4
Shod a draft horse with square toes vs regular keg shoes last week and wow what a difference
I had this big Belgian draft horse come in, maybe 1800 pounds, and the owner wanted me to try square toe shoes instead of the usual kegs I always use. He said his old farrier swore by them for draft horses that work on pavement. I gotta say, I was skeptical because I've been using basic keg shoes for 15 years on all my drafts. But after I nailed those square toes on, the horse moved way better in the driveway. Less stumbling and he seemed to track straighter through the stride. The owner told me his last farrier charged $200 per set but the horse was lame in 4 weeks. I did these for $180 and the horse is sound after 6 days. Has anyone else tried square toes on heavy breeds and seen better movement or is it just me?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
blair99016d ago
Aw man, is it really that big of a deal though? I've stuck with regular kegs on my drafts for years and they move just fine, sounds like that horse might have had a different issue altogether. I'd want to see if the movement holds up after a full month of work before I start switching all my go-to shoes over.
2
sandragrant16d ago
Ngl, you make a really good point here. I've seen plenty of horses that just didn't click with a certain shoe right away, and it had nothing to do with the kegs themselves. Sometimes it's just a bad trim day or the horse is sore somewhere else that month. It's rough to watch folks jump on a new product without giving it a real trial period. Your approach of waiting a month before making a call is smart and honestly, more people should do that before spending money on a full barn switch.
1
@sandragrant nailed it about waiting a full month before making a call. I'd probably fall on my face if I tried switching all my shoes that fast - my draft horse would probably trip over a pebble and blame me for it. The square toes sound like a solid experiment but you'll know better after some real miles on pavement. I've got to laugh at my own stubborn habits, still using the same basic kegs I started with a decade ago. Might just be a case of what works for one horse not working for another.
0