Shoutout to the old guy in Boise who told me to use a rasp on hot shoes

I was at a clinic last fall and this retired farrier kept saying you should shape the shoe while it's still hot from the forge, using just the rasp. I thought it was some outdated, messy shortcut. Last week, I had a tough quarter crack on a draft horse and nothing was fitting right. Out of frustration, I heated a shoe and tried his method. The rasp cut through the hot steel like butter and I got a perfect fit in maybe 2 minutes flat. Totally changed how I handle custom fits now. Anyone else use hot rasping for tricky corrections?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_phoenix1mo ago

Try it on a cold shoe first to feel the difference.

the_mia1mo ago

Yeah, the cold test really shows you what you're paying for.