Re: shoes

["Ed & Wendy Hauser" <sisufarm@mmmpcc.org>]

Ranger slides his rear and wears out shoes very quickly (yes I know that
there are conformational issues etc. but that isn't part of this
discussion).  I use St. Croix Eventors.  My farrier leaves a set every time
he shoes.  Before he comes again I use my arc welder and hard surfacing
electrodes to put a bead across the toe in the groove.  This allows the toe
to roll over etc.  I then also run a bead down both the inside and the
outside and down the flat on the heels.  This results in an extremely tough
shoe, that slips just like a normal shoe.  After 6 or 7 weeks the shoes are
still in great shape.

Note that horseshoes are not as abrasion resistant as they were 150 yr..
ago.  Wrought iron has lots of carbon, can only be shaped hot and is
hardened by quenching.  Just quenching a normal mild steel shoe will not
harden it much at all.  (modern "mild steel" is actually almost pure iron,
and thus doesn't harden)

I have heard that if you buy an old dump rake, and hand forge shoes from the
tines, the shoes last a very long time.

Ed and Wendy Hauser
1140 37th St.
Hudson, WI 54016
sisufarm@mmmpcc.org