I'm still a baby farrier and still have some problems with my nail pitching but it's been a while since I posted any work, I thought I would post a pic of my last shoe job. Any advice always welcomed
Hi Lori Eick from a baby forum poster. smitty88's advice is sound providing you are able to choose the right farrier(s) and your circumstances allow. You deserve to be commended for showing the pictures of your (less than perfect) work and welcoming comment. You have already assessed your work and declared where you feel you have problems that need addressing. A conscious self critique with a desire to improve is all you have at the end of the day regardless of what stage of your career you are passing through. Well done. I believe a forum like this could be a great resource for you. First of all - if you're serious then post more pictures. Clean the foot. Clean it again. Use a real camera and imagine you are taking an xray. From the side. Under the foot. From the front. One to compare heel heights. Anything you feel noteworthy. Before and after trim and then shod. Tag the pics with your own assessments. The better your pics the more concise will be the comments. I'm an oldie but I'll learn how to post pics ASAP and show you what I mean. Your picture of the completed shod foot. #1 As you state the nails are low. You'll hurt less horses that way than too high. Nailing is difficult to teach. It takes confidence derived from experience and some errors. I know a very good farrier who intentionally nails low and has no issues with shoe security and the old holes trim out most times... and he's doing thoroughbred gallopers in aluminium! I personally nail high and use less nails. I suspect that your nails are too 'fine' ie. too near to the outside edge of the shoe and therefore the hoof wall regardless of the pitch of the nail. Let's see the shoe next time please. You have compounded this by severely filing the wall after clenching (clinching?) so that the nail is in even thinner hoof wall. Hard work for a negative effect. That wall that you have sweated to file away was to protect the now exposed underlying horn from exposure to evaporation. If you took the hoof cutting from your second picture and put it in the sun on a hot day for 30 mins it would shrink and curl from evaporation severely - maybe half its original size. That's what the newly exposed wall that you just nailed and dressed is trying to do. It doesn't even look good cosmetically. And you can't put it back. If you must dress the wall, have the hoof oiled as some sort of a barrier to this evaporation. This one way flow of moisture (loss) is very much like the transpiration of a plant. I think if you search some info including histology pics of the wall you'll give it up and be happier not to dress the wall like this. I can't link (old - I will learn) but I'm sure I've read that even filing away flares maybe contraindicated due to resultant moisture loss - better just put the shoe where it should be and leave the flair as overhang and the new hoof will grow towards the support ie. shoe. I have some field experience that would support this. Not a quick fix. Repetition is a great teacher. 10,000 hours has been said to be a master! Instead of doing one hoof at a time I'd suggest after your trimming and shoe fitting is complete on all 4 feet you then nail 4 shoes in a row. Trimming 4, then fitting 4, then nailing 4 (24 odd nails driven in succession), then finishing all will allow you a better overall view of what your plan should be and the result you achieve. Picture #2 Nice job with the nippers. A great skill to have that will save you a lot of rasping. The hoof wall in the picture is dirty. You should have had it cleaned before you started the job to allow yourself the best observations of the horse. Even cleaning it yourself may tell you something. You would've been able to consider that toe crack more thoroughly. Get intimate with the area that you are working on. A few tips to close with... - Re-stating... REPETITION - Try to determine shoe placement in relation to the 'leg' rather than the hoof capsule as far as possible. - Learn terminology. You will only be able to learn what you need academically by being able to understand 'non-layperson speak'. It's not difficult like a whole new language but is essential. You will get different results searching for 'distal interphalangeal articulation' than you will for 'coffin joint'. The practical takes yards I'm afraid. For some easier than others. - Try to get some legs to dissect. Most vets would love to do it with you as they need to brush up skills for their own team. Ask. Otherwise grab a dead leg, a few scalpels and be amazed. - Don't keep making the errors that you are aware of. Deal with them and then find new ones. - Never play leap-frog with a Unicorn. - Most importantly ask the client how the horse is 'going'. I look forward to your more detailed next post. Edit for PS- can you rotate the photos where necessary before posting? Can't seem to straighten up my neck...
I do see that you were advised to aggressively dress the outer wall in a previous thread. There are many shades of grey between black and white.
Gullyforge , going back and forth tween the two threads to compare, I would say that the clenching method has not changed , but that the finishing of the hoof ,I m guessing ,was done using the shape of the shoe as a template, that method can work ,though in some circles it is frowned upon, but to work the outer edges of the shoe must be this side of perfectly set, often tough to do, and then nail holes need to line up somewhat. To Lori I would suggest as Smitty and gullyforge said clearly, seek a mentor, and as gullyforge pointed out ,if available, if not, if possible contact the school from which you graduated and ask for a critique based on these pictures. Further, if available, post a picture of your next job of your work on horse #1, the September horse for comparison. I think I used ,more aggressively,which leaves as you pointed out many shades of gray, Gullyforge thanks for joining. Regards Ray
You must be very proud of your apprentice. Heavy horses are too hard for me I must admit. I'm worn out before I've finished taping the feathers. Who made the shoe on your profile pic? What do you think of it?
Feeling a bit shy posting pics in the company of you... and your apprentice. Low and under-slung heel It would have been a surprise if there wasn't a corn Stay tuned...
Finished.. Could've done better but functional and kept the horse going for many years with high mileage right through. Criticism appreciated. Regards, Andrew.
Could've done better but functional and kept the horse going for many years with high mileage right through. Criticism appreciated. Regards, Andrew.[/quote] Andrew/gullyforge, my belief is that one should not feel guilty bout posting pics............or guilty bout not posting pics, it s the conversation that counts and what can be learned..... thanks to you, smitty, lori et all for taking the time,for yourself and others. I ll ask you as I ve asked others, and I think you have answered already, did dobbin appreciate your work? ie did the horse walk off as good or better than it walked up to you? if so , in my opinion,you did a good job! If not...........you didn t ! Thanks for putting your guilt aside. regards ray
Thanks Ray. I appreciate your asking how the horse responded. The late, great Edward Martin MBE said there were only three things to consider when shoeing a horse. Comfort, comfort and comfort. A wise man.
