The farrier drives the horseshoe nails thru what would be on a human the part of the fingernail that sticks out past the finger. It doesnt hurt the horse at all as long as its done right. Theres a bone in the very center of the hoof called the "coffin bone". Surrounding that is sensitive connective tissue, "padding like" tissue and blood vessels. Then the hoof starts. Its similar in makeup to a human nail, but extremely thick compared to our nails. Like inches thick. The outer hoof kind of acts like a shoe around the sensitive inner hoof. It doesnt hurt the horse to apply heat or drive nails thru the outer hoof anymore than it would hurt a human to do that to your shoe, as long as the nail didnt go into your foot.

What hurts about them is the joints over time. Imagine wearing metal shoes all the time and never being able to take them off. All the shock that would be absorbed by your foot if it was normal clangs on the metal shoes and goes right up to the ankles, knees and hips. I remember wearing my football studs as a kid and walking over the concrete on the way to the pitch was horrible, I can't imagine the discomfort these poor horses live in, there such compliant, sweet animals and humans walk all over them :(

@Fighting For Animals I am not a proponent of shoeing every horse just because.There are plenty of wonderful barefoot trim options and temporary boots out there. That being said, shoeing does have a place for horses with certain medical or conformation issues. A well designed custom shoe package can keep that horse sound. In addition, the few horses that still do pulling work and spend a lot of time walking on roads need shoes as their soles will wear down quickly and hurt the horse severely. So shoeing is not a universal evil or anything.

@@childofcascadiayep, horseshoes are situational. And a flat piece of metal that's securely attached to your foot is not the same as spiky soled shoes like in cleats. Not to disparage the guy above you, but shoes are completely painless for the horse and in cases where they're needed actually prevent painful damage from occuring to the hooves Definitely not needed all the time tho. I'm not an expert on how horseshoes show wear, but based on several other comments on this video from people more knowledgeable than me this horse's shoes had almost no wear, especially considering how long they would have had to be on for a hoof to get so severely overgrown. This horse definitely does not need shoes

@@fightingforanimals3961 username checks out

Me either! And I've had horses my entire life!

When they're hooves are too hard it's usually from them being kept on hard dry ground or concrete if they're kept in a pasture they're hooves won't get hard like that and the only way to cut them when they're hard like that is to torch them first

That was unexpected to be sure. Also, why am I watching these videos? Damn rabbit holes. 🐇

It must have been a hell of a gamble when the first farrier who tried this said: "Let's blow torch that hoof and see where we end up". Nah, like most new procedures I guess they probably must have tested it on a dead horse

@@TFLUFFY. M I IIM

I was thinking the same thing. I’d never have seen this in a million years

@@SanchoKobe He couldn't! Forced to start at 7yrs old learning the trade. He was a child slave. ( white) Knarled hands and bent back. He was not our blood grandpa, but we loved him. Amazing , loving man!

I'm sorry he's not around anymore. Sounds like a great guy :(

New techniques sincé I have been around horses. You corrected the damages and over growth with professional ease. The filler is a great idea. Used to just have to wait out the growth.

You're right I'm not even a farrier but I used to volunteer at a horse stable where I helped keep the horses fed and groomed and I would always clean theirs hooves even the really big guys and sitting there even just scrubbing hooves is a huge chore

It is, since when you hold a leg up the horse is just leaning on you a little, it's hard to keep balance if it's a heavy one.

I know Nothing about horses and was surprised about the torch too. I wonder how one knows how long to use the torch. I would fear getting the hoof too hot and having heat traveling up and burning the horse.

The Hoof GP uses a torch on cows' hooves! I didn't know it could be used on a horse's hooves, too.

@@jdm6613 hoof doesn’t transmit heat well, it would take many many minutes of burning before the horse would even feel warmth from a torch let alone actual heat. Burning it makes sense, sort of like making a dugout canoe, you burn the inside to creat char that’s easier to carve away

I've never seen a farrier use a torch on a hard hoof before!! But if an arid climate makes hooves harder, maybe it's never needed around my area. We're in hot, humid Kentucky and the problem for us was always worrying about our horses getting thrush on their frogs.

My hat's always off to you super professionals. Thanks for the insightful commentary here!

I’ve noticed that the way he loosens and twists to the side after each nip keeps the inner blade lined up with the previous cut. There is deep beauty in such economically elegant motions.

Yeah crazy skill built there! Was awesome

De g ya era tguxz no lo

Lo. No Mari ñ. W ni

I'm not a farrier by any means but i'd try soaking the hooves in water instead of using the blowtorch.

@Job Quijada, If I was drowning I wouldn't ask Maupin "Farrier" Co. for help. 😖😖😖

@@Copyright-di4we That would take days, and that would have been the owners responsibility. The farrier did what he had to do, and it worked.

Muy cierto

If you think about it they’ve been applying red-hot horseshoes to hooves for centuries so it makes sense a blowtorch would be fine.

You don't know what they use it for?

@@minisportsprodz3337 If they keep the horse shod for riding on rocky terrain or for traction up and down hills then yes, the horse needs shoes. But this horses shoes had almost no wear and they had been on for many, many months, as indicated by the extreme foot length. So that indicates the horse was not even walking in a pasture.

@@BadHairdayKimmie keep the skill sharp? Preparation for just in case?

I don't know why people have animals if they aren't going to take proper care of them. While it's nowhere near the worst I've ever seen on channels like this, it's still a lot of growth, and must have caused the horse some discomfort in his legs, which would lead to lameness eventually. If all they want is a horse-shaped decoration to stand around looking pretty, they should just buy a lawn ornament.

You are just assuming things and talking out of your rear. You aren’t there you are looking at your phone probably and you have no idea how they care for the animals.

Mate, what is a frog (that relates to a horse)?

@@jdm6613 When you pick up a horse's hoof, you'll see a V beginning at the heel, pointing down towards the toe or tip. The frog is made of a tough spongy type material, that helps protect the inside of the hoof, and it also acts a shock absorber for the hoof.

@@RealJohnWayne thanks mate. It's ashame what Grizzly did to your dog

@@jdm6613 ????

@@RealJohnWayne LOL, there's an old American western that starred a character, John Wayne. Sorry mate, seen the name and couldn't resist.