The Foundation Hoof Care

Hot shoeing is a method of applying a horseshoe that has been heated in a forge, to the horse's hoof. The farrier is able to form the shoe to fit the natural shape of the horse‘s hoof, exactly. Hot steel is much easier to work over using a hammer than it is to shape cold steel. It may also be necessary if you‘re using shoes therapeutically, to correct something like clubfoot or using a heart bar shoe to give support to a weak hoof wall. Hot shoeing generally results in a better fit than cold shoeing, but not all farriers agree on that point. It’ll be your call.

Hot shoeing the hoof seals the cell tubules and prevents water from getting into the horny layer of the hoof in wet conditions, and preserves the existing moisture, when in hot dry conditions. Applying a hot shoe also kills any bacteria on the surface of the just trimmed edges of the hoof.

Hot shoes can also be fitted with clips that assist in holding the shoes on the hoof. Depending on how your horse behaves in the pasture or paddock, this practice might help keep shoes on. Some horses can twist or rotate their ankles which can throw off their shoes. Clips can also help a thin or weak hoof wall to hold a shoe in place.

The process of adding clips, when the hoof is hot shod, burns the clip into the hoof wall and locks it in place. Clips can be applied cold but tend to perform better when applied hot. Nailing the shoe on is still necessary, but the clips do help to hold the shoe in place, reducing stress on the hoof wall where nails can normally pull.

The first thing the farrier will do will be the usual, trim and rasp the hoof to take down any rough edges and level it. Now the hoof is prepared to receive the new hot shoe. The shoe is heated in a gas forge in the farrier's truck, and then it's placed, for a moment, on the prepared hoof, where it sears the hoof tubules and “seats” the shoe. This is where the horseshoe will eventually be placed. The farrier will take note of any reshaping required to fit the shoe properly to the hoof. All hooves are not symmetrical so shaping one side or the other, a little flatter or rounder, may be required. Once reshaped, it may get a final check for fit, then it will be cooled. It's then ready to be applied and the farrier will nail it onto the hoof.

You might think that it would be painful but the horse actually doesn‘t feel a thing. The first few times the horse is hot shoed it might get spooked because of the unfamiliar odor of the burning hoof, and where there‘s smoke there‘s fire. Horses are naturally afraid of fire. The smoke will emanate off the hoof and they'll see and smell it. Also, the shoe is not applied and nailed on in its hot state. It's cooled first but the hissing from dunking the hot shoe in the bucket of cool water is also unfamiliar. Eventually, hot shoeing your horse will become an old hat - and it will be like any other farrier service.

If your horse is resistant to getting hot shoed, place him in an adjacent stall while another of your herd is getting hot shoed. By hearing the sounds, smelling odors, and seeing the smoke he or she will become familiar with the process. Sometimes older horses with poor vision may be spooked by the murky sight of the smoke. This would be more likely if you've only begun to have the horse hot shoed at a later stage - all the more reason to start them at an early age. If you still can't acclimate your horse to hot shoeing, cold shoeing might be the only other option.