Pages

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

New Shoes & a Pedicure

Horse hooves are like fingernails.
So occasionally, they need to be filed down and prettied up.
That means its time for the farrier to come.

First the old shoe is pulled.

Next, large nippers are used to trim off the excess hoof.
 

Then the hoof is filed to correct shape and readied for the shoe.

The shoe is also shaped to fit the hoof and pounded flat.
Sometimes it is heated at this point.

Finally the shoe is nailed into place.

A little polish to seal the nail holes, 
and they are ready for the trails.

Even horses who don't wear shoes need the feet trimmed on a regular basis.
Today Rocky and Jasper got shoes,
Tag, since he is no longer ridden, just got a trim.

Tools of the trade



2 comments:

Carole Barkett said...

Looks like your horse is an old hand at this.

tagnrocky said...

Yep, Rocky is 15 and their hooves are trimmed every 6-8 weeks, so he's had lots of practice!