Mikey, this one is for you - Mrs. Mom you too....

Well - the other day I went to my favorite uncles house to 'help out' *snicker* all I did was hold down a piece of frozen ground for a few hours and yak about whatever came to mind with my Aunt Anne. SO Mikey and Mrs. M here is what it looks like to shoe a horse for winter/logging....


This is a shoeing chute -

Looks like some midevil torture device huh? Dont mind the fat lady shadow, if I would have had more cloths on I would have looked like the Michilan man er, um woman thingy I guess.


This is Ed, original name huh - he is HUGELY tall. See the feller standing by the truck? Thats my favorite uncle Kyle - he weighs 120 SOAKING WET and he is the one who runs these teams. I laugh because he is a big man in a little fellers body! When I say big man, I mean he is a man who stands up for what he believes in, for whats right and always does what he feels will help anyone and everyone - in short, he's a big man. LOVE YOU KYLE!! Got a bit off track with that huh, sorry - I just know you would love Kyle if you met him.

SO, in the chute Ed goes....


SEE how big Ed is compared to Kyle..... wow.....

Joe is the hoof guy - yup thats what we call him - the hoof guy!! The horses dont mind going in the chute for the most part. When you shoe a draft, its HARD HEAVY WORK~~~

This chute helps the Hoof Guy and lets the horse relax a little bit - even if it looks like he is being tortured.....
The strap behind the butt is for horses who are not used to being shod - at times they try to back up, but this gently helps them to 'not'....
The strap over the back helps for those horses who try to rear, rare or whatever you want to say... it stops them long enough for you to get them untied so they dont hurt themselves or you.
The belly chains are for the horses who try to lay down on the job - they also work GREAT for a horse to rest against/on when they get weary from standing with a foot in the air. They are adjustable as you can see to fit the horse in the chute.

Eds got a funny frog on his one foot - not sure what the deal is but it grows 5 times faster than the other ones!! Freak I say~~
The hoof is held up with a strap around the ankle. The straps are soft to the inside and the horse doesnt have to hold his foot up and the Hoof Guy doesnt have to hold a foot up that weighs as much as a small child.


This looks like Eds head is tied to the chute, but its not - only his leg is tied up. There is a piece of foam on the rope behind his knee so that the rope doesnt 'cut' into his leg. I KNOW this looks hard on them, but they relax and stand like a baby being rocked. They dont have to worry about leaning and neither does the Hoof Guy~



This is what the Hoof Guy uses to take of the hoof, but then he finishs up with his tools. This sucker works like a hot knife through butter - fast and acurate.





Ed's got a big head huh... that is my uncle Kyle...

Here the Hoof Guy is letting down Ed's leg - see how much easier it is on everyone when your not holding the leg






This is what a snow pad looks like - its upside down right now just so you can see how it works. See the 'gold colored' stuff on the shoe? That is 'slag' that is put on this shoe - its brass/metal that is put on with a welder. It helps to grip on the ice and in the snow - the snow pad fits under the shoe against the horses foot - see the 'ball' part that goes up into the bottom of the horses hoof so that the snow cant get in there. Then where it caves in on the bottom the snow does not build up there either, it pops out - therfore the shoe is able to 'grab' better in the snow and ice.
This is a 'shim' that goes under the hoof if its need for lift.... Think stilletos baby....

Here is a better picture of the 'slag' on the shoe. Its ROUGH - if you would run your fingers over it, they would be cut up. Hoof Guy does this himself to save a bit of cost, because the 'lug shoes' cost a LOT more and dont work well on some horses...
Like this one......
This is King - Kyles pride and joy. They have been through the works together and are more like brothers than owner and horse. King is about 20, but you would never know it. He gives a days work that Kyle doesnt even ask for. Kyle tries to rest him and King wants to MOVE IT MAN!!! He is in every sense a work horse - but I think its because he truely loves Kyle and wants to please him with all that he does.

There was a time when Kyle was rigging them up and King was playing around. Kyle was trying to put the collar on him and King has to put his head down so Kyle can reach him. Kyle got the collar half on and King picked up his head. Needless to say Kyles feet were off the ground about 3 feet and they were swinging like a branch in the breeze - I swear King was laughing at him. SO - I didnt get any pictures of the shoes going on - I had to get home and milk, but I think this gives you a good idea of how/what goes on! Hope you guys enjoyed this!!!