Horseshoes are a good luck charm for many of us but they are critical to protecting a horse’s hooves from being worn out during a game of horse polo, racing or general riding.
Creating, preparing and fitting horseshoes is a specialist job, as every horse has different sized hooves and needs to be balanced in different ways. This job is undertaken by a farrier.
In many respects, their job mixing veterinary skills in equine care with the blacksmithing skills needed to smelt the horseshoes. Historically the roles were so close that the term farrier comes from the french word for blacksmith.
Here are the steps needed to make and safely fit a horseshoe.
Preparing The Hoof
The first step is to make sure the horse’s hoof is ready to take a shoe. It has been described as similar to a manicure but on a much bigger scale.
The old shoe is removed by pulling out the nails holding it in place using pincers, before trimming the hoof wall, sole and frog of the hoof, typically using sharp pliers and a hoof knife. This is important as if they grow out too much it can misalign the bones in the horse’s hoof.
This is also when the farrier can check the horse’s hoofs and coffin bones to ensure that they are fine, balanced and whether they need adjustments in the shoes.
Preparing The Shoe
After this, horseshoes are measured and heated in a forge. After they are heated, they are then bent and beaten into the right shape, using tongs, a hammer, anvil and a forge. It is possible to simply use a hammer and anvil, but hot-shoeing using a forge typically fits better.
Once they are the right fit for the horse, the hot shoes and cooled in water.
Fitting The Shoe
Finally, the horseshoe is fitted onto the hoof using nails that bend outward. This is so they only attach to the farriers trim, which is the non-sensitive part of the foot.
After this, the sharp ends are trimmed, bent to secure the hoof in place and filed to remove the sharp edges.