Friday, February 6, 2009

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!!!

25 comments:

Mrs. Mom said...

Too cool Heidi! We need a set of stocks like that for our wild donkeys. So do Mikey and Poor Wade! ;)

Kisses to those babies of yours, and hugs to Milk Man too!

Love ya sista!

Mrs. Mom said...

Oh yeah- i forgot-- lol-- I wont get under anything that has a foot bigger than my head ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi.I love your blog and reading about a life so interesting and different from mine. Keep up the great posts. Love, light and blessings to you and your family :)

Patricia said...

Wow ! Ed is beautiful ! So interesting... Are horses hooves like our toe nails ...??

I love these 'tutorials' !! Thank you

Heide said...

Snow shoes for horses... who'd have thunk it? We lived in a very horsey place for many years, but the horses were all for pleasure, rather than work. About 99% of the owners had traveling ferriers come shoe the horses. I'll bet those fellows wish they had a nifty contraption like that to make the job safer and less stressful on all involved. I love the Australian Shepherd watching in the background of the one shot! Thank you for the "visit".

Unknown said...

Really wonderful post Heidi. I love horses almost as much as I love cows. I swear, I think I was suppose to be a farmer or a farmers wife.

Hohni said...

That is way cool!!!
I want a horse. Hubby knows I want one, but we just can't do it right now. We have the space and time, just not the moolah!!!

Jocelyn said...

How interesting! I never knew!

Those horses look gorgeous all fuzzy and fat :)

Mikey said...

Thanks so much! That was great! Love that stock, that's what we need. We have one made out of wood, but I like yours better. Those drafts are bigguns, aren't they? Love seeing the shoes, pads and work put into it. Those horses sure can lean too, stocks make it SO NICE to work on them.
Really neat post, thanks!! Can't wait to show Wade!

Mrs. Mom said...

Patricia- Horses hooves are made up of keratized proteins, that are called laminaie. They contain several delicate bones inside there, one joint, and bits of cartilages that keep the hoof moving and flexing properly. I believe that our nails are made of the same type of material, but not near as hard as hoof horn, nor as vital to our survival ;)

As to how often hoof care is provided- in this particular case, I imagine the HoofGuy is out every six to eight weeks to trim and reset those shoes, and keep the hooves balanced. (No balance in the hoof makes for a lame horse, which makes for vet bills...)

Now- this is for anyone who looks and thinks that those stocks are "cruel". I am going to invite you to lift and hold the hoof of a normal horse for an extended period of time. Your average size saddle horse is roughly 900 to 1200 pounds. Pick up and HOLD all four feet for about 10 minutes each, like a farrier does, and see how you feel.

Now, walk over to your neighbors Yugo, and lift it up.

Tell me which feels better. ;)

It's me said...

I absolutely LOVED this post. Thanks for teaching me something (that unfortunately I'll never use) and making it so enjoyable to boot.

WudWerkr said...

I love horses , specially the draft horses . thats what it would take for coffeeman to ride .

"looks at the chute" hmmmmm

i wonder if it could be used at payless to shoe a craby woman .

hmmmmmmmm " the mind start racin"

DayPhoto said...

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HORSE! I just loved this post! Thank you for sharing. This is just great!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Well, that was pretty dog gone interesting. Thanks for the info. Now, I can on with my day. Enjoy yours!

Sara said...

That was SO COOL!! So interesting & I love that giant 'cage' thingy. Very smart.
We have a 'hoof lady.'
And I'd love to have a draft horse, but Husband says "If you ever get a draft horse ...something something threat" I wasn't listening, but he sounded serious.
I'm hoping I can get some good photos this spring when we have the horses teeth floated.
Never gets boring.
Thanks for such a great post!

Vanessa said...

That was really interesting! I couldn't live on a farm (too much work) but I love learning about what goes on. Sara mentioned "teeth floated". What in the world is that?!? The world is full of things to learn.

Swartzmomto3 said...

In that last picture, it looks like the horse is as big as the truck in the background! Thanks for sharing your day with Uncle and Auntie!

Kristie said...

Love the photos! We have to use the shoeing chutes for our stud horse! He is as gentle as can be with everything except putting shoes on him. Love your work horses! We have a Mule that is my baby but we use him to pull logs and work him, he loves it. Some people don't understand that and think it is mean for him to work like that but I'm sure you understand, these animals LOVE working! It makes them very proud!
Kristie

Train Wreck said...

Wow that is work! I love Mister Ed!! He looks like a HUGE peach! hahaha We have neighbors with two Belgians. In the summer when the have their butts facing me they remind me of Huge peaches! Great post, I always wondered how they shod draft horses!

Jim said...

Very interesting. I have helped shoe riding horses but holy cow...

Love your writing

Mich born and raised

Anonymous said...

Heidi~ Thank you for such an education and informative lesson on the shoeing of a workhorse!

Most people would never see this done, or have any idea how it is done!

I am sending it onto a friend who is a Ferrier here in PA.

Liz in PA

Femin Susan said...

Hi………
Absolutely fantastic post! Good job!
Great! Keep writing…….
Good week………

Karen Deborah said...

This is so cool, as in neat, as in wow, not the weather. You are living the life of Riley out there in the country. Those horses looked like they enjoyed the whole process. Gorgeous animals. These educational posts of yours are really wonderful!
The only thing missing was little Dud. You can squeeze him into every post you know.

Jinglebob said...

Great pictures. I ranch in western SD and use a team to feed my cows with. I used to have belgians but now have a team of Haflingers. Check out my blog at dennisranch.wordpress.com

A friend who rads your blog sent me over here. I will have to add it to my favorites!

Miss Annie Sew and Sew said...

Hey favorite niece. Thanks for posting pics from our shoeing and trimming day. Yes, our farm does look better with more snow covering all our junk, but it's the horses you have outstandingly shown. Got my blog up and running, thanks to you. Wondering if Jinglebob could fill me in on where to obtain a saddle tree for a draft horse.