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Veteran Farriers Share Advice On Clipping And Fitting Shoes
One of the highlights of the 2004 International Hoof-Care Summit was a panel discussion in which veteran farriers shared quick tips they had picked up during a lifetime of shoeing.
Fred Cleveland, the veteran farrier from Marshall, Va., offered some excellent 
advice on clipping during the panel. Here are a couple of clipping tips from the veteran of more than 45 years of shoeing.
Hammer the base of a clip a couple of times with your hammer just to bend it in slightly. After laying the shoe on the foot, take the rasp and with your finger, mark where you are going to rasp a straight cut for the clip.
Remove whatever material is needed and then blend the clip into the side of the foot with your rasp. Next, hammer the clip up against the foot using a clinch block on the base of the shoe next to the clip. By doing this, you will remove a large amount of potential shock from the hoof.
When replacing a shoe with a toe clip, place the shoe on the foot where you want it before you clip the shoe. Mark the shoe where the notch from the previous clip is located in the hoof so that you’ll know exactly where you want to draw the clip. Center punch the mark and draw the clip so that you can place it in the notch from the previous clip.
Another Virginia farrier, Danny Ward, offered advice on fitting shoes during the panel. The member of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame and owner of the Danny Ward Horseshoeing School in Martinvsillle, said you can’t always fit by the book.
“Actual shoe fit should depend on the specific conditionals required of the foot. By the textbook, a wider heel hit and appropriate length would be proper, but good support and length don’t always hold on shoes,” said Ward.
“If a horse is to be turned out, the shoe should be tight for both width and length. Out in a pasture, many lost shoes are simply not fitted close enough. Most horses will have their head down when grazing. This makes the hind feet extend forward more than if their head were up. This often results in lost front shoes.”
Ward also warned against using hot fitting as a way of making up for sloppy trimming of a hoof.
“Try not to overdo the hot fitting of shoes and don’t abuse the technique just to get a flat foot. I’ve found myself doing this many times and it seems like the worse that I trim, the more I hot fit shoes and that’s not good workmanship. From time to time, you need to evaluate the mechanics that you use with your nippers and rasp,” said Ward.
“Whether to hot fit or not is always controversial. It’s probably not for every horse and depends on specific hoof conditions. It use properly, it can be a great tool for ding high spots and properly checking shoe it.”
We’ve included more than 100 tips from this panel discussion, as well as another during the 2005 Summit in this year’s Summit Show Program. Attendees will be able to take this advice home with them — a bonus to the Hoof-Care learning that is the backbone of the Summit experience. And there’s still time to sign up for the coming event.
