FEATURES

Pete Rosciglione, the young farrier from Defiance, Mo., who was featured in the Shoeing For A Living article in the January/February, 2009, issue ofAmerican Farriers Journal demonstrated how he builds a shoe in his workshop for horses suffering from navicular pain.

Rosciglione starts by taking 2 shoes that are the same size. He cuts the heels off one, just behind the third nail hole. He tapes the two together with electrical tape to stabilize it.

He tacks the shoes together just behind the fourth nail hole using a mig welder.

This placement makes it easier to use a creased nailed puller to remove the shoe. He then removes the tape.

Next he runs a weld across the heels.

He places the shoes in a vise to make sure it is perfectly flat.

With the shoes still in the vise, he finishes welding them together.

He smoothes out the welds and safes the shoe using an angle grinder.

Final touching up is done with a belt sander.

The finished shoe. The entire process took about 15 minutes.