While many shoers work on horses in cross-ties, David Farmilo prefers a simple shoeing bay. Of course, that means you’ve got to convince horse owners to invest in an inexpensive shoeing facility.

A farrier from Oakbank, Australia, Farmilo is convinced that using a shoeing bay can make your footcare work much easier. The simple setup also pays off for owners and trainers by providing a place to handle health care, dentistry, washing and grooming chores.

A speaker at the recent International Hoof-Care Summit, Farmilo’s shoeing bay is easy to construct either outside or in a barn and makes working with any size horse or pony easier and safer. All an owner needs is a concrete slab, two 18-foot lengths of 2 1/2-inch diameter galvanized pipe, four base plates and four Dynabolt sleeve anchors.

The 2-inch diameter galvanized pipe offers strength and stability. Using galvanized elbows or a pipe bender eliminates bolts or seams that can snag either the horse or farrier.

Bolting the flanges to the floor, rather than setting the pipe in the concrete, allows owners to remove the pipes to increase space for demonstrations, discussion groups or other needs.

Bolting rubber or canvas conveyor belt material to the floor with the Dynabolt sleeve anchors helps keep an agitated horse from slipping. Deadening the sound of…