[TheForge] Horseshoe Size

Sun Sep 28 14:20:00 2003

Supposing this stupid spam blocker will let me post...

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

As you've gathered, horse's feet come in different sizes like people's feet
do, and the sizing is as apparently random as shoe sizes are. I'm sure there
was some logic when the system started, but it's long been lost in the mists
of pre-made horse shoe history.

The 00 through 1 are usually used for ponies, and some youngsters- generally
you don't shoe a horse before it's 1 or 2 years old, because they're still
developing, but there are special circumstances why you might.

Arabs tend to have small feet- you might shoe them in the 1-3 sizes.

Most riding horses tend to be in the 3-5 sizes.

The larger sizes are usually reserved for draft horses.

Now, I've seen horses which go up and down the scale- riding horses with
feet like dinner plates, as well as those with small feet, and let's not
EVEN get into mules, and their specialty shoes (or any specialty shoe, for
that matter ;-)

If you're making a shoe for a horse, using bar stock, if it's a standard
horse and a standard shoe, you'll use 1/4" X 3/4" hot-rolled bar stock,
usually about a foot long. That will of course, vary, if you're adding heel
caulks or a bar, and there are some horses which need a wide-web shoe, which
you might make out of 1/4" X 1" bar stock.

If you're buying the shoes new for your project (and unless you're making a
whole lot of whatevers, it's usually easy enough to ask any horse owner or
farrier for their used shoes) you'd likely want to buy them in size 3 or 4.

Hope this helps...

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Crawford" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 1:59 PM
Subject: [TheForge] Horseshoe Size

> Alright guys -  (and gals)_
>
> I know we have several farriers on the list, and I need some help from
them.
>
> What does the size number for a horse shoe mean?  I have seen 00 thru 4 or
> 5, and in the Centaur Forge catalog, I see all the way from 4x0 thru 13,
but
> what does that mean to me?  I am trying to figure out a project using
> standard shoes, but don't know what size to order, or even close.  I saw a
> different listing in the new Centaur Forge catalog, that called them a
> different size yet, that sounded like the flat steel length that was
started
> with.
>
> I would really like to find a chart listing size number and dimensions,
but
> cannot seem to get to the right place to find one.
>
> Maybe I should make them, but I really wanted to do this project <before>
> next century, and I know that if I have to learn something like making the
> entire thing, I will never get this done.
>
> Please help!
>
> Thanks,
> Rick Crawford at Rafter Lazy C
> Home of Rick's Forge and LEM the Wonder Mule
> In the middle of Northern Illinois
> http://www.rafterlazyc.com
> [email protected]
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  [email protected]
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>
>