Yesterday we hhad our very first 4 man team practice. Steve Prescott CJF was our coach and fourth team member. This is the first time in 20 years of shoeing ever making draft shoes. We also had two other guys who never did it either. It was a tremendous learning experience and we will need to have many other practice sessions before we couls ever be competitive. With all of our inexperience we got the job done. All shoes were made from 1/2x1 1/4

Looking good there Jeff
I envy you your experience n fun
don't get to do things down here like that seems no one is interested anymore

Very nice. Making draft shoe's is a chore on it's own. Making draft shoe's for competition is a whole nother thing. But it's lots of fun on a 4 man team.

Bruce Matthews
Southeast Texas (draft horse) HorseShoeing
(formally, N.E.Draft Horseshoeing)
Alvin, Texas

How do you work in a four Man team?

Ray_Knightley wrote:
Each man has to prep a foot and build a handmade shoe and nail and finish. Shoes a built utilizing a stricker while one team member hols the horse. Everyone rotates as the job in completed. We have to share on anvil and one forge.

vthorseshoe wrote:
You got that right Bruce

What a dynamic ,cool ,great stuff !

Cool...

If I knew you guys were looking for drafts to practice-on, I might've volunteered mine! (As I'm under "no heavy lifting, especially while bending-over" orders from the eye surgeon at the moment.)

Of course, the boss probably would have other ideas.

I actually tend to go with a relatively light shoe on mine. (It's not like they're hauling freight wagons 40 miles per day over cobblestones.) The biggest concave stock I can find, with the shoe forged "inside-out" to give a rolled outer edge and coarser nail placement. Jumbo-sized St.Croix Rim Lites.

Practical, but nothing like the challenge of nice work you guys are doing in those pictures.

.

Look's good! The one thing I see is, if these horses are working on the street, asphalt-concrete the shoe at the heels behind the drilltec will wear out. Try to get the drilltec to end of heels. I've had carriage horse wear out half inch shoes behind the drill tec in one shift.

borium properly place has allowed me to reset draft shoe's on a pair of percherons for a 4th time. (last night to be exact).

The only reason I will change them next time is because the nail holes have reamed out to large. I am getting a box of 9 and 10 capewell and may reset them if the nails fit tight. Cause the shoe's aren't worn hardly at all. and the borium is still working just fine.
Very big solid hooves and great walls that can actually carry a larger nail just fine.

my 2 cents worth

30+ years ago when I did some long footed horses and wanted to use a smaller nail in an existing oversize nail hole I found a simple solution was to drive the smaller nail through an aluminum Pop Rivet washer. Made for a snug fit. Don't know how it would work on your guys.

Jay Mickle wrote:
I haven't tried, but had some pulling competitors who kept their competition shoes a long time - only put them on for pulling contests - suggest copper washers. Same idea.

really cool idea Jay and jack... Thankyou...

One more advantage of all of us being able to share on this site....

my 2 cents worth

the Clydes i work with go thru two sets of shoes a year. they're shod year round, work on asphalt and work anywhere from 2-16 hours a week on it. they both wear a modified scotch bottom with five spots of drill-tec on them. the drill-tec is rebuilt every three months. the right-hander wears 8's all around and the left hander wears 8's on the back and 8 1/2's on the front. i'm always amazed by the drill-tec but careful when i'm handling a hoof when it's first put on. draws blood in a heartbeat

Jay Mickle wrote:
I've seen it done.

On a plain stamp shoe...plug the hole with a nail, flux and give it a few taps at a welding heat. Then just punch new nail holes.

Generally, I'd rather just sell them a new pair of shoes:eek: