Onion heel shoes?

[cartera50]

Is there a source online for onion heel shoes? A vet who specializes in lameness issues in Northern Virginia highly recommends them, but it is my understanding that the ones she uses are made for her.

[Rick Burten]

Is there a source online for onion heel shoes? A vet who specializes in lameness issues in Northern Virginia highly recommends them, but it is my understanding that the ones she uses are made for her.
"Onion heels" are a modification made to the shoes by the farrier.

[cartera50]

Thanks. That's what I thought. I thought I had seen one online that looked suspiciously "manufactured" but the ones I have seen online here have all been hand forged.

[David Hayne]

Good day......what exactly is an onion heel.......

I had heard one time that in North America what we call " Corns " are called " Onions " in some other far away land......maybe someone else can confirm...

thanks,

David

[calshoer]

I can't seem to find a picture of one in my files anywhere....its a shoe where the inner web back at the heel end is just flattened and spread with the rounding side of the hammer to cover more of the bar and inside the buttress. The branch of the shoe is shaped like a whole green onion with the little 'bulb' at the end....I suppose it could also be called a turnip shoe... :p
Anyone got a picture? Patty

[cartera50]

I have seen one or two on this site - I think posted by Ronald Alders. Here is one I found online. This was the one that I thought looked commercially manufactured.

http://www.wernersfarrierservice.com/frenchonion.htm#onion

[Ronald Aalders]

Ok I had a look and found one I made a few years ago.

By the way I don't think they're commercially available. Why would they be, they're easy to make yourself. Just bang out the 'thumprints' do some correcting of the shoe after you pounded the heels so much and there's your onion.



Ronald Aalders

[mwmyersdvm]

Unfortunately, a couple I have seen applied do not address the breakover like Ron's example does. The shoes were quite elongated.

[e decker]

There have been some onion shoes manufactured in Europe. Try the European Farriers Journal. Victor Camp CF wrote a great article for "Hoofcare and Lameness" as well as gave lectures this year at both the Summit and Cornell.
The Onion shoe is now (I think) one of the shoes used in contests too. I think they annonced that at the Chatanooga Convention.
It is a very useful shoe and can be easily forged out of a Morison shoe as well (with the eased breakover included as well).
Yeah David, In France the corns are called "On-yons". But if you ask a Frenchman in America, they will say that they had never seen a corn until they had come to Americia...