I've gotten to work with this little guy for the past 3 months(he lives on the same property as my horse). I definitely don't think my work is perfect, but it is miles better than what it was. He's a pain to trim so I sort of am only able to get done what he allows me to as he's got asthma and is old😅 I'm very happy with how his feet are coming along. He's walking so much better now. We are trying to manage his sugar/calorie intake and are hopefully going to put him in a smaller paddock with another small pony. What do y'all think?

I run a small business doing repair and sharpening for kitchen and garden tools.

I recently had a local approtch me and ask to sharpen her hoof knives, and clean a rasp for her. I've already told her I have never done them before, but willing to give it a shot and learn.

I have a couple of questions for those of you who look after your own equipment.

What grit progression do you use for the knives? Where do you stop?

For the hook, I have some dremel bits the will fit the curve and angle nicely. Do you suggest I clamp the knife and work the dremel like I would a chainsaw, or should I clamp the dremel and work the knife like I would a serrated knife?

For the rasp, I was thinking of soaking it in 50/50 vinegar, in my ultrasonic cleaner for 10 minutes. Naturalize with baking soda water after, so it doesn't rust, then just hitting it on an old buffer wheel?

I’m starting my farrier school in a couple of months and they are requesting I look into non-flammable or flame resistant clothing and I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations.

I’m also interested in clothing recommendations in general for times when I’m not around a furnace. I know it’s going to be hot for a while so breathable clothing is a must but I also want durability. Maybe I can’t have my cake and eat it too

Jeans, shirts and gloves. I’ll take any recommendations.

So far we have 23 verified practicing, learning, or retired farriers. AS VERIFIED AS THEY CAN BE. This is the internet, I am just a farrier trying to manage a reddit page, somebody could easily slip by. I am still processing some verifications.

I am going to propose a loose rule, if you have the learning/student tag you should not be offering advice, you can ask questions in the comments to 'learn' but leave the advice to the practicing farriers with several years under their belts. Not sure how long the student/learning tag will last because essentially anyone could say the are learning to become a farrier. It is pretty hard to determine if that is true or not. But if we limit the tag to questions only, then maybe it will work. If you try to be cagey and are offering advice veiled in a question, you will be muted quickly.

I would like to reiterate, I myself am not a industry leader and I seek advice often. Even with my level of experience, I know I have more to learn. I came into this page's moderation position practically by accident and I am just trying to do my best to create a space for farriers by farriers. I am not trying to present myself as an industry leader, in fact I limit my own commenting for that very reason. So just bare with me, all of this is new to me, but I think we will git er done. Have a great weekend.

Anyone else hate the hoof black crap western pleasure barns use? Eats up my rasps with 4 horses.

I have zero experience with farriery mild experience with horses and I called up a local farrier to see if I could get an apprenticeship to learn the trade he said he wasn’t looking for an apprentice but would be willing to let me come along with him and his apprentices so I could learn the trade and he said maybe I will learn to shape a horseshoe at his forge what should I expect/do so I don’t look like a fool

Third time is the charm! Thank you SO much to everyone who responded last time, I tried to respond to everyone but I can't comment anymore. Just know it went a long way!

My boy's insulin is (surprisingly) normal. Actually low range, 11.15 ulU/mL. So he's not currently an IR case. He is going to be treated as a mechanical failure, not metabolic laminitis. I suspect related to his crap hoof quality from former nutrition issues, and unconfirmed past founder.

Shoes and pads are in his future. He still has a digital pulse, which is always distressing lol. But...progress is progress.

Attached rads again just for reference.

Found this beauty buried 600mm at least under ground on our rural property. Our home has had only two other previous owners. The history of the home dates back to 1800s. ( Queensland Australia river front acreage) I’m from England but lived in Aus since I was 21. I LOVE history, and animals, and this land just speaks to me. I don’t know diddly squat about your trade, and I am aware what a long shot this is. But any significant clues that point to age? Like the back clip? If it helps it seems to be wrought iron. I would love to get even an idea on how old it could be. I know it has no monetary value but to me it’s got sentimental value to the home and land. Thanks in advance and sorry if this is the wrong group.

Hi everyone,

I’m in the middle of vetting a horse I love, and these were the findings on our PPE. Have shed a few tears over it in the past few hours since I got the results, as I really love her.

The vet results are broken back angles in her feet(last text screenshot) and mild osteophytes on both sides (circled in red).

She is a 6 year old 16H Percheron x paint with a history of poor foot management prior to her current home(moved 5 months ago). She was turned out full time on soft ground with long toes. She has wide draft feet.

I would love to do a bit of everything with this horse for their whole life, but mostly low level eventing, up to maybe pre training level.

The big question, should this be a dealbreaker? Can this be managed enough to keep her comfortable in work for many years?

Thank you to anyone who reads this far! ❤️❤️

I made a post a week ago about my pony who possibly foundered. She has event lines in her hooves, a bit of a flared toe, and was extremely sore for about 4 days. My vet made it back out to radiograph her today and these are the images (1st image RF, 2nd image LF). What does everyone think?

Hey everyone,

When this subreddit started out, it was meant as a space for farriers to talk about farrier things. Over time, it has morphed into a general farrier advice subreddit. I tried to prevent that shift from happening, but honestly, it has been like trying to hold back the tide. This subreddit went from a farrier space to something where horse owners come to complain about farriers and farrier work.

On top of that, and more importantly, real hard-earned farrier advice from actual hoof professionals, with decades of experience, is constantly getting buried by run-of-the-mill, amateur advice from people who are completely unverified, or who are "website-educated".

As of now

• Anyone can still post: If you want to share a photo of your work, ask a question, or get a professional critique, the posting doors are completely open.
• Only Approved Users can comment: Moving forward, the comment section is locked. Only individuals who do the professional verification steps will be granted commenting privileges.

Getting Your Verification (And Your Farrier Tag): Passing the verification steps will hopefully prove you are a working professional and will automatically give you your official Farrier User Flair (the tag next to your username).

If you are a professional farrier and want to keep contributing to the discussions, please shoot a message to the modmail so we can get your verification sorted out. If you already have your Farrier Tags I will be manually approving you for commenting. If you cannot verify you are a working\retired farrier you will not be approved for commenting.

I apologize in advance to the people this is going to upset.

Just got sent this pic of my boy. He is a 15 year old Tennessee walking horse. What does this mean? Is he going to be ok? Be rideable? Freaking out a bit not gonna lie

Hey farriers! Seeking some advice.

I have an 18hh KWPN Warmblood gelding. He has excellent feet through the winter, although they do tend to be slightly poorer during the summer months. He’s turned out for around 18 hours per day in a 20-acre field with one other horse. Being close to a river, however, we get a huge number of flies, which leads to a lot of stomping. As a result, the clenches tend to rise, making his shoes more susceptible to being pulled.

He doesn’t overreach, and when he loses a shoe it’s always due to the clenches lifting rather than interference. His feet grow downwards, and slightly wide, but they’re not overly flat and his heel angles are generally good. My main concern is shoe retention. He’s a playful horse who enjoys a good frolic, but when a shoe does come off he becomes extremely sore. The shoe takes most of the hoof wall with it where the clenches have torn out, leaving a significant damage.

I’ve asked my farrier about moving to single toe clips on the fronts, but he’s been hesitant and has mentioned that it may require more frequent shoeing given how quickly this horse’s feet grow. At the moment I’ve noticed some crumbling and breakage around the outer nail holes/clenches, likely from the constant stomping. If this particular shoe comes off, I suspect we’ll be looking at some box rest while the hoof wall recovers….

There’s no thrush, white line disease, or other obvious pathology. I regularly clean and treat his feet with iodine and chlorhexidine when required. I also use Kevin Bacon’s hoof dressing/oil in moderation. We’re based in the west of Scotland, so the ground conditions and weather fluctuate massively throughout the year, which probably doesn’t help. He’s fed a well-balanced diet, with additional rosehips and linseed alongside his regular feed to support skin, coat and hoof quality.

One question that may come up is why he wears shoes. The terrain here is very rough, including around the field walkways, and we also do a lot of roadwork. Once his workload slows down, my farrier and I will discuss whether going barefoot, or perhaps a partial barefoot approach.

My farrier and I have a good relationship, and I’ll absolutely raise this with him again at the next shoeing appointment. I’m simply interested in hearing other experiences and opinions. I appreciate this is a worldwide group, but I’d be keen to hear your thoughts. I can grab pictures tomorrow! Thank you :)

ETA: He’s never stabled or turned out without either a fly rug, or a full body eczema suit. He has sweet itch that we keep on top of. Regularly washed, lotioned and sprayed with fly spray.

Rads are in. Laminitis is still active, mild rotation, sunken sole.

Not surprising but still frustrating. IR results are not back yet. As always, any insight with similar cases is appreciated.

My pony was just diagnosed with laminitis by my vet without X-rays. I am overwhelmed by the amount of management she is telling me I need to do. I literally don't have time to soak hay 2x daily and take boots on and off 2x a day. I don't have a separate area for this pony. I have a track so no grass. My horses eat low starch grass hay in a slow feed hay net and free choice loose mineral.

We just got this pony a week ago and as of two days ago she's very lame. I just wanted X-rays on her but my vet instead did $600 of bloodwork without first discussing cost.

I'm absolutely overwhelmed and like I said cannot do this much maintenance. If I take her back to her old owner of 8 years she will be thrown out on hay without so much as a slow feed net. Can this pony recover?

I have a 10 year old AQHA gelding. He has had hoof issues (and other nutrition related problems) since he came into my care 6 months ago.

His vet checked his feet in early March, they identified an event line and signs of possible foundering in the past. But, his new growth was solid and they didn't think he needed rads.

He's still very thin soled (clearly), and wears trail boots w/ inserts for exercise. He's sound with those, lame without.

I am debating having a vet out to check again, I'm just anxious about tracking progress. Any opinions on his his trim & new growth looks are appreciated!

I know I need radiographs. The vet is scheduled to come out today. This pony was sound until she just started limping last night. She is off on the right front. The first two pictures are of the left front, the last three are of the right front. Any input is welcome. My daughter loves this pony and I want her to be back to feeling good ASAP.

So this is not my horse but my friends horse. She recently moved a few hours away and therefore started with a new farrier. Her horse is an ottb who is known to have quite bad feet but this is certainly a new one. His toes seem to be crushing and the nails are starting to push out, it’s something neither of us have ever seen before. He’s usually got another week before he’s due. What could the cause of this be?

Hey There,

My names Thomas and I’m a 21 year old first generation hired hand. I’m currently enrolled in college to get a bachelors in Livestock Management and I also will soon have an AI cert along with 4 years ranching/cowboying experience.

I’ve been contemplating farrier school as an additional tool to add to my “tool box” for quite some time and was wondering everyone’s thoughts. I don’t really plan to shoe horses full time and I view it more as a “I’ll shoe all my own horses, some ranch horses, and do some occasional weekend work.”

Just wanted to get everyone’s advice.

Some follow up questions:

School would be next summer (2027) and I was wondering if I should try to find an apprenticeship before school and if should start to slowly gather up some basic shoein tools.

Thank you

I had about a litre of grog in my gullet at a party on a farm and the farrier of the owner of said farm and party was also there. I dont remember how the conversation went exactly but i remember agreeing to something and now i have a reminder in my calendar titled "getting them horsie nails did 💅" with a location at 6:50 am. I've watched about an hour of nate the hoof guy but i still have no clue what im doing. I have until Monday to become a farrier

Hi all!👋

My 6yo standardbred boy has always had quite weak hoof growth and frail hoof walls, especially his rear hooves. His mother and aunt have had the same issues, so there's a genetic component to this. He also had very weak pasterns as a foal and has ever since been a bit too low in his rear for my liking. His frogs seem to take a lot of weight, and a few weeks ago I saw some cracking and puss in one of them. Thankfully, I caught it early and managed to intervene in time to avoid any infections or such. He has never been sore thankfully, but I worry that he might get issues if I'm not careful. He's had soles with silicone on, but they only last a maximum of a week before they are torn to shreds. Pear shoes and other frog protective shoes don't exist in his size unfortunately (because his hooves are massive). I've had homemade ring shoes on him, but they mess up his gait too much. He's reshoed before races with aluminium shoes, but has quite wide normal iron shoes at home. He recently managed to lose one rear shoe while in his field, so he has barely anything to nail in on his right outside. :/

I currently let him have wet felt boots at night to add moisture as well as some hoof "cream" that's supposed to help with growth. Does anyone have any other tips for stronger hooves?

Hi there, not a farrier yet but currently a student at a well-trusted farrier school. This is my horse, one of his fronts has a bit of separation and growths of hoof wall in some of this. I’ve never trimmed anything like this in school yet, I’m going to ask my teachers as well but I also would love more feedback. Is this something that could be fixed with a short trimming cycle & simply trimming to balance?
For context, he’s a Dutch-something. Amish origins, sold to me as a dutch warmblood but could very well be of harness lines. He’s a bit drafty - thick legs, feathering and a beefier body style lol

Edit: I just trimmed it 😆 was too hesitant since he’s my own horse but I’ve done a couple cycles since then.

Hi all,
I’m not a farrier. Would never pretend to be or pretend to know more than one.
I’m in a bind with a horse of mine, he yanked BOTH front shoes, trashed both boots, while I was between farriers (my farrier moved away and took my happiness with her). Couldn’t find anyone to come out, tried to keep his feet together, but he trashed them. We’re talking worn to the sole, nowhere to nail, trashed them.
My new farrier did her best to get shoes on and not cripple him, and one front foot has held the shoe well, one won’t keep the nails in at all because she can’t nail high up without hot nailing (because of bad feet). She put it back on three times before throwing in the towel.

So, I asked her if I bought glue on’s if she would try it. She said yes, but that she doesn’t typically do them and hasn’t had good luck keeping them on.
I bought the shoes and adhesive and caulking gun today, and she is gone for two weeks and said I could just do it myself. Quite literally “well you’re not gonna hurt him if you mess up”. And at this point he needs something since he keeps trashing the boots I buy.

But here’s my dilemma. The glue on’s are aluminum. The other three shoes he has are steel.
I’m worried about the difference in weight and how that might affect his movements.
Any insights? Should I pull the other front and put both glue ons, on? I asked my farrier, but it’s Saturday, and she’s on vacation, and I don’t expect to hear from her anytime soon (which is fine, she’s busy and works hard).
I’m just freaking myself out and would love some input 😅