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Just realized I was wrong about using a rasp on hot shoes
Talked to a farrier from Kentucky at the state fair. He said cooling them in water first makes the steel less likely to tear. Tried it on three horses this week, way cleaner finish. Anyone else cool shoes before rasping?
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lewis.finley6mo ago
My old mentor always rasped them hot to shape the foot better.
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robins836mo ago
Wait, rasping hot? That's for shaping the shoe itself on the anvil. You rasp the hoof cold after the shoe's on to level it.
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mason_lopez4mo ago
Jump right in and say that this whole thing reminds me of how people approach woodworking too. Some guys swear by planing a board dead flat before gluing it up, while others just rough cut it and let the glue and clamps do the work. It's the same argument over control versus speed, and both sides have valid points depending on the situation. At the end of the day, a good farrier knows his horse and his steel, so whatever gets the job done safely is the right call.
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jasonallen6mo ago
That Kentucky trick makes sense for the steel, but what about the hoof itself? Cooling a hot shoe in water creates a ton of steam right at the foot. On a damp day, or with a horse that's already a bit nervous about the smoke, that sudden cloud of steam can make them jumpy. A friend had a horse plant him into the wall over it. Maybe it's a trade-off between a cleaner rasp job and keeping the horse totally calm.
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