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TIL I was setting nails wrong for 10 years and a old school farrier called me out on it
I was out on a job last Tuesday up near Clarksville, working on a big draft cross that had some serious hoof wall issues. I've always set my nails a little high cause I thought it gave more grab and held better. This old timer, must have been 70 if he was a day, pulls up to the farm to check on his own horse and just watches me for a minute. He says 'you're gonna split that wall if you keep hammering up there, son' and I almost laughed it off. But then he showed me how he sets them way lower, right into the white line, and damned if the shoe didn't sit flatter and tighter. I've been fighting with quarter cracks and loose shoes for years and I thought it was just the horses, but it was me the whole time. Anyone else have a old horseman straight up change how you work with one simple thing?
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luna26117d ago
The white line is actually the correct place to nail for most shoeing, but you gotta be careful not to drive too far forward into the sensitive laminae. Old school farriers usually aim for that zone about 3/8 of an inch in from the outer wall edge. Nailing too high up the wall like you were doing can definitely set you up for quarters cracking, especially on a draft cross with weak walls.
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jamesc7917d ago
Question whether it's really that big of a deal. Unless you're cracking hooves left and right, sounds like a preference thing more than a life-changing revelation.
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