How to Pull a Bent or Loose Horse Shoe

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

 

 

How to Pull a Bent or Loose Shoe

Article and Photographs by Lynda Layne
August 2005 - Western Horseman

Use Three common household tools to easily remove that shoe.

It's sort of an equine Murphy's Law: At the most inopportune time, a horse loses or bends a shoe, It can happen miles from camp on a trail ride, or at a home paddock the day before a big show.

George Stark, Coos Bay, Oregon, a life long horseman who's spent 30 years as a farrier, says shoes get bent or loosened for many reasons. A common one is waiting too long between shoeings. The foot gets long and begins to grow over the side of the shoe. As a result, the hoof wall weakens, and the shoe works loose.

Riding in rocky surfaces also can be tough on shoes. George sometimes travels the rocky central Oregon to shoe ranch horses. "A horse will catch the heel of a shoe on a rock, " he says, "and that pries the shoe loose, just like a bottle opener."

Sometimes, the shoe comes off completely. But if it's just hanging on by a nail or two, a rider or handler must finish the job on the spot.

Horses that paw can get a shoe hooked on a wire fence, bending or loosening it. The wire works into the area above the shoe's heel, and when the horse pulls back his foot to get free, the shoe's stability is compromised.

Wintertime can be another curse to shod feet. George lived in a coastal area that has more than 60 inches of rain per year. Many horses spend most of their time outside in soggy pens. "The moisture takes a toll. " George explains, "By March or April, with some of these feet, it's like driving in a nail into a sponge."

Whatever the cause, if a shoe is bent or loose enough to interfere with a hoof's ability to land and leave the ground, the shoe needs to come off. Rarely can a farrier drop everything and drive right out to replace the shoe. That leaves the removal task to the horse owner, who must pull the shoe and protect the horse's foot until the farrier arrives. In some cases, that might be several days.

This can leave a horse owner wondering what to do. Many owners don't have farrier tools and aren't sure how to get a shoe off without them.

George believes all horse owners should have their farriers guide them in purchasing a pair of shoe-pullers, then give a lesson on how to pull a shoe in an emergency. But if that hasn't happened yet, George says, all's not lost. A loose or bent shoe can be removed using three common household tools: a flat-head screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and a hammer.

Once you've used them to remove a horseshoe, you can apply some ever-handy duct tape to protect the horse's foot until your farrier can replace the pulled shoe. If you're riding on the trail, George says the taped foot will "get you back to camp." If the tape starts to wear, the hoof can be rewrapped.

Taping the hoof can be a blessing for your horse, especially if he's tender-footed. In that case, George says, "You can take of your bandana, or cut off the pocket of your T-shirt, for padding under the tape." Cut any type of soft material on hand in the sole's shape. The padding doesn't have to extend up the hoof wall, but covers only the bottom of the foot.

For trail riders, all the repair equipment fits easily into saddlebags. For others, keeping these four items (including duct tape) in a toolbox in the horse trailer or barn will likely pay off someday.

Lynda Layne, who lives in the Pacific Northwest, has written for magazines since 1967.


George Stark

Raised in the horse business - his father was a trainer for Bing Crosby's racing stable from, 1937 to 1944 - George Stark has been official farrier at many prestigious West Coast A-circuit horse shows, including the Del Mar National. George also is an accomplished saddlemaker. Visit his Web site at www.starksaddlery.com

Remove the Shoe

1. Straighten the clinches, the nail ends that've been "clinched" or bent down on the hoof wall. Carefully place the flat-edge screwdriver under the lip of the clinch, then tap upward with the hammer, which generally makes shoe removal faster.

Don't fret if you cant' straighten every clinch all the way with the screwdriver. George tells his clients that in an emergency the important thing is to just remove the shoe. Most of the time, he explains, in the process of pulling a shoe, the clinch will straighten.

2. Pry the shoe away from the sole and in more than one place, so that each remaining nail head can be exposed enough to grip it with the pliers.

"First, get the screwdriver under the shoe. Don't wedge it into the sole, but rather out and up, and try to work the shoe loose," George advises.

Start at the heel area, opposite where the shoe's bent, pushing the screwdriver out and up to work the shoe away from the foot. Then, work the shoe away from the foot on the side where the shoe's bent.

3. Tap the shoe back against the sole with the hammer, which causes the nail head to protrude for better grip with the pliers.

4. Pull out each nail with the pliers. George says that some nails don't break free as easily as others, because the shoe might still be snugly in place on one side. If necessary, experiment with the pliers' positioning and degree of pull. Repeat these four steps as necessary, to remove all remaining nails.

Wrap the Hoof

1. To protect the foot, first wrap duct tape around the hoof edge. George says the tape shouldn't extend high up the wall, or cover the coronary band. Tape stays in place and does the job best if it's low.

2. After wrapping the hoof edge, apply tape to the sole, over the padding, if you're using that, as well.

3. Next, wrap tape around the hoof edge again, to secure all. Then press down all tape edges to smooth them.

INFO: 541-536-9503

For more information on Stark's Custom Saddles and Leatherwork's,
visit George's Web site at starksaddlery.com