can't tap studholes!

I*HM

I*HM

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Need advice/a new back/patience/a hug at this stage.
I've just spent 35 mins trying to get stud holes into a useable state a feel fit to cry. Plugged them with oily cotton wool the day the shoes went on and went to sort them out this evening and after breaking my back and getting a bit dizzy from bending down for so long I can't get the bleddy tap unto a single hole!! Could it be that I've done a rubbish job of cleaning the threads out/rubbish at tapping or could the holes just be too small?? Starting to despair and am really too soggy and grumpy for this kind of inconvenience!!
 
I feel your pain - cleaning/preparing stud holes are the work of the devil.

Don't worry, you will get the hang of it - definitely clean them out again then drop a spot of oil onto the tap. Take your time, the knack is getting the right angle.

Worth getting help to make sure the horse keeps standing still and you don't want them to stand on their foot when the tap is being screwed in.

If you are really struggling get your farrier to show you how :)
 
Ugh they can be a real nightmare. There were real tears on my yard when I did battle with a stone stuck in a stud hole (which I had plugged with cotton wool).
Did you scrub the stud hole with on of those little brushy things? I find it much easier to tap if I've done that.
One suggestion I have is to use tweezers to remove cotton wool as well as a nail from the farrier - nail does a great job of snagging it so you can grab it with the tweezers.
 
Umm I rarely tap stud holes. Just clean out as best possible and then use super studs sprayed with WD40. Don't often have a problem, especially if they are new holes.
Also train your horse to rest his foot on a stool it really saves your back, much like a farrier does when he's rasping.
I feel your pain though, especially if you have a stone stuck in a hole.
 
Spray with WD40 then stuff with cigarette filters, works best for me, pick out and scrub with metal brush and then spray with more WD40 before trying to tap, get someone to hold his foot up whilst you tap if that helps!
 
Earlier picked out holes with a farrier nail then w with a wire brush and then popped in a drop of oil. Just had another look when I did the evening feeds and on further inspection, I think the tap itself is the culprit so going to root out the spare and see if I have any luck with that in the morning and current tap is worn smooth with no threads of its own - hoping that this will be it, problem solved! I know they something about a poor craftsman blaming his tools but I was at the end of my tether.

Really frustrating as used to groom for an eventer and would do studs in my sleep, same with some of the show horses I've groomed for - never had a problem. Just a bit out of practice lately I guess as was a bit spoilt and none of the horses on the yard had studholes in til this week!
 
I feel your pain...literally! Stud holes are crippling, my knees & back can't cope. Luckily my mare is such an angel i can sit on a stool with her foot on my knee (yes i know don't try this at home etc etc) i wouldn't do it if i didn't know her inside out & I wasnt such a cripple :/
 
THe resting the foot on a stool is a must if poss especially if your back is bad!!!

It really sounds like from the time you spent they may be too small? I have had this once from my farrier and it confused the hell out of me!!

xx
 
After all that stress, not a single horse we brought to the show had studs put in - typical! Going to try studs in tomorrow as jumping one of grass and will see how far I get, so frustrating!
 
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