Haven't made many shoes in a while and very few bar shoes. I need this one for tomorrow for a horse with a broken coffin bone. Will draw clips at the horse if the shoe fits. Seems a bit big but fits the drawing/stencil I made. So we will see. Lots of things wrong or that could be better. Nail holes are bad, need to tune up punches big time. Shape is ok for the foot it is suppose to go on and it's a front not a hind. Tried to space nail holes to leave room for clips, that didn't go to well. The bar welded in one heat but I took three welding heats to make sure. Bar seems to be ok but not great. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Ben what size is the foot lenth and width and thewidth ofyour bar
what section did you use

and what did you cut for the foot

like to see the job when finished

Smitty, if this shoe fits and I ain't completely disgusted with the outcome I will get some pics. The foot measured 12 3/4" heel to heel, 3" across for the bar, 4 1/2" for the width, 5 7/8" for the length.

The section is 5/16 x 1 and I cut 14". I will need to narrow the shoe up a bit for it to fit still but I also need to draw a toe clip and two side clips. The hoof has a sagital articular fracture we are trying to keep stabilized. We also put a leather pad and IM under the shoe for support and then cast the foot. So far the horse is ok, I will see new xrays today to see if this will continue.

I will get in before Uncle Rick Why not fuller it?

yes pics would be nice to see

Nice work Ben!

Smitty who is uncle rick? :confused:

Also do you feel like the shoe not being creased will effect function?

Ben, I may be wrong, just a thought, but if your marks on the shoe at the heels is where you wanted to start your hockey stick, your shoe may be big because your pushing material back into your branch and not packing it in the corner.

Something I've had to work on, just make sure you keep your branch on the anvil pushing with your tong hand.


Other than the nail holes ( look a little fine). Nice shoe!

Not being able to pull individual nails for shoe removal on a hoof with a fracture will be a concern.

Sorry Smitty, no pics. As I feared the shoe was to big. Chad your exactly right. The making of the shoe went well but paying attention to the little things screwed it up. If I had bent the bar at the marks and packed it in good it may have helped. The toe and quarters were a good fit but the back half of the shoe was way wide and long. Oh well, good practice for the night. I think it would be better to have made it at the horse though.

Smitty and Brian, no crease cause this horse doesn't seem to be in all that much pain. We can cut the clinches and pull the shoe without her even moving, and I can drive the nails with only a slight flinch at the toe nails. It doesn't seem right/possible but she is one tough horse. Barely limps when turning and only a bit in the straight when she steps on an uneven spot.

I ended up using a keg eggbar and skipped the clips cause I got six good nails and then we cast the foot after that. We put super fast on the lower part of the hoof/pad/shoe and then wrap the cast. It's a bugger to get off in a few weeks but it does stabilize/hold it all together.

brian robertson wrote:
Thats what i was thinking Brian

Ben, the TBs with fractures that I deal with, are not at all stoic. Quite often they adopt the attitude; "be careful now, 'cause if you hurt me, I'll hurt you"...

BS-Horseshoeing wrote:
Paying attention to shapes and measurements important
paying attention to your shoe-making tools also important (STAMP/PRITCHEL)

Warming up the anvil for draft shoes.
11 3/4 in 3/8 x 3/4

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smitty88 wrote:

Smitty, one of the things I need is a course in tool maintenance. I can get by but as you can see, things are not up to snuff. Time to find someone to show me how to keep my tools tuned up correctly.

High Country Farrier wrote:Uncle Rick (Burten) prefers fullered shoes for all therapeutic work to accommodate using crease nail pullers to pull nails one at a time rather than put strain on the foot with shoe pullers. I've always fullered any shoes I build for a horse with lameness/foot problems unless it was a slider.

Tried some massolettes this evening, this is the 2nd go, first one didn't have enough mass, ended up with to much source hole.