Shoeing Technique for Horses with Thin Walls

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Cornelius Ball
6 years ago
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Shoeing Technique for Horses with Thin Walls Blacksmith, Arthur Lisi has been applying this technique to Thoroughbreds coming off the track to Leighton Farm.

1 Shoeing Technique for Horses with Thin Walls Blacksmith, Arthur Lisi has been applying this technique to Thoroughbreds coming off the track to Leighton Farm. Horses who either have thin walls naturally or have had their walls damaged through improper shoeing are experiencing very posi ve results. There are many who say that Thoroughbreds and re red Thoroughbred racehorses in par cular have bad feet. There is much evidence to back this up, but like any blanket statement, there are many excep ons. Not all Thoroughbreds have bad feet, in fact many have excep onal feet. What is important to understand is why so many people hold this belief and what is it about Thoroughbred feet that makes them bad? In general, Thoroughbreds have thinner If you examine the picture above, there is not adequate hoof walls and soles. Add to this the fact room to drive a safe nail. The two red arrows in the right that while they are a racehorse, they demonstrate the very thin walls. The red arrow at the have spent much me in an environment with wonderful foo ng in and out bo om with the white circle shows the thickness of the nail with regard to the wall. You can also see previous nail holes that were either in the white line or actually of the stall. quicking her. What this means is that like the child who has worn shoes all winter and now runs outdoors barefoot must spend some ouchy me toughening up their feet, so must the re red racehorse. This ar cle addresses the other factor thin walls. Art says, We have to admit that we are causing the horse pain and discomfort when we nail into a thin hoof wall. Even if the nail does not push outside of the wall, it puts pressure on the sensi ve lamiae of the inner hoof. If the horse jumps or fidgets when the blacksmith is nailing the shoes on, the horse is telling you the nails are too close. If the horse stands quietly, the nails are good. Art says, Listen to the horse.

protect against the movement of the nail.

Art Lisi builds out the hoof wall so it can support the nail being driven into it.

bad nails that you do not patch over them wit the acrylic because the heat

wait un l the feet calm down. Be sure hoof wall is dry and clean.

Drill pilot holes to accurately place the set nails.

2 This mare s hoof walls are too thin. The technique outlined here will give her what she doesn t have, adequate buﬀer to protect against the movement of the nail. Each step she takes, she can feel the movement of the nails in the hoof wall. Art Lisi builds out the hoof wall so it can support the nail being driven into it. Before beginning, a word of cau on: It is very important if the horse has close or bad nails that you do not patch over them wit the acrylic because the heat produced while drying will fire up the abscesses that want to happen in response to the bad nails. If the horse is very sore or has been quicked, it is best to pull the shoes and wait un l the feet calm down. Be sure hoof wall is dry and clean. Just rough the surface with a dremmel so the acrylic will adhere to it. Drill pilot holes to accurately place the set nails. This is done so that the hoof wall does not crack from the nail pushing through the wall and to prevent quick ing the horse. The forward most nails are the safest spot. These nails are set very low on the hoof. They are only meant to hold the shoe in place for the acrylic and subsequent nailing into it.

3 When driving the set nails, if possible, catch the corner of the wall. This is dependent on the thickness of both the wall and the nail being used. Art feels that small nails should always be used on Thoroughbreds. Next you must prepare the acrylic you will use to build up the hoof. It is important to add an adequate amount of chopped Composite Cloth to the acrylic. This step gives the provides added strength to the acrylic build up on the hoof to support the nails and the natural expansion and contrac on of the hoof. Without it the acrylic will crack.

4 ***When applying the acrylic: In this phase you must use a li le imagina on. Make sure the width of the acrylic will be enough to take the nail. Enough width that when you clinch the nail down it is not pulled into the sensi ve part of the hoof. Avoid ge ng acrylic on the sole. It creates an uneven surface when the hoof hits the ground. Wrap the hoof in plas c wrap and move on to the next foot while each hoof dries.

5 It takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours to be completely dry. Use black shoe polish to get rid of obvious look.

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