From anvils to rasps and hammers to nippers, keeping your shoeing tools in tip-top order and knowing how to properly use them can save both time and money in your shoeing business.

One of the most important tools a farrier can have is safety glasses, says International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame member Gordon Haight of Eagle Point, Ore. 

Haight knows firsthand the value of safety glasses. He lost an eye in an accident 21 years ago. He has been able to compensate and overcome this disability considerably, but tells others not to learn the hard way.

A pair of safety glasses can run $3 to $5. “Your eyes are worth a whole lot more than that,” Haight says. 

 “All it takes is just one spark from that grinder. Protection is extremely important.”

Hammering It Home

Having a good hammer is key in doing a good shoeing job, Haight says.

“The hammer should have good recoil off the anvil,” he says.

Haight maintains the round side of the hammer should be used for punching. “It will always drive the punch straight unlike the flat side of the hammer,” he says.

“It’ll drive it in quicker, easier, more efficiently and cleaner with the round side.”

When using the flat side of the hammer on punches, the hammer will have a tendency to flop the punch around if it is not hit perfectly. “That’s one mistake I see a lot of guys make,” Haight says.

“Your hammer should be balanced to a point…