Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

First I want to say, I never use more than six nails in a foot whether I use clips or not.  I've never had a problem with this.  Also, the keg shoes on the market all have the fourth nail holes too far back in the shoe for the vast majority of horses' feet.  These shoes would put those nails behind the widest part of the foot, where the majority of "flex" occurs.  Nailing past that point restricts the natural movement of the foot.  I do use clips from time to time.  However, I'm not a fan of side clips, front or rear.  Unless the foot grows very slowly, side clips hinder the natural expansion of the foot as it grows.  I use toe clips when I do use them.  They still relieve the stress from the nails, and reduce rearward shoe slippage.  A note on the fit of clips: properly fitted clips lie within the hoof wall, and cannot be felt when running a hand over them.  Most clipped keg shoes have the clip too far outside the web of the steel and the clips cannot be fit properly.

Valerie