Is it possible to tell whether a horse has been cold or hot shod?

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teacups

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Mainly out of interest.
The horse in question was shod by the farrier whilst the owner was not there - would you be able to tell the difference?
If so, what are those differences?
 
dorsetladette said:
You'd be able to see on a clean white foot the 'burn' marks from hot fitting I would have thought.
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I was wondering that, but wouldn’t the burn marks be covered up by the shoe?

Actually, check carefully where the toe clips are placed, they might well still show up any scorching if the horse was hot shod.
 
I don't recall a difference beyond what poiuytrewq has already said. The shoe might not marry up exactly, but my current farrier does run the short edge of the rasp between the shoe and hoof to neaten it up, so if the farrier does that after cold shoeing, it would be harder to tell. Haven't had it done in over 20 years, though.
 
You can often see the burn marks on the hoof like the others have said.

Arabi was cold shod for a while he wouldn't tolerate them being burnt on for some reason just out of the blue one day, he was only having aluminium light shoes on at the time anyway.
 
I will pass it on! Thank you all.
Will also be seeing the horse on Thursday and have a look - however the farrier visit was about two weeks ago. Owner was away for a week.
There was no sign of buckets moved about, but they may have been used and put back of course.
 
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The only reason the owner wonders is that someone has told her that another client of his found out that this farrier hot shod her horse if she was present, and cold shod if she was not.
Incidentally I always thought cold shoeing would be more work, but I suppose it might save time firing up the oven.
 
MissMay said:
In Ireland I have never head of a farrier hot shoeing.

All shoeing I know of Is cold as standard here is hot more common in UK?! I thought it died out with the forge
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Farriers over here have gas powered forges built into their vans. Very quick and easy to use.

It’s noticeable with many newly imported horses from Ireland that they aren’t used to hot shoeing and they can get upset with the smoke at first.

Hot shoeing - shape the shoe to fit the foot
Cold shoeing - shape the foot to fit the shoe
 
Tiddlypom said:
Still happens in places where there isn’t vehicular access to where the horses are kept.

Otherwise, no, not really.
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Well. The horse I exercise for sure meme is hot shod then when the farrier comes again (5/6 weeks) he cold shoes putting back on the shoes he’s just taken off. They don’t go anywhere near the forge.

Drives me crazy. Cos then I have 5/6 weeks of neddy slipping about on all the poor road surfaces round here. 🤬
 
Dave's Mam said:
I have seen plenty of cold shoeing with time spent over making the shoe fit the foot, it just takes longer.
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Can I ask why the farrier is cold shoeing?

I’ve not seen cold shoeing done well, it’s only been done to save time. It’s very much harder to shape a shoe cold. Maybe that’s just my experience.
 
Mine is cold shod because of previous bad farrier experiences and being nervous with the farrier.

He heats the shoe to shape it but dunks it before putting it near his foot so there is no hiss or smoke. He definitely shapes the shoe to the foot not the other way around.
 
Sanversera said:
Does anyone still shoe cold? Haven't seen it for over thirty years.
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Yep - a few are cold shod on my yard. The one 2 boxes down from mine is lethal if hot shoeing is attempted but as quiet as a lamb with cold shoeing. No idea why. It easily takes as long as hot shoeing.
 
I've had both.

The one who has most success in fitting the foot beautifully makes the shoe from bar metal, at his forge. I did an hour's trip each way, plus waiting for shoes to be made for two horses, every 4/5 weeks, for almost 20 years. He didn't buy machine made shoes, just made his own. The nail hols could be made to where they would be best used so the foot had a good chance to not break up from either using the same hole with a bigger nail or just going higher above the previous hole. He would also tailor the clips, or, with one horse, she didn't have toe clips at all at the front.

I've also had farriers come here and use machine made shoes and a portable forge, with varying results. I have had cold shoeing too, and TBH they always seemed fine. One cold shoeing farrier made a good point that they make the shoe fit while it is red hot, then cool it off in a bucket of water, whereupon it appreciably shrinks. He also queried the effect of such heat on the foot, on burning/drying the horn, rather then it making them hurt.

I never allowed refits, as they never seemed to fit as well and they were more slippery. I preferred fresh fit all the time.

I now keep both barefoot and trim them myself, or my boyfriend now does. I do think this is most healthy for the foot!
 
Parrotperson said:
Well. The horse I exercise for sure meme is hot shod then when the farrier comes again (5/6 weeks) he cold shoes putting back on the shoes he’s just taken off. They don’t go anywhere near the forge.

Drives me crazy. Cos then I have 5/6 weeks of neddy slipping about on all the poor road surfaces round here. 🤬
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Fitting road nails each time would help.
 
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