Owning a horse or even a stable is the kind of luck that not all people receive. When the time comes to replace the shoes of your horse for the first time, it can be a bit of a challenge. The solution for this is knowing the errors that you should avoid. When you do, you’d the chance to be on the right path.

Let us find out some of the most common errors to avoid in buying equine shoes for the first time.

Measuring the vertical span

All you need are tape and a piece of paper to record the measurements. However, it’s the measuring part when things get complicated. Most people would measure the shoe size by measuring the vertical span, and that’s wrong. Usually, the shoe sizes are measured by considering the width or the horizontal span. Hence, be sure not to make that rookie mistake.

Generalizing the shoe size

Although human feet are more or less identical by design, that’s not the same with horses at all. Thus, if you were to buy the shoes based on the size of one foot, you’re going to end up doing massive changes to the shoe, and thesealternations may even crack the metal. What you should do instead is check for the dimensions of each foot.

Buying from questionable sellers

Due to the demand of the equine industry, it’s quite normal to find more than enough equine suppliers in the market. But not all of them are of the same quality at all. So, what we’re asking you to do is, whatever you buy, avoid buying from borderline retail shops. Instead, try going for dedicated equine manufacturers and sellers who got nothing but the absolute best for you.

Getting identical pairs for both front and back

Being another rookie mistake, you should understand that the front legs and the back legs of horses do not operate with the same intensity. That’s why it’s mandatory to check whether you’re buying the front or rear shoes.

Not understanding the needs of the animal better

The common practice is to either go for stainless steel or aluminum shoes for a horse. But this is when everything is normal. What if your horse could use some relief on the foot? This is when you can use plastic horseshoes to ease the pain and help the horses heal for minor foot injuries.

In fact, the lack of nails surely decreases any installation pains. At the end of the day, choosing plastic-made shoes for even healthy horses is recommended they’re made from special plastic types, that are a thousand times better than resin-made ones.

Lack of knowledge in the shoeing process

It’s completely found not to know everything at the start since there are more than enough comprehensive guides online. But you should know that you won’t be able to get a shoe in if you didn’t have the essential equine supplies. That’s why you should go through one so that you can buy those supplies along with the shoes.

 

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