Ex-racer never been hot shod

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Footlights

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Farrier is coming out soon to have a look at the ex-racers feet and discuss where to go from there.

He has never been hot shod before - always cold. Farrier is happy to cold shoe but I am wondering whether it is better to slowly introduce him to being hot shod, or whether it is just better to carry on with cold.

Does anyone know why racehorses are usually only cold shod? Is there a valid reason that he hasn't been hot shod?
 
Depends on how quickly the hoof grows, well thats what my farrier said. He cold shod if he isnt happy with the growth as hot burns away hoof that they need.
X
 
Racers are usually shod cold because they are often raced in aluminium racing plates which are lightweight and cannot be heated. These are taken off after each race and replaced before it.
 
He would have probably only had plates or training plates. Both of which are soft metal and so can be worked without the need to heat them up. Aluminium plates can melt in the furnace! Horses shod in racing yards are done quick probably around 15 - 20 minutes. All of mine are cold shod when wearing plates or training plates and to be honest I prefer them wearing a lighter shoe. I think a training plate is adequete for any road work and mine are shod every 5 weeks and this is with them doing hard work and regular road work. I need to go 5 miles on the road to get to the gallops so that's 10 miles a day on the road alone! I would speak to your farrier but all of mine have super strong feet and I really feel that this is because I don't interfere with them. People forget that TB's are designed for speed and when people try and change the shape of which a TB's foot and raise he heel is when when all of the problems start! Keep it simple, don't worry and do what you feel you have to. Just because most people have their horses hot shod doesn't mean you have to!
 
Thanks Little Squirrel that's really interesting. I am constantly hearing that people trim TBs with low heels and long toes with causes them problems, but you are saying the opposite?

He has been out of racing for almost a year now and has normal shoes on but still only been cold shod. Are there any disadvantages to cold shoeing?
 
racehorses are cold shod because heating up aluminium will ruin the temper of the steel, when ive shod ex racers i prefer to burn on the back shoes first as they are further from the head and less likely to scare the horse before moving to front feet. 90% of ex racers soon take to having hot shoes
 
my farrier who used to work for a very large racehorse trainer told me that racers are cold shod because they are shod every few weeks (due to wearing the aluminium shoes down so quickly) and that if you hot shod them then each time you would burn a bit of hoof away and as done so regularly eventually there wouldnt be any hoof left. Hence they cold shoes them.
 
Also most TBs are wired up to the moon with all the racing food in them, a shoe burned on will make them explode lol!!
 
I had a farrier that insisted on hot shoeing. 2 TB's and my Warmblood out of the TB mare. I believed all the nonsense being spewed about how it's so much better. Not really for TB's. After the second time my horses were a little swollen in the pasterns having just been done, we had a disagreement on the benefits and I went to another farrier. 2 are in aluminium as I much prefer how they fit and I keep shoes on the front of the mare after a dreadful abcess. We thought we were going to lose her at one stage. Don't care if that annoys people, she is happier in the shoes. But since new farrier took over I got more benefits than just cold shoeing. I have all my questions answered and the angles and soles are so much more improved. Now I look at feet completely different. I can see so much more if you know what I mean.

Personally I don't think TB feet are the best candidates for hot shoeing. Other breeds are more suited. But if you have a farrier that can really only work with hot and gives too many excuses for evil cold shoeing then best to rethink. That's only from my personal experiences.

Terri
 
Footlights said:
Thanks Little Squirrel that's really interesting. I am constantly hearing that people trim TBs with low heels and long toes with causes them problems, but you are saying the opposite?

He has been out of racing for almost a year now and has normal shoes on but still only been cold shod. Are there any disadvantages to cold shoeing?
Click to expand...
In my [limited] experience, a farrier who cold shoes racehorses is a often a very good farrier, there are no hiding places, in racing they become very familiar with individuals feet, and you will find nearly all the horses in a big NH yard have good feet, they are shod when required, not when the animal loses a shoe, and the farrier may use a lighter steel shoe which is to some degree more flexible than the heavy shoe used for happy hackers, but the main thing is the frequency of shoeing, and of course regular road work and good feeding.
Workaday farriers are concerned to keep their customers happy, and will find hot shoeing will give more longevity.
I always let my youngsters stand beside a quiet horse which is being hot shod, they get used to it before they have to be shod, anyway that is all behind me, I don't shoe at the moment.
Farriers don't deliberately trim for low heels, long toe, this type of hoof conformation is due to the farrier not trimming properly, leaving the toe too long which forces a late break-over and low heels.
 
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