Not every horse will benefit from steel or aluminum shoes. When a shoe is needed, sometimes creativity in materials is key. There are a plethora of options when it comes to modern materials, many of which can be used in conjunction with each other to offer the most structure or support.
Woodland, Calif., farrier Shane Westman’s time at the University of California-Davis allowed him to think outside the box and collaborate on alternative ways to keep horses sound.
“The basics never leave, but at the hospital I had the opportunity to use a lot of materials,” Westman told attendees at the 2025 International Hoof-Care Summit. “I picked up tips from other farriers who worked in similar settings and innovated on my own a little bit.”
ABS Plastic
One cost-effective and thermoformable option is ABS plastic.
“It has a high impact strength and is abrasion and strain resistant,” he says. “I made pads for draft horses out of ABS plastic, and it held up quite well. So it’s durable, and there’s low moisture absorption, which is beneficial in most environments, especially if we’re trying to protect the bottom of the foot.”
Silicone impression material is used to help this palmar and medial extension fit properly. Shane Westman
Some shoes aren’t available on the market, so Westman often gets creative. On this foal’s palmar and medial extensions shaped with a bandsaw, screws were used to supplement glue (Figure 5). Holes in the bottom of the shoe were also used to help keep impression material in place.
In another situation, Westman created a boot with open areas to treat keratoma surgery sites. This worked until the horse could be transitioned to an ABS plastic treatment plate.
Casting
According to Westman, casts are low-cost and easy to apply. There are two options: fiberglass, which is rigid with little flexibility, and polyester, which is lightweight and flexible.
Westman uses it to cast clogs for laminitic horses, avulsion injuries and white line disease cases. For avulsion injuries, especially ones in the gluing or nailing zone, casting can be a good alternative. As with composite adhesives, for a debrided area, casts can be used to add structure and stability. In this case of white line disease in Figure 7, Westman wrapped the hoof in a cast to give the ABS plastic wedge cuff something to attach to.
“I screwed into the casting material, and then we could pull the wedge cuffs off and treat the solar surface of the foot as well. I left a little vent at the top, and the cast carves well if you need to open an area after you’ve added structure,” he says.
Using these materials together offered a better solution than one alone would have provided. As new materials and techniques are continually developed and improved, getting familiar with what’s on the market can help farriers better serve the horse.
Gain more insight by reading "Creativity is Key When Working with Modern Materials" in the May/June 2025 issue of American Farriers Journal.
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