Road Pins

[onebigjump]

Does anyone on here have any experience with road pins? My horse slips a lot on tarmac and I’m wondering if these are any good? I'm really worried she might fall over or injure herself, and unfortunately I can't avoid the roads.

 

[Indigo Moose]

Do you mean road studs? They're little bobbles on nails.

I use them on all of mine, and they are fab, definitely worth getting. Beware though, some farriers try and rip you off with them. My current farrier doesn't charge extra, a previous farrier charged a pound a foot but some con merchant tried charging me ten pounds extra for road studs. Madness. So yes, definitely worth getting, but make sure you ask before you have them put on.

 

[xloopylozzax]

road pins, studs and nails are different things. studs are just normal plug studs without a thread though so are permanent unlike say jumping studs, pins are drilled and hammered in and nails are as the name suggests, just with a raised 'bobble'. Have used all 3 over the years, preference for nails because they dont give so much grip that they jarr their legs. Just started with the pins this time again though which seem ok. Studs are best with driving shoes simply cos concave riding shoes dont have the surface area, wear out that bit quicker and cant withstand the extra weight without risking unbalancing the foot. There is also sort of wedge studs, where the metal is melted into the 'tread' of the shoe, very popular for road racing. Too much grip imo though and will lead to knackered joints.

The best thing so they dont slip however, is riding the horse collected and together in a contact

 

[blackhorse37]

Road pins are great, i always have them in the hinds.

 

[Sprout]

My lot have road nails and they really do make a difference to slipping on the roads.

 

[AmyMay]

I've always used road studs, rather than nails (pins). I found them much more usefull.

 

[Joyous70]

I have road nails (pins) in my boys hind feet, and theyre fab, wouldn't want to hack out on our shiny roads without them.

 

[LaurenM]

I use road nails. There's definitely a difference compared to normal nails. My farrier charges extra for the studs but not the nails.

 

[snoopyinfrance]

My Big Girl goes bare foot and never slips. She sometimes chooses to walk on the grass verge but is happy on the road (we don't do much roadwork round here) and her feet don't need trimming for months. Please don't think I ignore her feet - the farrier checks them regularly and says she's fine. Cheaper, and no jarring of her joints!!

Each to their own....

 

[ellie_e]

road nails on all 4 feet!!

 

[sassybebe]

I had road pins (rather than road nails) in my horses shoes last week and so far so good. My farrier said they're better than road nails because the nails just wear down with the shoes whereas the pins last a bit longer


"The best thing so they dont slip however, is riding the horse collected and together in a contact"

^^^^ I take it all the roads around you are flat with perfect riding surfaces then?

 

[xloopylozzax]

not at all, the roads are shite, look like glass, even slippy on foot some of them, but if the horse is together you minimise slipping. I do miles upon miles of roadwork, wear their shoes down to razorblades year round, dont just tootle on a sunny weekend!

 

[onebigjump]

Thanks for all the replys, Is it ok to have the nails just in the front as she is barefoot at the back?

 

[sassybebe]

not at all, the roads are shite, look like glass, even slippy on foot some of them, but if the horse is together you minimise slipping. I do miles upon miles of roadwork, wear their shoes down to razorblades year round, dont just tootle on a sunny weekend!

Oh ok i don't tootle on a sunny weekend either but of the 6+ showjumpers a day i was hacking (always collected and working not dawdling) some of them would still slip whatever we did. Just thought you might be luckier with your roads but obviously all of the uks country roads suck

 

[onebigjump]

My horse is very green, she hasn't been ridden for very long so I am working on keeping her collected and in a contact but this can be especially difficult on the way home! I was just hoping that nails or pins would help in the mean time and that they would not do any damage to her joints etc.

 

[Tharg]

So, which is the best of the three? Can they be got online

 

[sassybebe]

My horse is very green, she hasn't been ridden for very long so I am working on keeping her collected and in a contact but this can be especially difficult on the way home! I was just hoping that nails or pins would help in the mean time and that they would not do any damage to her joints etc.

My horse is the same, only 4, i think he only has pins in hinds but they're only tiny so it's not like having huge studs unbalancing them. Best to speak to your farrier

 

[Sugar1987]

I had road nails put in last week for the first time and found there was significantly less slipping on the roads, however my pony decided she wasn't very happy at getting pushed around by her field mate (normally a happy hierarchy) and gave him a kick to his hind and the road nail penetrated , thankfully he is doing well now and wasn't as bad as first thought. Felt very guilty but horses will be horses!

 

[MrsHutt]

Have road nails in all 4, as do most of them at our yard as we have to go down a pretty steep, very shiny bit of (private) road from the yard to the gate for hacking out. I didn't have them on the previous horse and she used to slide all over the place - scary for both of us! A number have slipped and fallen here (always have knee boots, too). There are also some quite steep, slippery bits of public road on some of the routes that I used to take with her, but haven't been yet on Hugo.

I don't know if they make a huge difference, but I think it is better with them. What does make a difference is riding collected and confidently (easier said than done with me!)

Farrier charges extra £5 for the 4 feet.

 

[monikirk]

Def think that some horses slip more than others.
My friends horse rattles along and sticks like a limpet to the roads - we will slip and slide right beside her despite being on the the bit and collected.

I hadn't heard of road pins - we have 2 road nails in each shoe

 

[gemmypie44]

My horse slipped all the time with shoes on I told my farrier and he put in road nails on the hinds and studs on the fronts, they worked on the roads that had gritty sections but were useless on the really smooth roads, he is now barefoot best thing I ever did for him his confidence on the road has improved massively, alot of people I know leave hind shoes off just to give more grip, I couldn't recommend anything more! We dont do anything differently, still ride for miles on any surface, still jump. Was a tad sore to start but he is happier now

 

[mystiandsunny]

I have stud nails as we have some seriously steep hills. One in each shoe on the fronts, and two in each for the backs on Lilly who rears and spins when scared - I don't mind that if I know she won't slip! They're really good ones - never wear down completely by the time the next shoeing comes around, and give fantastic grip on the steepest of hills. Silly pony has had to learn that they don't give you grip on metal drain covers though! She wouldn't listen when I tried to steer her round - then learnt why lol!

ETA: I also have two that are unshod, and wouldn't shoe if I didn't have to, but Lilly's soles are congenitally too soft, and OH's pony has to be shod remedially in front.

 

[Chestnut mare]

I have 1 road pin in each shoe. Helps with slipping on the roads.

 

[rambling]

I've had road pins put in the back shoes for years now since they first started surfacing the roads with SMA ( Stone Mastic Ashphalt)

I've had them for two horses and they have helped both gain confidence to step out on the road