Long lasting horseshoe

[Kathrin D]

Hi!
I have a problem with shoing my horse- steel shoes are not durable enough to last more than 3 or 4 weeks.
We do a little endurance racing here in germany (about 60- 80km) and no shoe last a whole period of shoing.
I tried widia studs an nails but they didn`t work because my horse (standartbred trotter) can´t work with them- the stopping is to hard for her. (And its not very healthy for legs and bones as far as I know.)
Borium worked, but ist was verry slipery after a few while.

So I´m looking for a more durable steel shoe (6 weeks would be fine)- does anybody knows something?

I heard from some shoe from sweden with widia inside, but nobody could tell me a name or something.

Greetings Kathrin
P. S. I´m from Germany, so I exuse for my poor english! :D

[Mike Ferrara]

I find drill tec a bit better than borium for traction and it's tough stuff.

[Dave Millwater, RMF]

Kathrin,


For extended wear and traction on both hard and softer surfaces, I like to use swedged shoes (rim shoes, or handmades from concave stock) and fill the groove at the toe and heels with borium/ drill tec.


-DAVE.

[Donnie Walker]

For a specialty endurance shoe go to a manufacturer of the item:
www.brookslane.co.uk.endurancephs.htm

[Kathrin D]

Thanks a lot so long.

Are there any differences in durability in the different brands of shoes?

(St. Croix is better than Kerkhard or something like that).

Do you ave some experiences?

Greetings Kathrin

[Jason Maki]

Different shoes wear differently, yes.
You might try fitting the shoes, then heating them to a blood red, then quenching them. This will harden them more. If the horse is a little bigger, you could also build them from 3/8 x 3/4. The extra meat might give you the wear uou are looking for. The thought of filling the concave crease with drill tech is a great one!
Jason Maki CJF

[Dave Millwater, RMF]

Kathrin,


I believe most horseshoes are manufactured from similar (mild) steel. The only way to choose one that would last longer would be to go with the thickest shoe available in a given size... Unfortunately, that would also be the heaviest shoe, which isn't a good thing for a hard-working horse.

You could ask your farrier if he could hand forge shoes out of a higher-carbon steel, like flattend-out automotive coil spring... These would be a lot of work, and would have to be hot-fit. They could give you more wear without extra weight. But they might be a little more slippery on hard pavement.


Happy New Year!

-DAVE.

[David J Nicholls]

Hello Kathrin,
Here in the UK, in our farrier practice. we do shoe a number of endurance horses an I am a friend of the Farrier for the British endurance team. We have debated this subject many times and at length. Our endurance horses have to do large amounts of road work. This means that shoe wear is an issue, just as you are experiencing. We have found that the harder the shoes and the more traction devices and hard facing materials that are used, then there are more cases of lameness. It has been found that it is to the advantage of the horse to re-shoe at more regular intervals than put on harder shoes or traction devices. In the long term although it is an expense to keep re-shoeing every four weeks, it will reduce the concussive injuries and vet bills. I know this does not reduce your farrier bills, however experience has shown that short re-shoeing periods are cheaper in the long term
Kindest regards,
David.

[Kathrin D]

Hi!
very thanks for your answers.
So- I thougt about thicker horseshoes- but my horse is only 155cm an very light- not a good idea I think. She`s also gaitet- so put heavier horseshoes on the hind legs woul chance the gaites. (I kneed more durability especially on the HL)

I know that harder horseshoes are not very good for legs and bones (I tried plastics a long time, untill I had to see that shoeing every two weeks is not the solution ...). Because she also kicks her horseshoes off regulary we are now shoed with pp- plast- a combination from plastics and iron wich works fine, so that i thought it would be soft enough because of the plastic beetween hoof and iron.

So, on monday its shoeing time again- I think I will talk to my ferrier about the opinion to fill the concave crease with drill tec, or I`ll have to shoe at least every 4 weeks...

Greetings Kathrin