PSA: a farrier in Amarillo told me to stop cooling shoes in the slack tub and it clicked for me

Val Gibson · 2026-10-01T15:10:03.293877+00:00

I was at a horse barn outside Amarillo on Saturday and watched a farrier named Dale pull a shoe off the forge and just set it on the anvil, no water at all, letting it cool in the air. I asked him why, and he said quick water cooling can make some shoes hard and brittle in the wrong spots, which is why he air cools most of his work unless he needs to shrink a shoe. So my question is, do you air cool your shoes and small work too, or do you still dunk everything?

Librear

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PSA: a farrier in Amarillo told me to stop cooling shoes in the slack tub and it clicked for me | Blacksmiths - Librear