Advice on studs and stud holes please

daveismycat

daveismycat

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As a total stud novice, I need some help!!

My horse slipped into a fence and subsequently pulled off a shoe in the SJ at Strathallan, leading to a huge loss of confidence and a big fat E at our first BE - BOOOO!!! :(

So, shoes back on, with stud holes and now I'm all worried about how on earth I deal with studs. I bought little black stud hole plugs from Dublin and whacked them in as soon as she had shoes in, but since the holes have filled in with dirt and little bits of gravel (no idea where the stud hole plugs are!). I'm worried about a) cleaning the holes out (do I leave this until the morning of our next comp, or do I have to do 'regular' maintainance), b) what I use to clean the holes out with, and c) how will I get the 'thread' clear enough to actually get the blinkin' studs in, especially as I'm usually on my own getting ready at an event.

Sorry, I know ridiculous questions, but when you are a complete ejit like me, you have to ask!

Thanking you kindly in advance.
 
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Get something a bit like this:

http://www.robinsons-uk.com/products/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCode=46601&campaign=Basefeed

Use this to clear the threads and screw the studs in:

http://www.tds-saddlers.com/ProductDetails.asp?PCLinkID=15943

The wooden thing in the kit will clear out the stud holes although I find that this is better:

http://www.tds-saddlers.com/ProductDetails.asp?PCLinkID=15266

For me I only clear them out the night before the event and tap then and screw in the screw in plug holes so that when I get to the show I know that all I need to do is unscrew the plugs and the studs will go straight in. Sure people will do it other ways this is just what works for me.
 
wd40 and cotton wool is soo much better than those plug things, never ever use them! Mine had to be drilled out also, get yourself a stud kit which will be complete with everything (will come with stud plugs black or metal don't use them!) or separate things but most importantly a tap, t bar shaped thing, thread them with the screwy bit and farriers nail and studs! Then you should be sorted, sorry to hear about the confidence drop, I hope your next BE will be a lot better!
 
I leave mine free to fill up with mud etc between events. I clean them out the night before a competition using a combination of farrier's nail (nick a couple from your farrier next time he's out! ;) ) and hose (a wee blast in the stud hole after loosening the worst out with the nail usually does a decent job!).

Then use tap to clear out the threads/sharpen them up. Be careful to get this perfectly lined up with threads when doing it or you can ruin them, a few extra seconds are worth spending to get this part right!

Then I screw in the travel studs and all I need to do the next day at comp is unscrew travel studs and stick in whichever ones I want to use in their place. Travel studs also handy to pop back in again between phases if you have a massively long wait.

Hope that makes sense/helps?! Everyone does it slightly differently though, I'm sure you'll find a way that suits you best. :)
 
I felt exactly the same as you when my instructor told me to put studs on my pony! For cleaning them, next time you see your farrier ask for a nail/clench, perfect for getting all the mud and stones out, and the end will do some of the thread. Some people use the 'tap' you get in a stud kit to clean the thread, works perfectly if you get it right, or you double thread the hole like me and then can't get the stud in at all! :rolleyes: I clean out the hole the day before the event (as it gets quite bad if I leave them) then plug it with cotton wool or sponge, nice and easy to clean out in the morning! Once you get most of the mud/grit out, I squirt the hose in the studhole or soak a small piece of sponge and stick it in, which cleans it quite well.
Hope this helps :p
 
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I have cracked my studding up now! I clean & tap them the night before a show, then fill with cottonwool covered in vasaline, then the next day at the show the studs will go straight in. Supa studs are fantastic and make you job a lot easier :) I just leave them empty between shows.
 
StupidWaldo said:
I have cracked my studding up now! I clean & tap them the night before a show, then fill with cottonwool covered in vasaline, then the next day at the show the studs will go straight in. Supa studs are fantastic and make you job a lot easier :) I just leave them empty between shows.
Click to expand...

Completely agree!:)
 
Thanks for all the tips.

I had stud holes put in this spring, but ended up with most comps being cancelled because of the bad weather, and when I did actually get to go and play, I ended up double threading the holes with the T-shaped tap. *annoyed red-faced steam out of ears smiley*

Will have a go at cleaning them out today - and see if I can actually find those annoying little black stud hole plugs.
 
Just a word of caution on supa studs though....

We did use them and I still have a set "just in case" in the stud kit becuase they will go in where sometimes nothing else will. But if you use them too regularly they will damage your stud holes.

They are great if you're only going to stud once or twice in the life of your shoe. But we have times in season when we are studding at least 3 times a week and often more. We found out the hard way that if you use supa studs that often they strip the thread from your stud hole. We went through a load of shoes before our competition farrier pointed this out in a "are you the only people who don't know this...." type of way!

Asking around on the circuit it seems we were the only ones - or at least one of the last to figure it out!
 
How on earth would the Supa studs strip the thread? They are not self tappig they are self cleaning...big difference!
 
davieismycat - you might find the black pugs are still in there! i use them sometimes, my farrier actually likes them and often pops them in after shoeing the thing i dont like about them as he (the farrier) says to just pop them into the thread gently with a nail and let it catch but i find when Izzy goes out in the field the plugs get pushed further downthen the top of the thread can end up a mess because of damage by stones etc. if you have a horse shoe nail or large needle, clean around the top of the stud hole and have a look to see if the plug is there, if it is jab gently into it with nail and pop out, well at least that was how i was shown how to get them out by farrier, have no idea how else you would get it out ??

personal preference is to use some cotton wool and baby oil, just put cotton wool in samll balls, dunk in baby oil and plug hole, very easy and comes out with nail or i actaully use a tiny screwdriver from a spectacle repair kit just because it isnt sharp(£1 out of tesco!). i clean the hole and tap it the night before and replug like that then just pop them out a competition and stud up. i really like supa studs, very easy to insert and they dont rust and mimimal maintaince! i quite like the idea of travel studs but havnt got round to ordering them!

phew i really ramble :) hope thats some use!
 
Shay said:
Just a word of caution on supa studs though....

We did use them and I still have a set "just in case" in the stud kit becuase they will go in where sometimes nothing else will. But if you use them too regularly they will damage your stud holes.

They are great if you're only going to stud once or twice in the life of your shoe. But we have times in season when we are studding at least 3 times a week and often more. We found out the hard way that if you use supa studs that often they strip the thread from your stud hole. We went through a load of shoes before our competition farrier pointed this out in a "are you the only people who don't know this...." type of way!

Asking around on the circuit it seems we were the only ones - or at least one of the last to figure it out!
Click to expand...



I heard of this too, think it was on here actually.
 
cleaning the holes out ready the day before a comp, and putting supastud travel studs in, does me. never had them strip the thread... possibly because i clean the hole & thread out really carefully and NEVER force it or use the stud to rethread.
between events, i fill the holes with a Swan Vesta foam roll-your-own-ciggy filter, the little narrow barrel shaped ones, soaked in WD40 in a little pot, then take 1 out, fold it in half, and cram it sideways in the hole when i take the stud out. it expands slightly and fills the hole perfectly. also, they don't fall apart when you take them out, unlike cotton wool.
 
I gave up on the "in between studs" having had to get the farrier to take the wretched shoe off and punch out the hole again - at a competion, so clean out the night before and fill up with cotton wool soaked in baby oil.

When I put studs in I use WD40 which is sprayed into the clean hole and the stud - and then goes in easily. Wish someone had told me that years ago!

I bought a nail box from my local DIY shop to put my studs/taps etc in - has all the different compartments in it and was about 1/4 of the price of a "proper" one for horses!
 
Easiest way to do studs (and best practice it regularly until you get the hang of it).
Night before:-
1. Use one of those wooden tools that has a nail one end and a brush the other. Dig out the dirt with the nail end and then use the brush end, just turn it a few times in the hole.
2. Get a T shape metal tap. Dip the tap (bottom of screw in bit) into a pot of vaseline that you keep with your stud kit. Holding the T tap at a right angle to the shoe, gently try and get the tap to "screw into" the hole in the shoe. You might need to angle the tap slightly to get the right fit. If it doesn't work first time, try with a different stud hole/ different shoe as occasionally you get a dodgy stud hole!
3. Once it feels like it is screwing into the shoe properly (shouldn't be forced to turn), screw the tap down until you feel resistance. Then unscrew and remove tap (complete with dirt - clean that off the tap).
4. Dunk a cotton wool plug into the vaseline, then place it in the stud hole (well, kind of about to go into the studhole). Force it in by using the nail end of your wooden tool, until it is flush with the shoe.
5. Repeat for other studholes.
On the day:-
6. At your show/ event, just use your wooden tool nail end to dig out the cotton wool plug, then immediately screw in your stud by hand, then tighten with the T spanner.

Use fairly small studs until you know what you are doing. Pointy studs for hard ground, big square ones for muddy/ wet ground.
 
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