Shoutout to the old timer who showed me a better way to pull shoes

I been shoeing for about 5 years and always used the same method my first mentor taught me for pulling front shoes. Last month I was at a barn in Enumclaw and this old farrier with a beat up apron watched me struggle on a tough draft cross. He walked over and showed me a different angle with the pull-offs that made it come off in one piece no prying. I was skeptical cause his way looked slower but it actually saved me time and the horse stood way calmer. Anybody else had a random tip from a stranger that totally changed your routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.uma22d ago

Read somewhere that twisting the pull-offs is old-school knowledge almost lost now.

brian_hart20d ago

My farrier told me the SAME thing after I watched him twist a set of pull-offs off a tricky OTTB in under 2 minutes flat, @knight.uma. He said once you get the feel for that rotation it saves the hoof wall and your hands big time.

quinnperry22d ago

Got a buddy who'd been pulling shoes the hard way for ten years until some old timer at a clinic showed him to twist the pull-offs instead of prying straight out. He said it cut his time in half and the horses quit flinching on him.

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