I figured I'd add two cents about Slypner. I am an AMATEUR farrier
and got recruited to do some farrying at the Fort Valley ride last year as
some of you know. I had never worked with Slypners before, so when Steve
Rojek asked me to put them on his horse, I asked him to show me what he knew
about them, nails, and everything. Well, THere were a few things to remember
about shaping them, but it was no more difficult than dealing with a shoe
and clip situation. The base just nails directly on like a normal shoe, and
then the pads of course go right over them- need to be tapped on with a
hammer.
These shoes were as simple as any other to deal with.
I am surprised about the comment on having problems with shoes falling off.
It doesn't matter whether a horse is wearing a Slypner or a Diamond shoe so
long as the hoof wall is strong enough and the horse doesn't accidently
interfere and pull them off. As long as the nails are clinched onto the hoof
correctly the shoe won't come off! AS some proof, (and I haven't put on near
the miles some people have) my stallion is still wearing a set of shoes from
Fort Valley- on his hind feet. His feet grow slowly. THe shoes are worn
paper thin, but I haven't had time to reset them (we are this weekend!) THe
nail heads are completely gone except for a little tiny bit of width left
which is probably holding them on. At any rate, those shoes are still on
tight, and they don't wiggle (are NOT loose). It's all in how the clinching
and setting are done.
I have had to correct a farrier who was working on my mother's horse- he was
a TB and kept losing shoes. THe farrier was not putting the clinches in
tight because he didn't want the horse to pull hoof off when the shoe came
off. Well, since they were so loose to begine with, they always came off
within 2-3 weeks, and yes, no hoof wall came, but neither did the horse have
shoes!!
I started working on him mostly because mom couldn't afford the farrier, and
As soon as I started clinching the way I was taught at KY, the horse kept
shoes on the normal length of time (4-6 weeks minimum). This has happened
with another TB I was working with as well.
ANyway, it's NOT the shoe, it's the shoer and the horse's hoof!
Gwen
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| Gwen Dluehosh "Pretty enough to show, |
| Desert Storm Arabians (| |)_____ tough enough |
| 2249 Mt. Tabor Rd / \ \__=___ to RIDE." |
| Blacksburg, VA 24060 (= + =) \___=___ |
| 540/953-1792 \ + / \__=____ |
| dluehosh@vt.edu | + | \____=___ |
| Endurance/racing ()+() \ _______ |
| halter stock available \_/ |
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