Howdy,

As discussed and recommended in a previous thread (Bruising) I re-shod the front feet on my colt today and placed some Heel Checks in my shoes.

My horse was previously in Kerkhaert SX7 000 and I found a 000 Triumph Rim that I liked much more. He also needed to be dropped a few degrees to alleviate the bruising as well. I had some down time today, so I took care of my own.

Please let me know how the heel checks look. Are the heels too pointed? Are they exposing too much, or not enough? Any other recommendations on things that I could do different would be appreciated too! Let me know what you see.

Trevor

Trevor,
An overall neat job. Here's a few things I would do differently.I like to have a broader coverage of the heel area and not so pointed.
It appears that this horse bruises very easily or works on gravel all the time. I would add a pad, perhaps a pour in, and take less soul out. The bars should be left fuller at the heels for support.
The setting is nice and full but your nailing is questionable. The old nail holes are higher than the new ones. It would be better to have picked up the old ones using a slightly larger nail, rather then punch new holes into this hoof.
Just a few suggestions, not meant to be critical. John

Extremely sharp. Shoe boils would be a major concern.

TREVOR

I feel that you've lost heel support with those checks.

Nice Job!! Why couldn't you get your nails higher than the last guy that shod that horse? I think you were driving them into - junk, or fitting them , to junk. Nice finished, job! I would love to see pics, in 6 to 8 weeks though.

Jake Whitman wrote:Jake,

I've been shoeing this horse (my horse) since I got him back in February. Upon fitting these new shoes, the nail holes were set differently and I fit the shoes fuller than the previous SX-7's that I had on. I could have used the front of my nail pattern, but never have liked doing so. I just didn't want to run them up as high as I had been.

The horse has great feet, nice thick walls and is great to fit a shoe to. This has been the 3rd pair of shoes that he has had in 6 weeks now. I need to leave these on for 8 weeks and let the old nail holes grow out. He grows a lot of foot quickly also.

Would it have been possible to hammer heel checks back into the shoe, to support the heels, and keep a broad heel surface? I didn't really grind out too much material, just penciled out the heels. I really liked the fit prior to grinding them out, but I though I would try it and see how things ended up.

Thanks to all for the advice thus far. It is greatly appreciated. I'm just experimenting with different applications on him, and seeing what works best.

Trevor

Jack Evers wrote:
Why so Jack?

To my way of thinking, he's basically covered the heels and the shape of the heels of the shoe is the same as the shape of the actual heel. In fact, there is more than likely more heel support there than if the horse was barefoot.

Trevor,

If you are worried about the length of the heels or if the horse reaches up and grabs one, you could always put a short spoon on the heel ends.

I'd put some wood putty in the nail holes and some Tuff Stuff or the equivalent on the walls.

It does however, look to me to be a very nice job.

Rick

T. Wm. HALL wrote:As long as your heel-checks are in line ,with the commisures of the frog, all is good, if the heels are covered,IMO. I do like reverse heel-checks on lateral extentions, penciled heels ,on concave. That is nice, Clean work !

Trevor looks good to me.

Trevor,
I would rather see a frog covered a little bit than a heel exposed. That said I check every heel I do. I hammer check with my left hand as it started to make my right elbow sore. Only took about a year to learn to do it like that. A bit too pointy for my taste and if those nails hold then they're perfect. High nails are way overrated IMO.
Also agree that the sole had too much removed. With a horse like that, I trim out the sole with a hoof pick or the back of my knife. I would have rolled the toe in to the crease a bit and maybe made the shoes a couple of thousand degrees warmer.
Other than riping apart everything you did, looks like a nice job that was done with purpose and skill. I like the shot from behind.

I think some more safeing would be good on such a pointy heel , Or more heel cut, Just my thoughts after looking at the pics again.

Again, Thanks Guys!

I did shape and fit the shoes hot. Prior to today, I had never placed any form of heel check on any of my shoes. I was leaning towards safeing the heel more, and not making them as sharp. I did bump my grinder (Makita 7" Hand Grinder) and take the sharp edge off. I have a tendency to get a little overboard grinding from time to time, and wanted to be a little conservative. I do box and safe (Hem) all of my shoes, no matter what the application.

I also tend to get a smidge aggressive with the knives. It is an old habit that is hard to break! It may be just as hard as the Red Man/Beech Nut habit that I am battling as we speak!

Your help and suggestions are exactly what I was after. I am learning a lot by posting my work. It's taken a lot of nerve on my part to post it, I have always been pretty reserved on here. I'm sticking my neck out and taking the good with the bad. Thanks for all the help, it is greatly appreciated!!

Trevor

Looks good, I agree with a pad on this horse.

Also I like to smooth (blend) the area marked in the photo with red, just keeps less from jamming in and causing problems.


Nice work


Thanks,
Jarred

oatey_hocking wrote:Jarred,

Explain further what you mean by blending. I'm not following what you're meaning.

If it is something cosmetically that I can do, I would have to not rasp the foot off as thoroughly. I dress my feet as if the bruising isn't there. The pics were taken prior to loping circles in the Pumice/Sand Pit above my place, so I wasn't going to apply anything that would be wore off. (Tuff Stuff or filler).

BTW, I sent you a PM about the Foot Stand.

Trevor

Trevor,
tidy work from you
but your nailing wants to be better
and the heel checks are to long and narrow

good stuff