Hot or Cold Shoeing???

[PaulandRuth]

Hi Folks,

Does anyone have any info of the pros & cons of either hot or cold shoeing.
A new farrier to our yard offers either option, but I would welcome any of your comments or experiences

Thanks

 

[Sarah]

hello!

I can see both pros and cons of both methods!

With hot shoeing, putting the hot shoe ont eh foot can show how well it will fit so the shoe can then be altered accordingly so that the fit should then be very good. It can worry the horse having the hot smoke going into his face if he isn't used to hot shoeing though.

Cold shoeing can be great fi the horse is worried by hot shoeing and is a good farrier and can see if the shoe will fit the horses foot well without using hte burn marks to guide him.

With a good farrier, i don't think there is too much difference between the quality of shoeing you get with either method, though if your horse has odd shaped feet it is easier to do a major shoe reshape when the shoe is hot rather than cold.

I don't know if that helped. Good luck with your new farrier, don't forget to check there is milk at the yard on teh day he comes for his cup of tea or coffee!

bye!

 

[ros]

When I first had horses years ago my farrier then didn't have a mobile hot forge, and all my horses were cold shod. I never had any problems. I think hot shoeing probably does make for a more exact fit, although as Sarah says, if your farrier is good there may not be that much difference. If your horse has bad feet, hot shoeing can sometimes dry the foot out a little, so cold shoeing may be preferable in that situation. The best person to advise you is, of course, your farrier.

 

[Miriam]

My past horses were all cold shoed due to my farrier not having mobile forge. They were never bothered. Rhi is hot shod as my old farrier was retiring and my new farrier does either. They do not last any longer than cold shoeing. I find that depends on how good the horses feet are. Rhi is not bothered by either cold or hot shod as when she got her first set of shoes she was cold shod.

 

[PaulandRuth]

Thanks for your replies, will opt for cold shoe and see how the horses get on.


Bye For Now

 

[KarlR]

I think the better fit that inevitably comes from hot shoing is worth it, and few horses in my experience are bothered by the smoke once they get used to it.

Unless the farrier is exceptional a cold shoe may not fit as well, and most people I've known have always gone for hot shoing.

 

[Wally]

There is some concern that the hot burning on may have some effect on drying out the foot. Some folk think that the tubules are quarterised which stops the uptake of water into the horn. This is not a problem. The foot is supplied from within and from outside moisture. The small matter of burning the bearing surface is of little consequence.

Hot shopeing is much easier for the farrier, shaping a cold shoe is HARD work. You can get a much more accurate fit with hot shoeing. Cold shoeing is not to be avioded, it is perfectly acceptable and makes no difference to the horse or the foot. Some horses simply won't accept hot shoeing.

 

[Cathy Reynolds]

I'd be more worried about the quality of the farrier - him or her(whoopee, we have a young woman farrier in Norfolk!), and how they treat the animals, than whether they hot or cold shoe.

 

[Wally]

Our farrier too is a lady! She's taken me on as an apprentice, a very old aprentice granted, she NEVER loses her rag with a horse and will treat each animal individually, taking into account his or her personality,