Going to go shoe a reining horse. Just got the call on short notice so I went to Home Depot and was able to find 4 foot of 1/4X1" bar stock. Just turned and punched the shoes, figure I'll cut the heels to length when I see the size of the horse. Question is, is 1/4 thick the right size for a 1" wide sliding plate? seems like I've seen them even thinner. Also would you roll the toe? How much?
Obviously I don't shoe alot of reiners. I thought I'd use eventers for fronts. How much heel should be extended (of the shoe) on the sliding plates? Any other considerations? Thanks in advance for advice.

Seeing as you are jumping in so to speak, hopefully for you the horse might have a set of old sliders you can use as a pattern to built the new ones? 1/4 x1 is OK stock for an experienced reiner. First sets I make out of 1/4 x 3/4 so they learn to slide without scareing them. After awhile you might even jump up to an 1 1/4 wide shoe for big stoppers! Good luck! Gary

Gary, ever seen a pair of sliders cut in a water jet? I think Tom B. did some a while back.... Maybe he has a pic of them. I've attempted to build some myself (not to nail on but just for "hammer" time) Do you build your own? Maybe you could do a step by step sometime....

If this is a first time set of sliders on a horse just learning I sometimes back punch nail holes in St. Croix Extras and nail them on hoof side out for sliderettes. I almost always roll the toe, and grind off the nail heads.
Take some pictures and let us see how those homemades work out.

I do handmake every slider for every reiner or cowhorse I shoe. The only reason is because of nail placement. I learned most of what I do know from a Trainer by the name of Jerry Kimsey. He is by far the most talented Horse Trainer I have ever been blessed to be around! He won World Champion Working Cow Horse back in 89 or 90. I need to look at the framed photo of him in my office in my barn to be sure of the date? He has quite a few other World Championships under his belt also. Anyway he always wanted the toe to be bold and the medial side to be "full". This mean't that I had to punch nail holes more into the web of the shoe compared to a standard "keg" type slider. Because of this sliders to me are a very easy shoe to build? I have a few calf ropers that like sliders and a couple of heel horses that do well in them also. Unfortunately the reiners are far and few between in my part of the sandpile nowdays for some reason?

Peggy do you mean you are turning the shoes over and nailing them on that way?

Thank you all for your input. When I got there the horse was a dandy 14-2 4 year old with 00 hinds. Ended up using 1/4X3/4" slideretts to get him started. Plan to go with 1" wide next time . Thanks again.

Micheal,

Feather the toe from toe nail to toe nail all the way out. Don't roll or rocker the toe. This will cause the horse to not use himself the way he should while turning around and rolling back.

The heels of your shoe should extend out to the end of the heel bulbs and no further. IMO anything more than that is over kill and not needed.

Ask questions about the horses perfomance. Is he a monster stopper? Is he a spreader? Usually these two things will go hand in hand. You can get really fancy with the set up trying to fix one.

A most all sliders are 1/4". A 1 inch slider is more than enough for any horse.

Gary,

I personally think that the scaring them with a bigger shoe is BS. They are gonna get scared the first time the stop with sliders on, wether it's a 3/4 or a 1 inch slider. I opt for 1 inch for the first set . They are gonna get scared, might as well get it over and done with and move on.

Hey Ronald you have decades of shoeing reiners under your belt. I am sure you have some input here.

Don

This question is kind of an oxy****** but here goes anyway. Can you do anything to a slider to make them a little more solid on asphalt? Obviously something that dosen't really negate the idea of the slider. (or at least minimally)

How much do you think dotting the shoe with borium would effect the slider in an arena?

Borium on a slider :confused:
I have heard of brasing on jar calks to helps spreaders.
It defies the entire purpose of a slider. IMO.
Maybe someone else here has seen or tried something similar.
Don

Head 2 Toe wrote: Get off and lead the horse.

Donald Ruff wrote:

I felt you guys were doing pretty well on your own!

But ok just to add some, I did try sliders thicker than 1/4" about 15 years ago. At the time I felt the added weight would help the horse bring it's feet deeper under its body. One of my ideas that did not work.n Stick to 1/4" steel.

The quality steel is pretty important. Too soft and the branches will bend up on a hard stopper.

I agree you don't need more than 1" on a slider. Sometimes I use 1 1/8" for really poor ground. Some weekend show pens are pretty bad.

On a young or untrained reiner I would not go further than 7/8" at first.

I don't know about borium. Does not sound like a good idea adding drag to a slider

Some guys work with rails. That's a round or triangular steel strip about 1" to 1 1/2" long and a 1/4" wide and about as high. Its welded length wise to a branch to get a horse more narrow or wide. Maybe that's what they mean with the borium deal.

I don't like the rails at all. Don't add drag to a slider. Like Don said it just does not make sense and will only serve to get the horse more sore.

Don't forget a wide stopper is a deep stopper, let them be wide. Better wide than narrow!

O and another thing I can see why you would want to make your own sliders, but I hardly ever do. And I shod finalists and winners for every big time horse show in the US ánd Europe. I use Anvil Brand sliders, they're really great. Even punching I don't do on every horse. It's a highly overestimated routine guys, punching your sliders yourself. But maybe that's just me.

Bill Adams had some good advise on reiners that tend to slip on asphalt. Get off, that helps. A reiner well shod and not sore however should not be insecure on asphalt. Maybe you want to use a smaller slider or bring back the toe a tad. Often it's a tell tale sign for a sore back on a reiner.

Ok, ok I'll stop


Ronald Aalders

Ya know I listen to the Trainer , they pay me so I give them what they want. If the the guy wants two inch wide sliders so be it, if he feels a particular horse needs it? If I disagree we discuss it and come to an agreement that works for that horse. Being able to build your own or use a keg is a choice left up to the individual? These folk I work for ain't backyarders and when they have their trophy rooms full , I kinda guess they know what they want? Sliders to me are the easiest shoe to build and I enjoy it?

eventer seems like a heavy shoe for the front ,I use a st croux ultra lite rim or kurkhart alum .

Gary Hill wrote:
Try to get trainers to listen to you Gary.


Ronald Aalders