Getting A Better Handle On Nailing Shoes

Do you find that it's difficult to steady a horseshoe while nailing it on?

Steve Kraus, the head of Farrier Services at Cornell University, has developed a procedure to help his students relax and drive better nails while securely holding the shoe.

The Certified Journeyman Farrier suggests placing the shoe and choosing a hole on the hammer hand side. He prefers the first or second nail hole.

"You just press lightly on the same heel as the hammer hand, just to hold the shoe in place," Kraus told attendees at the 2014 International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati. "Put the nail exactly in the center of the hole and tip it so that it's going to point toward the toe. Start nailing with light blows, increasing as you finish."

While nailing on the shoe, resist the temptation to grip the other side of the shoe with your other hand.

"You're not strong enough to defeat a hammer and the nail serves as a wedge," he says. "You just want to hold the shoe and keep it from jumping around. If you grip that shoe with your left hand and think that you can hold it still, it will make you tense up. You're just going to annoy the horse.

"If you relax, breathe, isolate your hand and just drive that nail, the shoe won't move."

What is your nailing technique? Share them in the comment section below.