Positioning of Road Nails

J

Joyous70

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 August 2010
Messages
1,947
Visit site
When i had my boy shod last he was fitted with road nails in his hind shoes, as i have known him to slip and the area we hack in the roads are quite slippy.

However last night when picking his feet out, i noticed (don't know why i haven't before :o ) that on his offside hind the nails are not exactly opposite each other, they are on the other shoe :confused:

Does anyone know if there is a reason why they have been fitted this way, my farrier is great and does a fantastic job, so im assuming there must be a reason.
 
Last edited:
I'm not a farrier but my understanding is that they put the nails in the best possible place on each foot. they may well not be the same positioning from foot to foot. As long as you have road nails, you will be OK. I have them front & rear - taking no chances.
 
I only have them on the rear, as its only ever his hinds he slips on, and was really wary about doing it, as people have said theyre bad bad bad! erm broken kness aren't good either ;)

Is it normal to see the foot rock every so slilghtly when theyre walking, i noticed it on the yard, but the surface is concrete screed, so not flat level anyway
 
I've had one nail per shoe, outmost, uppermost nail for the last 8 years or so. Never had a problem at all.

Foot can look like its 'rocking' if its not a completely flat surface, but the nails 'bed in' after a couple of weeks anyway.
 
I have been using them for years and have no issues with them, ridden 1000s of miles with no foot issues at all. My farrier recommended them as he said "a lady of my age (cheeky lad) didn't want to end up with a horse falling on them". Good point!
 
Have both mine shod front and back with road nails. One has worn them for 18 years and has hunted all her life. She's now semi-retired due to laryngeal issues, not unsoundness. If a horse has the type of action that makes them susceptible to slipping on roads then these nails are necessary in my opinion. A slipping horse soon loses confidence, as does the rider and on some worn areas of roads round here can be like walking on ice without them.
 
Joyous70 said:
Is it normal to see the foot rock every so slilghtly when theyre walking, i noticed it on the yard, but the surface is concrete screed, so not flat level anyway
Click to expand...

Not sure to be honest, but doesn't sound quite right. The roadnails I have put in (all round, one in each foot) are tungstan (sp) tip and so it's only a tiny little 'nipple' on the top of each nail so wouldn't expect it to make the foot rock, but perhaps yours are different?
 
Autumn7 - this is why i had hind nails fitted, my boy would slip on his back feet, causing us both to have the collywobbles, however, for 12 months he went unshod behind but due to the area i have moved to and the amount of roadwork we are doing he doesn't grow enough hoof to cope, hence the nails going in. He is very careful going downhill with his feet & does what i call "mincing" bless him ;)

It never occured to me to have them in front shoes also :rolleyes: although he seems fine with this set up at the moment

Glad to hear theres people out there been using the for years with no problems, theres a lady on my yard who said it caused her mare to have windgalls.
 
Ludi-doodi said:
Not sure to be honest, but doesn't sound quite right. The roadnails I have put in (all round, one in each foot) are tungstan (sp) tip and so it's only a tiny little 'nipple' on the top of each nail so wouldn't expect it to make the foot rock, but perhaps yours are different?
Click to expand...

Mine are the tungsten tips the same as yours, ive only noticed it on the yard, as i say the ground isn't flat level, which i spose doesnt help, its only a very slight movement. He has two in each hind foot, and its the point in front of the nail that tips slighlty forward to reach the floor
 
Last edited:
My farrier calls them tungstan pins and he drills a small hole in the shoe for them,they are just a little bigger than this " O " and project about 1/8th ".
I only have them at the back , one each on the outside but theres no way they are high enough to cause the foot to rock . I would ask the farrier next time if I were you.
If the horse is new to them I suppose he could just be experimenting :confused:

They were a lifesaver when we got the SMA first and he is more confident on the road than horses without them IMHO. Present horse has them for the seven years I have had him and the horse I had before , already had low ringbone but the farrier said they would be fine as only in the back.

An apprentice put them all round one time by mistake and he did notice the difference for the first week or so.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top