Punching a horseshoe nail hole that is clean so the nail fits tight and is safe for the horse is an art that must be perfected to be useful and practical. The hole must be positioned over the outside of the white line to be safe. The hole should have pitch to match the angle of the hoof wall. The nail must fit tightly. The hole should be punched parallel to the inner edge of the shoe.

 The stamp should be made of hot work steel such as H13 or S7. It can have a welded handle or a wood handle. After welding with a multi-purpose rod designed for joining dissimilar metals, the weld should be heated in the forge and allowed to cool slowly in the air with nothing touching it. The head should be the shape of the nail head. The pritchel and fuller should be made of similar material as the stamp.

 The shoe must be properly positioned on the anvil when stamping. The line of sight is most important. The shoe and stamp should be positioned so you can see down the inside of the tool and form the nail hole parallel to the inside edge at the distance desired. For a normal fit on an average wall width this should be near the middle of the stock. The stamp should be held perpendicular to the shoe. Only the pritchel should have pitch the same as the angle of the hoof wall.

 A good exercise to develop speed (Remember – skill equals accuracy plus speed) is to turn a piece of stock into a circle. Punch nail holes all around it about ¾ of an inch apart. Stamp 1/3 of the holes in the center of the web, 1/3 close to the inside edge, and 1/3 of the holes close to the outside edge. Start by punching one hole in one heat. Progress to where you can punch at least three holes in one heat with out damaging your punches. The steel should be at an orange color for stamping and a dull red or black for pritcheling.

 The stamp should be driven in about ¾ of the way through the stock. You should feel the stamp bottom out and stop before you rivet it into the shoe. After you hit the stamp you should remove it each time to prevent the tip from becoming soft. The shape of the top of the holes should be uniform. Eventually, you should be able to hit the stamp with a few quick blows before you remove it and are ready for pritcheling.

 The stamp is shaped differently depending on the thickness of the stock. The goal is a perfect nail head fit. The nail head should fit tight with about a 1/16 projecting from the ground surface of the shoe. The nail should have pitch and should have a push tight fit in the hole so that when the shoe is turned over the nail won’t fall out.

 The pritchel should be tapered to its end where it is slightly larger than a cross-section of the shank of the nail. The end of the pritchel should be slightly larger than the point of the stamp. The end of the pritchel should be upset slightly or mushroomed. The mushroom tip will punch or shear the burr or chad from the bottom of the nail hole. This will form a cleaner hole that won’t close when the shoe is turned over and hammered flat.

 A pritchel that is too pointed will push through the hole making it necessary to back punch the hole before a nail will fit in it properly. The shoe making pritchel should be driven in with pitch meaning it is held at the same angle as the hoof wall at that point.

A cold pritchel made from spring steel, such as is found in car springs and dump rake teeth, should be used to clean out nail holes after they are punched or after cold shoe shaping distorts the nail holes. This pritchel should be pointed and not mushroomed. Only use the shoemaking pritchel for hot work as it may break if used in a cold shoe.

 Punching uniform nail holes that fit horseshoe nails snugly and are safe for the horse is a skill all farriers should endeavor to master.

What value is farrier certification? If the horse owning public doesn’t know what it is, how difficult it is to do the accurate work necessary to obtain it, and the value it has for their horse(s) – it has little value. If it becomes nothing more than a fraternity initiation which includes hazing, it has no value.

 There is no argument about the merit of the idea. It could really help the new horse owner determine if a farrier is qualified. Most important, it could assure that a horse is humanely trimmed and shod. It could be a valuable way to promote horse welfare.

 The public needs to be sold on the value of farrier certification. This requires education. Horse owners must understand how hard it is to accurately trim and shoe a horse and what an accomplishment it is to have passed a credible certification exam.

 Certification should motivate a farrier to improve his or her knowledge and craftsmanship. If certification fails to do this, it has little value. How the candidate is treated – with courtesy and respect – as opposed to augmentation and abusive intimidation – makes all the difference in how the process is viewed by farriers and non-farriers.  

 AFA certification could be more effective

Although the American Farriers Association has the most credible exams of any American farrier certifying organization, the AFA published standards are not consistently followed. I have observed some testers that apparently made up their own standards, rather than use those in the AFA Certification Guide. A few have used the certification process to intimidate and even discourage candidates from taking further exams. 

 I have been told that American certification exams are considered jokes in Europe. I have observed that they have little respect in America. The current proliferation of certifying associations, especially those of the “natural” and barefoot people, would have even less credence today if voluntary AFA Certification had become the accepted standard. But, AFA Certification will not be universally respected until it is consistently administered by qualified examiners, following consistent standards.

 Licensing is not an acceptable alternative.

Then why not license farriers? If the testing procedure can’t be administered with any more class and credibility than is demonstrated by some AFA Chapters and examiners and testers at present, licensing exams patterned after AFA Certification would have little value. In fact, it would only create more cronyism and bad feelings as well as put in place an intrusive and ineffective bureaucracy.

 Some argue that licensing could be a valuable tool to protect horses and unknowing horse owners from charlatans. This could be true, if the current voluntary certification examination was consistently administered and agreed upon as the standard to measure by. But, anyone familiar with the independent nature of farriers should also know that this may be an impossible dream.

 Since licensing agencies would likely use current AFA Certification exams as a model, the problems with the system must be corrected before licensing could ever be a respected and viable option for our fractionated industry.

 Certification candidates must be prepared.

Candidates must be advised to be adequately prepared for the examination. A good exam is difficult. I believe the current AFA exams are good skill tests. However, I have observed that many candidates come to the exams unprepared. They are unaware of or unwilling to put in the hours of practice and study necessary to do a qualifying job.

 After the exam, the examiner needs to explain and demonstrate corrections of any deficiencies that caused the candidates to fail so that he or she knows what to work on to be better prepared for the next try to pass the exam. 

 Horseshoeing schools should help students prepare by requiring difficult exams at the end of each class that serve as a preview of respected certification requirements. Schools should offer exam preparation (called revision courses in the UK) short courses for farrier school graduates and practicing farriers.

 Exam standards should be for the benefit of the horse and the owner.

Specified standards for shoe configuration and fit should be for the benefit of the individual horse, not (as they are now) structured such that a horse may have to be reshod before returning to its work after the exam. Such a necessity has the effect of killing the credibility of the exam in the eyes of the horse owning public.

 British Worshipful Company of Farrier examinees are told to shoe the horse with shoes suitable for specified working conditions. The candidate must take into account the individual horse’s conformation and use. This makes more sense than the current AFA standards for shoe fit which only consider shoeing the foot.

 Examiners should follow the specifications in the published rulebook.

Exams should be consistent from place to place and follow the specifications in the rule book. The whole event should be conducted in a professional manner. Style should not be penalized, only function. There are many styles or ways of accomplishing the same goal – for example, the forming of clips. Time limits should be strictly adhered to.

 The full range of the score sheet should be used. If a procedure couldn’t have been done better, it should receive a top score. If it is unacceptable, it should receive a bottom score. A Yes or No indicating the specified standard has or has not been met appears to work better than arbitrary numbers assigned to denote degrees of achievement for a skill test.

 Certification must be current. It is of no value to the public unless those that are certified can consistently do the job to a standard. Farriers should be retested every few years by their peers to prove their ability to their clients as well as themselves.

 Examiners must be qualified and respected practitioners.

Examiners should be requalified every few years at a mandatory meeting where standards are reviewed. If examiners fail the skill test, then they should be suspended until they can do it. Only a few persons who can do the job, and score it to the same agreed upon standard, should be approved examiners – perhaps two in each region of the country.

 There should be no need (as there is now) for candidates to carefully choose examiners and regional association hosts – as some areas have gotten the reputation to be avoided due to unqualified and unprofessional testers. For example, in at least one case, a person who (by his own admission) had barely passed the AFA Journeyman exam the previous week was allowed to be a tester with authority to pass or fail a candidate the following week.

 Probationary examiners should be required to observe for a period of time, score a test with supervision, and then be approved by two other qualified examiners, when he or she is confident in making consistent, rapid and accurate decisions. Testers should become probationary examiners and not be responsible for scoring decisions independent of the examiners as happens in some cases now.

 Approved examiners should be equivalent in status and authority to association officers. Members who have gone to the trouble of becoming certified should be proud of having proved to a respected person(s) in the industry that they are competent.

 Examiners are volunteers. They should at least be paid a minimum per diem and travel expenses from the exam fees. Liquor should not be part of their expenses as it has been at some certifications and competitions.

 We need to correct the deficiencies in the system.

Certifications should start on time and be held in a suitable place. Taking a written test in a grass field, using untrained horses, and working in an unsafe environment is unacceptable. Examinees should be treated with courtesy and respect – not intimidated or hazed as has been done at some certifications.

 The exam should be between the examiner and the examinee. All other unauthorized persons should be excluded from the working area.

 After the exam, the examiner should demonstrate and then score the test for the examinees to show it can be done to the standard within the time limit and then discuss it. This would give added value to the process.

 The AFA began certification in 1979 – 31 years ago. Every client survey since has shown that the decision to hire a farrier is not based on skill certification, rather on character. Before we can convince others that our farrier certification is valuable, we must correct its deficiencies and believe in it ourselves.

The anvil is one of the most important tools used by the farrier. Chances are you will only choose your anvil once. Its choice should be a matter of study as it will affect your work as much as any other tool.  Its use and location should determine your selection.

 Types, Makes, and Weights of Anvils.

Anvil design is different depending on the use of the tool. The earliest anvils were flat blocks of iron without a horn. A London pattern blacksmith anvil has a round horn and a thick heel. A Continental pattern anvil has a round horn and a pointed heel. A farrier’s anvil is lighter, has a swelled horn, and a longer thinner heel than a blacksmith’s anvil. In addition, the farrier’s anvil may have two pritchel holes or a pritcheling groove and a clip horn.

 Some of the best farrier anvils were made a hundred years ago. Many had a wrought iron base and a tool steel face. This was thought to provide more hammer rebound. Popular makes were Hay-Budden, Trenton, Columbia, and Peter Wright from England. Older anvils may be beat up and not possess sharp edges. However, the edges can be built up with a special welding rod and made sharp by grinding down.

 There are several good anvil makers in America. Most modern anvils are cast in one piece from high quality alloy steel. Popular American makes of anvils are NC Tool, Cliff Carroll, Delta Future, JHM, Emerson and Centaur. Others are AP, GE, Multi-Product, Southern Steel, and Mankel. Brooks anvils come from England and Kohlswa from Sweden. There are several anvil makers on the Continent in Europe. The Delta Future anvil is made of cast steel joined to a cast aluminum base.  

 Shop anvils should be heavy and mounted on a heavy base such as a stump so they are stationary. A heavy anvil will provide a better rebound for your hammer, and a wider face makes it easier to hold the work. A heavier anvil is required when a sledge hammer is to be used. Weights of 150 to 250 pounds are common for shop anvils.

 Farrier anvils should be portable and most are used on a portable stand. They often have turning cams to make cold shaping easier. The heel is tapered and thin again to allow ease in cold shaping. Weights of 70 to 100 pounds are common for portable farrier anvils.

 Position and Height of Anvils.

The curvature of the pointed horn makes it necessary to position the anvil with the horn opposite of the hammer hand so a person can stand in one place with the off side of the horn perpendicular to the hammer handle.

The height of the anvil is determined by the type of work done. In some countries it’s customary to work with the anvil on the ground. Most people prefer to work with the anvil about waist high. For heavy work, such as draft horse shoes, and when using a sledge hammer, the anvil should be lower. A good rule for most work is about knuckle high when your arms hang at your sides, and a little lower for heavy work. Having the anvil too high will cause elbow pain, too low will cause back pain.

 The anvil should be mounted on a solid stand. A metal stand with four legs works okay on a level floor but is unsatisfactory on uneven ground. A three-legged stand works best on unlevel ground. The third leg should be under the horn. A log stand is too heavy to be easily potable and works best in a shop. There should be nothing under the anvil horn to allow room for the tongs to work. A separate tool stand works best when placed under the anvil heel. When the tool stand and anvil are together, the vibration from the anvil may cause the tools to fall off the stand. A vise can be mounted on a separate stand, mounted to the truck, or to a work bench.

 Stance and Safety at the Anvil.

When standing at the anvil your weight should be evenly distributed over your feet and your knees slightly bent. Your entire arm and body should be used when swinging the hammer.

 Always wear an apron at the anvil as a hot piece of metal could slip from the tongs and burn through clothing quickly. Wear cotton clothing. Protect your hearing with ear plugs. Anvils give off enough decibels to permanently damage your hearing. Always wear safety glasses when working at the anvil. Round the edges of your hammer faces and tools struck with the hammer to prevent chipping. Hit the anvil flat to avoid marking the anvil face or chipping the hammer.

 How to Use the Parts of the Anvil.

Many farriers do not use the anvil horn to advantage. Use of the horn requires the shoe be hot and the tongs be in the right position. All shoe shaping should start with the toe. A small space should be between the horn and the shoe. The shoe should be rotated as the toe is formed. The tongs are used to pull the shoe against the horn when straightening a branch. The horn acts as a fulcrum when making shoe bends.

 The heel is used mostly for flattening the quarters when cold fitting hind shoes and must be narrow with have rounded edges. Rotate the shoe so that the toe is as close to the corner as possible.

 The hardy hole or turning cams can be used to turn in the heels or when making other major alterations cold. Holding the shoe in the proper place prevents shock and injuries to the hand.

 The clip horn is sometimes used as an aid in making clips. Many farriers use the edge of the anvil to start and draw clips.

 The pritchel hole(s) are used to make or clean out nail holes. A groove in the anvil face is useful for opening or pritcheling out holes when there are clips on the shoe.

 Anvil Substitutes.

A piece of railroad track iron has been used as an anvil substitute. It is difficult to get a shoe level on one of these.

 A stall jack is a small portable anvil used to shape racing plates in a stall or shed row. It is usually driven into the ground after the foot is picked up so that the shoe can be shaped at the horse. It is unsatisfactory for shaping heavy shoes.

A Pocket Anvil is a tool that uses leverage to shape shoes instead of a hammer. It is convenient, especially when packing into the wilderness, but it is difficult to get a flat shoe without a hammer and an anvil or leveling block.

 Selection of an anvil to work on is one of the most important decisions you will make as you start in the farrier business. Consider what you will use it for, where you will use it, and the features that you consider the most important before purchase.

“Doug, I attended your Horse Expo seminar this past March in Lincoln and really enjoyed your lecture.  I never thought that I would have to bring out notes from what you talked about in such a short amount of time, but we ended up having a horse go lame on us this spring.  We saw some signs around Thanksgiving but the horse seemed to get worse recently.

“After some tests and x-ray’s, the vet diagnosed him with Navicular Disease.  The x-ray showed some history of deterioration and such, but the concern that I have is even though the x-ray indicates a historical problem we haven’t noticed it until recently.  We bought the horse a year ago and rode him quite a bit with no issues.  This brings me to the comment you made about those who may shave off too much of the heel.  We have had the hoofs trimmed twice.  I’m suspecting the trimming job.  Can you tell me what to look for again when looking at the heel?  We do have him on Bute which seems to help, and I think when he was shod he was better.”

Answer:  When shoeing for navicular disease, the most important thing is the alignment of the axis of the pastern with the axis of the distal phalanx or coffin bone.  The front of the upper one-third of the hoof should be parallel to the front of the pastern when viewed from the side.  Sometimes it is necessary to use a wedge pad in addition to the shoe to achieve this.  When these are in alignment, you will have the least amount of stress on the navicular bone.  For more information, see pages 558-566 in The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3).

On April 10th, I did a full-day large group clinic for the New Jersey Equine Veterinary Clinic — among the topics I presented was one on the “Barefoot Experiment,” and the response from veterinarians and farriers alike was very positive!  Of the several farriers who visited with me after the clinic about experiences they’ve had rehabilitating lame horses from these incorrect procedures, one farrier in particular said he had conducted a year-long experiment with two of his own horses.  Please see his “Comments ” added to this blog post.

The best way to tell the position of the Distal Phalanx, or P3, is to have a lateral/medial radiograph of the hoof.  Usually, the foot will have to be placed on a block to get the x-ray beam parallel to the base of the bone.

Without an x-ray, you can look at the slope of the upper one third of the hoof wall, just below the coronet.  If the wall is tightly adhered to P3, this will give you an accurate angle for the hoof wall and bone.  Ideally the angle of the base of the coffin bone is 5-10˚with the ground.  Ideally the angle of the dorsal front surface of P3 is parallel to the slope of the pastern.

You can also run your finger down the front of the pastern.  If your finger slides easily over the coronary band, the bone is in a normal position.  If your finger stops or falls into a crevice at the hair line, the bone has sunk within the hoof capsule.  Another indication that the bone has sunk, is the dropping of the sole.  If the sole is flat, that indicates the bone has sunk down due to a weakened or destroyed laminar attachment.  This is the case in foundered feet.

The best way to understand what is inside the horse’s hoof is to study the anatomy of the equine foot.  A good resource is The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3).  Until you have studied enough to know the foot backwards and forwards and can visualize what is located within the hoof, you should be dealing only with sound backyard horses and referring other cases needing more expertise to a qualified farrier.

It is interesting to see the students’ progress at our school.  At first, some are hesitant to even begin trimming the hoof.  With the sequential learning we provide at Butler Professional Farrier School, they each gain confidence as they learn to visualize the interior of the horse’s foot.  We just graduated eight students this week, and the work they did in their final exams showed their understanding of equine foot anatomy.

Hoof wall thicknesses vary. There is a very small margin for error. The farrier must pay close attention to selecting and driving each nail.  Not all nails are manufactured perfectly, and misshapen nails might not drive straight.

However, nail quicking isn’t the only kind of quicking that can affect a horse – he can also be quicked and become lame if his sole is trimmed too close.  There’s a great tendency for inexperienced farriers (and owners) to think that you get more of your money’s worth by trimming more so you don’t have to trim so often.  This  may also happen to a pet horse or harness racehorse when people think a shorter foot helps the horse move faster.  Doing this doesn’t leave enough protection for the horse’s foot – he may break over easier, but he won’t move as well.

The thinned sole does not offer enough protection for the hoof’s more sensitive inner structures, and lameness is the result.  The worst problem of quicking from trimming too short is abscessing, whether from an infected deep cut or from a bruise.  A quicked horse can bruise the sensitive solar corium or the bone, especially in a rocky area, because his protection from the sole is greatly decreased.  The resulting abscess is usually infected with “Clostridia” bacteria, which produce gas that puts pressure on sensitive areas.

Treating a quicked horse depends on the extent of the injury.  If it’s severe, call your veterinarian.  For minor wounds, treat conservatively.  If he’s bleeding, use a disinfectant and cover it with duct tape and a clean towel, gauze or a disposable diaper to keep more infection from getting in.  When it begins to heal, cover it with a pad.

If you cover a bleeding wound without treating it, it will often abscess.  If it does abscess, it’s important to have a professional open up an abscess to drain.  Then you can use Epsom salts paste or a 20% ichthammol black salve to draw the infection and swelling out of a minor abscess.

A pad is probably the best remedy to protect the tender foot until the horse grows more sole for protection.  But take the pads off as soon as you can so the horse doesn’t get dependent upon them.  You can give him Bute for a few days so he is comfortable enough to eat and move around, but the concern then is that because he doesn’t hurt as much, he may cause more damage to the thin sole.

You can also put turpentine or Venice turpentine on the normal or quicked sole to toughen it, but be careful not to spill it on skin because it will burn.

I believe the NC Tool hoof knife is the best value for the money.  They come sharp and are easy to keep sharp.  And they are relatively inexpensive to replace.  I think the best hoof knives in the market are Ringel knives.  I use them in my work, for they are made of high quality steel.  They are concave ground and will last for many years.  You have to sharpen them less than most knives.  They are solidly built and don’t come loose from the handles.  I like the custom made bone handles the best.  To save your knife, use a loop knife on the frog only.  You can use half-round nippers for dry frogs and soles to preserve your sharp knife.  I sharpen my knife occasionally with a chain saw file and dress them daily with a diamond hone.

This question and its answer depends upon your experience, length of time in practice, how many clients you currently have, status of your local economy, competition, etc.   Do you provide perceivable value for your clients?  How will you communicate this change — will you call and tell them, send them a letter,  postcard or email, or do you have a creative method of your own?  Even your choice of communication can make a difference.

Many factors enter into the decision and your accompanying plan.

The end of a fiscal year is a good time to announce price increases for the new year.  Another good time is when you become extremely busy, such as in the springtime or beginning of summer.

In your communication with your clients, clearly explain your intentions.   Enumerate the values you provide.  When distance is involved to reach your clients, perhaps an increase in your travel charge is one way to help defray expenses that eat into your profit.

See our next blog for additional ways to provide value to your customers and their equine partners.

Good luck!

Answer: You are not required to read all the pages before you arrive.

You’ll find after enrolling and completing the application process that a copy of P3 will be sent to you, and you are at liberty to use your copy to read and study as you wish. There is a homework assignment on five chapters to turn in the first day of class. Many students have studied considerable parts of the book before coming, and doing that does help you “hit the ground running” when you get here.

Ask yourself, “Would I rather study with instructors who wrote the book or an instructor who just read the book [and perhaps only part of it]?” At Butler Professional Farrier School, we teach you specific ways to apply “P3″ to YOUR needs.

You have complete information under one cover, written in an easy-to-read and understand style. Difficult words are defined for you, and there is a glossary of horse terms. It summarizes early blacksmithing and horseshoeing books. It is indexed, encyclopedic and systematic to help you find what you need. This highly illustrated book is where you learn about horses — not just horse’s feet. It explains the why as well as the how to do horseshoeing and to make a living doing it.

Our system enables you to subconsciously learn correct principles you will apply throughout your professional farrier career. You will not be required to read chapters, as you would in a college course, before the lecture. Rather you’ll be introduced to the subject matter first, and you’ll find your homework then relates to topics you’re already familiar with and have even applied immediately after the lecture time in a hands-on setting with live horses.

Our students report their satisfaction with our method of teaching. They like knowing what they can expect each day. Success, of course, depends on how much individual students put into the learning process.

Interestingly, Business Coach, Alan Weiss, states, “If you read just 25 pages of a 700-page book and simply read it five days a week, you will finish it in about 6 weeks”! So, for those of you who apply early, you will have plenty of time to read the whole book if you want to before you arrive!

We’ve even had people, who bought P3 when it was first published, report they’ve read the whole book as much as three times.

Answer: A hoof that is proportional to the horse’s body size allows for ideal distribution of body weight over the foot’s laminar surface. (Laminar surface refers to the area where the sensitive laminae, attached to the coffin bone, interlocks with the horny laminae at the hoof wall.) When the foot is proportional to body size, it prevents over-compression of the sensitive and bony structures and allows the hoof to expand normally under movement.

Hoof size is influenced by heredity, management and nutrition. Horses fed an optimum diet have an 80% increase in hoof-sole-border area size compared to those fed a limited diet.

Not all feet are created the same — thus horse foot care must be based on each individual horse’s foot conformation and anatomy. One size does not fit all.