Still split on using handmade vs factory shoes for draft horses...

I've been going back and forth on forging my own shoes versus ordering keg shoes for my Belgian draft clients. Which do you lean toward for heavy horses and why?

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emma3494mo ago

You mentioned being "split on using handmade vs factory shoes" and that's exactly where my buddy was about a year ago. He's got this big Belgian named Gus that pulls sleds at county fairs and kept throwing shoes every few weeks with the factory ones. So he spent a whole weekend forging a set himself, custom fit to each hoof, and swore the horse moved better the next day. But then he said it took him like 3 hours to make one shoe and he was back to buying keg shoes by the third set because time is money and Gus didn't seem to care either way. He said the handmade ones felt right and lasted longer on rough ground but the factory shoes were good enough for daily work and way less hassle. I guess it depends if you're trying to make a point or just get through the day.

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christophermorgan4mo ago

Three hours for one shoe? That's like watching paint dry while standing on one leg. Gus probably got a better ride out of the mystery of why his human spent the whole weekend hammering hot metal instead of giving him carrots. I mean, sure, custom fit is great and all but if the horse couldn't tell the difference after a month, then it's more about the farrier's ego than the horse's comfort. Factory shoes might be boring but at least they don't come with a side of existential crisis about wasted Saturday afternoons. Sounds like your buddy figured out the math pretty quick - handmade is for passion projects, not for daily grind with a big draft horse that just wants to pull stuff and eat.

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