Shoeing With Happy Hoofwear ™

Shoeing with Happy Hoofwear™ horse shoes is very similar to shoeing with steel shoes. As with any shoeing job, the most important thing is to trim the foot in balance for that particular horse’s conformation, occupation, and/or movement or lameness issues. No shoe can overcome the problems created by trimming the foot incorrectly. The American Farrier’s Association produces a booklet titled “Farrier Certification Program”. It is a written guideline for trimming feet, fitting shoes, nailing, and clinching. We recommend that farriers follow these guidelines when using Happy Hoofwear™ shoes. For a copy of these guidelines, contact the AFA at 1-877-268-4505 or you can go to its website at www.NoFootNoHorse.org. The following How-To Guideline may appear rather simple. This is because the application of Happy Hoofwear™ shoes is very easy and simple. Any competent farrier should have no problems.

Preparation

Remove the old shoe, just as you normally would.

Trim the foot just as you would for a steel shoe.

Nailing the shoe without pre-drilling

This picture shows a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe in size 00 in the Regular style shoe in Powerful Pink, which fits this horse’s foot very well. Nail the shoes just as you would a steel shoe. A #5 city head nail or a #5 combo works very well too. Any brand of #5 nail works well, as do E head #55 or 60. Some farriers prefer to drill a pilot hole for each nail using a 1/8” drill bit, while other farriers simply drive the nail through. Either method works very well. However, if you choose to drive the nail through the shoe without pre-drilling, remember to hold the nail a little straighter than normal. The nail does not know if it is in hoof wall or a polyurethane shoe, so the steeper pitch is necessary for the nail to exit the hoof wall at the normal depth. It is faster if you just drive the nails, but it will take a little practice to change an old nailing habit.

Here at Happy Hoofwear™ we have chosen not to pre-drill the nail holes. One of the advantages of our shoe is that you, the farrier, can make the call on where to place each nail, as well as how many nails you wish to use. With no forge work and no extra time required, nails can be custom placed, even at the center of the toe, for each individual foot. Nails can be driven fine, normal, or coarse, depending on the hoof wall you are dealing with for the horse you are shoeing. For subsequent resets, the same nail holes can be reused, or nails can be driven in new positions.

Nailing the shoe with Pre-drilling

Some farriers prefer to pre-drill a pilot hole for each nail. A 1/8” inch drill bit works well for this. It is large enough so that the nail tip has easy access to the hoof wall, and yet it keeps the nail shank snug within the body of the shoe allowing for solid clinching. In this photograph a drill press is being used.

Here is another method of pre-drilling the nail holes. Again, a 1/8” bit is being used. The shoe can be rested on a piece of wood or rubber matting for support, or simply held by hand as you drill. Please note that the drill is being held at an angle to the shoe. See the next photograph as to why we did it this way.

When using a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe, not only can the farrier chose nail placement appropriate to the individual foot being worked on, but if you pre-drill using a hand held drill, the nail holes can be pitched to match the slope of the hoof wall, just as is done when making a shoe by hand. This is a great advantage for horses with thin, shelly walls or with a wide, flat, flaring hoof. In this manner, using a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe offers the advantages of handmade, but with no forge work and only two minutes of time.

As you can see in this picture, the toe clip must be cut in using either hoof nippers and/or a hoof knife. Do not attempt to burn the clips in by heating the shoes as the material is not designed for heating. Although visually it may look a bit rough initially, as you can see in later photos, everything blends in once the foot has been finished. Nails are wrung off or folded over and blocked, just as you would with a steel shoe.

If the shoe is too wide, simply nip the excess shoe off, leaving room for heel expansion and growth.

Dress up the nipper marks with a light rasping.

Clinch just as you would with a steel shoe.

These photographs show the correct fit of the shoe at the heels, as well as both medial and lateral quarters. These feet have been finished, nails clinched, hoof wall dressed, nail holes filled with putty, and a hoof dressing applied.

Ready to ride!

BEFORE YOU LEAVE…

Our farrier consultants thought it would be helpful to share a couple of things that are special about Happy Hoofwear™ shoes, because they are made of polyurethane.

1. Some farriers want to cut out or remove the bar of a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe. Do not do this!

   When using steel shoes and rim pads it is standard procedure to rivet the heels of the rim pad to the heels of the shoe. If this is not done, then as the heels of the foot expand and contract, the rim pad from the heel nails back is gradually pushed out from underneath the hoof wall. A week after shoeing, both medial and lateral heels will have the rim pads sticking out and no longer supporting the foot. If you cut out the bar on a polyurethane Happy Hoofwear™ shoe, the same thing will happen.

   One of the advantages of a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe is that it is both strong and flexible. This allows it to absorb much of the impact of striking the ground rather than passing the concussion on to the bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments of the foot and leg, while at the same time being resistant to wear. It also means that if you cut out the supportive structure of the bar, then from the heel nails back, the shoe will gradually flex outward, migrating out from underneath the heels of the foot. As you can well imagine, the overall balance of the hoof and leg will be severely compromised if you make this mistake.

2. The second thing to be aware of is leaving a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe on too long. When a steel shoe is left on too long clinches lift up, nails loosen up, and the hoof wall overgrows the shoe. This typically results in compromising the hoof wall at the heels and the development of corns; often weeping corns.

   Left on too long, (typically a 4 – 6 week shoeing interval is normal), a Happy Hoofwear™ shoe does not cause bruising or corns nor does it damage the hoof wall at the heels. However, as the wall grows longer and away from the sole, the inside web of the shoe will gradually flex upward towards the now recessed sole. Eventually enough torque will be placed upon the nails to break out one or both quarters of the foot. If this happens, simply trim the foot and reset the shoe. Typically, by the time this happens, the foot is so long that simply pulling the shoe and doing a routine trim and reset will cut out the damaged hoof wall and balance will be restored.

   With Happy Hoofwear™ shoes expect to initially reduce your normal reset interval by several days to a couple of weeks. These shoes allow for increased blood flow and greater expansion through the quarters and heels of the foot, very similar to pulling shoes and allowing a horse to go barefoot. These two factors result in a faster rate of growth. It is quite common when a horse first begins to wear Happy Hoofwear™ shoes that by the end of the first or second shoeing, the quarters and heels have opened up so much that new, larger shoes are required, even though the first pair is not worn out. This is a very good “problem” to have!

   Thanks for taking the time to read our SHOEING WITH HAPPY HOOFWEAR™ summary. Our Farrier consultants and the Happy Hoofwear™ Team want you to have a successful shoeing experience with our shoes. While we know not every shoe is for every horse, we think our shoes are a great option for many farriers, horses and owners.