vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
My horse gets "hot" shoes while the other horses on the ranch just get trims. In short, hot shoeing insures a better fit than when the shoes are merely pounded into shape without heating them. The farrier (shoer) places the heated shoe, which has been pounded into shape while it's glowing red, against the trimmed hoof and can tell from the seared mark whether more hoof trimming and/or shaping of the shoe needs to be done. The process creates quite a bit of smoke. Stinky smoke. Think burning hair smell.
The last shot shows one side of the "shop" that is hauled behind the farrier's truck. Some farriers have the setup mounted on the truck bed, but this fellow likes to use his truck for other things.
In some of the shots you might get an idea of what backbreaking work this is - even when the horses cooperate! It's worth every penny to pay the pros to do the job.
Very interesting narrative and good documentation photos, Vicki.
--Bob
vicksart wrote:
My horse gets "hot" shoes while the other horses on the ranch just get trims. In short, hot shoeing insures a better fit than when the shoes are merely pounded into shape without heating them. The farrier (shoer) places the heated shoe, which has been pounded into shape while it's glowing red, against the trimmed hoof and can tell from the seared mark whether more hoof trimming and/or shaping of the shoe needs to be done. The process creates quite a bit of smoke. Stinky smoke. Think burning hair smell.
The last shot shows one side of the "shop" that is hauled behind the farrier's truck. Some farriers have the setup mounted on the truck bed, but this fellow likes to use his truck for other things.
In some of the shots you might get an idea of what backbreaking work this is - even when the horses cooperate! It's worth every penny to pay the pros to do the job.
My horse gets "hot" shoes while the othe... (
show quote)
I think reading this without context I would have thought this to be cruel. Having read so many of your threads I know you would never allow anything nasty on your watch.
Nice pics and thanks for the info.
Interesting narrative and excellent photos to boot, Vicki!
The farrier should be paying you for such well behaved horses!
Good documentation, I can see how the horses need to cooperate. Is that brown one yours?...Beautiful horse.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
rmalarz wrote:
Very interesting narrative and good documentation photos, Vicki.
--Bob
Glad you enjoyed these Bob. Thanks for letting me know.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
Retired CPO wrote:
I like 'em all!
Many thanks for the time you’ve taken for this post. I appreciate it.
Nice series, Vicki. My good friend and neighbor used to trim my horses. He has attended farrier school and was quite good. We both don't have horses anymore but really do miss them. Time marches on.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
BassmanBruce wrote:
I think reading this without context I would have thought this to be cruel. Having read so many of your threads I know you would never allow anything nasty on your watch.
Nice pics and thanks for the info.
Thanks for the visit and concern Bruce. If this process was cruel or painful in any way, you’d see 1200 pound horses jumping around with a bunch of dead farriers under them. In some cases, putting shoes on a horse may be a kindness if they’re tender footed and prone to stone bruises and subsequent lameness.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
UTMike wrote:
Interesting narrative and excellent photos to boot, Vicki!
Thanks for your interest in these shots Mike. I appreciate your kind comment.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
jerryc41 wrote:
Nice series
Thanks for taking time for this post Jerry. I appreciate your time.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
Retired CPO wrote:
The farrier should be paying you for such well behaved horses!
I’ll mention your comment to him. I spend more on my horse’s shoes than on my own.
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