Plugging stud holes?

[HenryandPeta]

Anyone got any good suggestions for plugging stud holes well? Last winter I used the little black rubber stoppers, but I found that they either got lodged in the hole and I had to battle to get them out again (often trying to remove them broke them in half and left a bit behind which I couldn't reach), or they came out too easily and then the holes got plugged with mud and small stones! Couldn't win!

Henry is a large heavyweight and puts a lot of pressure on his shoes - as a result the holes were constantly plugged with grit and rubble - a right pain!!

Any suggestions? He's having the holes put in his shoes today and I'm doing a HT next Sunday! Help!!

 

[kerilli]

those filters people use in roll-up cigarettes, honestly. the skinny foamy ones are the best, just fold them in half and cram them in with a horseshoe nail. they're brilliant and cheap as chips.

 

[lastresort]

I use gamgee. Its brill i cut it up into small squares and keep it with my studs

Fab stuff and V cheap!!

 

[PinkPrincess]

I don't bother plugging them, far easier to get mud or dirt out than anything else.

 

[Loupride]

I usually use cotton wool and vaseline....

 

[applestroodle]

yes i dont use anything either, i always found it came out. if i have two day comp i sometimes use cotton wool but i find that more trouble than its worth. i hate studs i wish someone would invent something, maybe like pressing a button and studs popped out ur shoe..... ok im getting carried away!!

 

[ChestnutMonty]

I dont plug them in between events, but if I have an early start then I always clean them out, tap and then plug them overnight, saves so much time on the day and I hate trying to do fiddly things when i'm nervous!!

 

[HenryandPeta]

[ QUOTE ]
I dont plug them in between events, but if I have an early start then I always clean them out, tap and then plug them overnight, saves so much time on the day and I hate trying to do fiddly things when i'm nervous!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I did that before my HT last winter and the holes had got really stiff so I couldn't get my studs in! Course my hands were shaking too

might try the filter tips, thanks Kerilli!

 

[vhf]

Sheep's wool. The lanolin stops it getting too compacted and keeps the hole nice and clean. If you don't have your own or a neighbour's sheep, you can sometimes find it on gorse bushes/barbed wire!

 

[SpottedCat]

I have some totally flat studs which I put in the night before an event and to travel to an event - means you know the stud holes are clean etc and are only taking one stud out to put another in. If I only have a week between events I just leave those in all week. I do everything in them including hack on the roads and horse does not even notice they are there:

 

[Super_Kat]

I find mud works really well.

 

[miller]

I always used cotton wool soaked in Stockholm tar - used to stay in all week between shows and never came out.

Don't have to worry these days doing BD

 

[jnb]

I use SupaStuds blank studs - they're about 3mm deep and just keep the hole clean.
Also I can recommend the disc-type taps, Liveryman do one and you can get a metal one. Much safer if your horse (like mine) tends to whip his foot out of your hand halfway through tapping the stud holes!

 

[ChestnutMonty]

I spray WD40 into the holes when cleaning them as it really loosens the muds in between the thread

 

[angela24]

filter tips soaked in oil, they go in easier and stop the mud sticking to it.