Old timer told me I was burning nails doing it wrong for 2 years

Been shoeing horses for about 4 years now. A crusty old farrier named Red watched me work on a draft horse at a clinic in Kentucky last spring. He said I was clinching too tight and creating hot spots right at the nail head. I was proud of my tight clinches but he showed me how the nail was pinching the hoof wall. Changed my angle to a shallower drive and stopped hammering the nail so hard near the end. First three horses I tried it on had way less cracking and the shoes held just as good. Has anyone else had to unlearn something they thought was right just because it looked neat?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.robert5d ago

Have you found a better way to keep clinches from loosening up sooner?

dianagreen4d ago

Used to swear by lock washers for everything, but switching to Nord-Lock washers and preloading them right changed my mind completely. Been using them on my tractor attachments for a year now and nothing has budged.