Trying to fit a shoe on a draft horse with a really odd hoof angle

I had a client's Percheron last week with a hoof that was way more upright than normal, almost like a club foot. I thought I could just adjust my regular draft shoe pattern, but the heel wouldn't sit right at all. I must have heated and reshaped that same shoe five times before I got the bend correct. What's your go-to method for dealing with really steep hoof angles like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

dixon.amy3mo ago

I just make a whole new pattern from scratch for those, saves so much time.

anthony_burns3mo ago

How do you even start a pattern from scratch?

baker.ben1mo ago

How do you measure the heel angle on a horse like that before you even start the pattern? I've been using a hoof gauge to map out the live angle and then I heat the shoe, but it's always guessing until I get it on the foot. Do you trace the hoof and then transfer that to the shoe steel, or are you doing it all by eye on the anvil? I'm curious if you're just making a straight pattern that matches the angle, or if you have to account for the heel needing extra depth to sit flush.