Realized I’d been setting my nails wrong for 12 years after a client spoke up

A jumper pulled her shoe off mid-ride and showed me the toe clip was pushing her foot sideways. It finally clicked that I’d been putting the nail line too far forward on her narrow horses. Has anyone else had a basic habit get busted by a horse or owner calling it out?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesleyflores11h ago

Hold up, I gotta push back a LITTLE here. A lot of farriers set nails that way for narrow feet because going too far back can Crack the wall or pinch the sensitive structures. I get why the client was annoyed, but sometimes the shoe's position has to work with the hoof shape, not just feel comfortable in the stirrup.

charles72010h ago

Man I just read somewhere that some old school farriers actually used to shoe horses way differently for different terrain... makes you wonder if we've overcomplicated things or if there's still something to that old way of thinking.

stella229h ago

Had to read this a few times. Used to be on the client's side of this argument. Thought farriers were just being lazy or not listening. But you got a point about hoof structure. Never considered how narrow feet change everything. The wall's integrity matters more than stirrup comfort in the long run. That changed my whole view on this.