would expose a nail or two.

The reason for doing this would be to take a little pressure off the hoof
wall at the quarters (the same reason, presumably, that you do it on a bare
foot).  And since the amount of gap that gets left need not be more than
about 1-2 mm (maybe 1/16th of an inch), the amount of exposure of the nail
would be sufficiently minimal as to be totally irrelevant.

For another, if your horse is pounding the hard ground,
hits a rock there, the shoe will take a bend, especially
with those light aluminum ones, and, well, that just
doesn't sound like a good idea.

Since I have never, and don't know anybody who has, used the light aluminum
shoes, I can't speak to what may or may not happen to them.  However, I can
guarantee you that steel isn't gonna bend into that little gap (nor have I
ever seen steel bend into a big gap that is left when there is a big chip
out of a hoof wall).

And, if there's a nail anywhere in that area, it
will come loose, because in the change of shape of the
shoe, and, you will most likely lose that shoe sooner
than later.

I have never found this to be a problem.  But if nails come loose, which
happens occasionally, before it is time to have the horse reshod, it is
pretty easy to just reclinch them.  Although I have found this to happen
more often because the nail heads start to get worn down, not because the
shoe has bent; when shoes get bent, I replace them.

I'm not a professional shoer, but, eveything I've learned
from other farriers and the tons of books I have on this
subject teach no gaps between the shoe and the hoof.  None.

Presumably you haven't read Gene Ovenick's book, since you can't do a four
point trim without leaving gaps between the shoe and the hoof.

Please, Kat, what on earth are you talking about?

You and I have obviously not been talking to the same shoers nor reading
the same books.  Since I don't know which books you have read or which
shoers you have talked to and I don't know what they may or may not have
said (or if you misunderstood them:)), I cannot comment on what they may or
may not have said, except to say that it is perfectly acceptable, sometimes
desireable, and sometimes necessary to leave a gap between parts of the
shoe and the hoof.  And if they say that it isn't then they are mistaken. :)

kat
Orange County, Calif.

I guess this is one of the reasons why we don't like talking about this 
topic.  But, Kat, mention what I just said to your farrier, please.  I'd 
love to hear his answer.  Nothing personal at all; just a question.

cya,
Howard

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Kat says:



It is a mistake to think that the hoof wall needs to be flat in order to
put a shoe on.  What a farrier should do is to trim the horse's hoof as
if it were barefoot and then nail the shoe on.

kat
Orange County, Calif.



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