Fat Feet Shoes

I swear, if I was a draft horse farrier that's what I'd call my business.  Fat Feet Shoes.  I'd have a big horse trailer full of shoeing stuff.  And a random dog getting into my stuff.

I would also have a Chief Horse Holder.

I would probably not be able to make shoes like this though because I'd end up hammering my hand.

See how glowing hot they are?  I wish the red would have shown up better in the photos.  This was my first experience with hot shoeing.  I was way impressed.  Tommy's shoe started out as a big metal bar.

Mark turned them into this:

Notice the size?  That's not my 10 year old son holding the shoe.  Yea, those fit big big boys!

Here's Tommy wearing his custom shoe.  Sorry for the off center picture.  I was holding his hoof and taking photos at the same time.  You can see the packing in the hole on the left.  It's blending in to the hoof, so a bit difficult to see.

Then he put on the hospital plate.  It's a big piece of aluminum.

Four bolts hold it in place.  I unbolt three of them, and the fourth acts as a hinge.

Here's the finished shoe, minus the hospital plate.  You can see the opening between the bar and the hoof in these photos.  Previously his leather pad was between the hoof and the shoe, so there were no gaps.

In this photo you can see the last remnant of the original hole.  It's behind the last nail almost to the rear corner of his hoof.  So if anyone is paying attention to the timeframe that was a growth period of 7 1/2 months.  I hope that I'm able to successfully manage this canker site with the hospital plate on; because if I'm not then Dr. A is going to drill through the top of the hoof so I can medicate down instead of up.  That means all things being equal I'll have another 7 1/2 months before that hole is fully grown out.

Then it was time to inject the copper silicone into the space between the hoof and the plate.  I may be calling that by the incorrect name.  I know it was blue because it had copper in it.  This will help keep any thrush from infecting the frog area, and will keep out mud and dirt.

Then he used a big torch to heat up the plate to help the silicone set up quicker. 

Once it firmed up, he opened up the plate to remove the packing from the hole.  The blue is now soft, but firmly in place.  The packing was there to keep the silicone from filling in the hole.

Here's the finished product!  

Here's hoping that this works.  I'm committed to giving it a try.  I'd like to be able to keep Tommy at home this winter and save on the boarding bills, and I know Tommy would like to be able to be outside in the mud where he's happiest.