Just heard a guy at the feed store say he uses roofing nails on shoes

I was picking up supplies yesterday and overheard this older farrier telling a younger guy he saves money by using roofing nails instead of proper horseshoe nails. Said he's been doing it for 10 years with no issues. That made my blood run cold honestly. Roofing nails have way less holding power and they can shear off under the stress of a horse moving. Plus they're not designed to clinch properly which means a loose shoe waiting to happen. Has anyone else run into customers asking about this kind of shortcut?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_baker284d ago

Yeah roofing nails are way too brittle for this work. They're made for holding down shingles not dealing with the constant force of a horse moving around.

amyh123d ago

Learned that one the hard way myself, ended up with a horse shaped hole in my fence and a very sore back.

ward.anna3d ago

10 years and zero issues until one day that horse says nope.