If Drummond, Wis., farrier Roy Bloom is at a clinic, it’s a good bet that tools are going to come up. After all, the Hall Of Fame farrier and American Association of Professional Farriers/Canadian Association of Professional Farriers treasurer has built a reputation as a superior toolmaker.

At the March 20 clinic at the Duggan Farrier Supplies/Minnesota Horseshoeing School in Ramsey, Minn., the owner of Bloom Forge Tools shared some quick tool tips with those in the audience. Here are several of these:

Sharpening Your Nippers

Nippers are some of the most misunderstood tools in your shoeing box because of how they should work, according to Bloom.

“It’s extremely important that when holding nippers up toward light, you should see a slight gap between the two blades because there are two angles. They don’t match when they come together.”

For clear evidence that your nippers are working properly, Bloom says to use a business card. Place the card between the blades by a corner, holding the nippers vertically. Close the nippers so that the card stands vertically as well. After squeezing the reins, the card should jump straight up after the cut, indicating the nippers’ cutting edges match.

However, if the card leans one way or the other, then you need to adjust them.