Vol. 1 2014

TECHNICAL REPORT
Hoofcare
Insider
Why “For
F
or want of a nail,
the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe,
the horse was lost.
For want of a horse,
the rider was lost.
For want of a rider,
the battle was lost.
For want of a battle,
the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want
of a horseshoe nail.
It’s the most common thing. It’s the most extraordinary thing. It is
the tool’s target. It’s the hammer’s heartbeat. And yet it’s in a
league of its own.
No matter how you look at one, a horse nail has a history full of
legend, a legacy of technological innovation and a reputation for
being indispensable. Used correctly, it is practically invisible and
works in seamless, effortless synchronicity with the hoof wall it
enters and exits.
And like so many indispensable things in life, it has never
stopped evolving, even though it looks much the same as it did
hundreds of years ago. But look closer, as we will in these pages.
Generations of brainstorming geniuses and clever collaborators
tinkered and experimented and fine-tuned ideas to make the
horseshoe nail what it is today, even if it looks unchanged.
It’s just a horseshoe nail, but it is doing the job of a much bigger
tool: holding a horse’s shoe and guaranteeing a vital animal its
traction, balance, safety and wear 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. And, like the old “All for Want...” taunting reminder, the
fate of the world has ridden upon it.
Throughout history, as individuals and corporations have
struggled to perfect the horseshoe nail, there was much at stake:
2 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
r Want of a Nail” will never happen again.
wars, transport, commerce, wealth and sport depended
blocks and cuts and clinches. How the rasp
ultimately on the steady supply of horseshoe nails that would be
feels as it passes over the clinch. How the nail
up to the task.
head sits in the crease of a shoe. It’s the
And as long as there have been horseshoe nails, there was always
essence of your work to know the nail.
the curiosity that there might be a better way to make one, a
In this premiere issue of Hoofcare Insider,
different way to fasten the shoe, or some method to speed up the
Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center brings you
horse, or make him jump higher or run farther.
face to face with the horse nail as history
Now here we are today, with an unprecedented array of nails
made in different countries on different machines for different
horses with different needs and to be inserted into the nail holes
has recorded it, as we make it, as you use
it, and as the horse and shoe
wear it.
of different shoes by different men and women.
Creating a nail for all situations, all horses and all people is a tall
order. Mustad has responded with multiple styles of nails--rolled
or forged, in dozens of sizes, slim or regular blades, and with city,
regular and race heads in addition to specialized traction heads.
It’s our
job and yours to
know the horse nail
inside and out. Together, we can
But the quest is far from over. Horse nails may be close to
make sure no kingdom is ever lost--
engineering perfection but the demands have never been greater.
at least not for want of a well-made,
Who understands nails better than the company that makes
dependable, economical and safe
them? Perhaps only you, the professionals who use them. What
horseshoe nail.
you know by sight, feel, resistance and sound is how a nail fits its
Read on to find out why we
hole and how it enters, penetrates and exits the wall. How it
believe that’s true!
Nailmakers then,
nailmakers now. Inside
the old Capewell factory
in downtown Hartford,
Connecticut, “the horse nail
capital of the world”.
Nailmakers: Heroes of Horseshoe History
Who was the brave farrier who drove the first metal spike into a
steel was so fine that farriers carefully collected the nail stubs
hoof to hold a shoe? Where was it? When was it? Did it hold?
when they pulled shoes off a horse. The stubs were cleaned and
We’ll never know names or places or dates, but we know a good
idea when we see one. The invention of the horse nail launched
armies on the road to empire, put freight wagons in the profit
column of commerce and enabled new levels of sport and racing.
Secure horseshoes made it possible for horses to make their
weighed and bagged for selling to an agent. Nail stubs were
coveted by gunsmiths, who melted them down to make highlyprized “nail stub” gun barrels, using a Damascus-type process.
Even when machinemade nails became available, many farriers
stubbornly preferred the ones they made themselves or bought
from favored nailers.
supreme contribution to advancing human
civilization. They gave horses a future, and
One of the many restrictive laws imposed on
allowed the development of specialized breeds
the American colonies by the British Parliament
based on work that horses could do in fields,
in the mid-1700s was known as the “Iron Act”. It
streets, mines, battlefields, and show rings.
forbade the expansion of colonial ironworks
and even outlawed nailmaking, just as the
Along the way, nails developed quite a
colonies were growing. Farriers were forced to
reputation. In legend and literature, nails and
import nails from England, where entire towns
the “nailers” who crafted them were both
of nailmakers were hammering out nails of all
necessary to keep the world’s horses moving.
sorts in a thriving home-based industrial
Farriers were skeptical about machine-made
network that lasted until machine-made nails
nails early on partly because they were made
revolutionized the industry in the late 1800s.
from new iron. Before the days of more
In the great American novel Moby Dick,
sophisticated steel, iron was literally “worked”
published in 1851, Captain Ahab gave Mr. Perth,
and believed to profit from hammering.
his ship’s blacksmith, a satchel full of horse nail
Handmade nails began cold but the
hammering heated them; history tells us it took
20 hammer taps to make a nail, then it fell redhot from the nail tongs at the feet of the nailer,
stubs said to be taken from the hooves of the
George Capewell built his first nail
machine in 1872. But he continued
improving not just his machines,
but the design of nails themselves.
without ever touching a fire.
fastest racehorses. From these, Perth crafted his
ill-fated master a tip for his harpoon. Ahab
believed the nail stubs would empower the
harpoon to kill the great white whale who
While many farriers made their own nails, they might also engage
haunted the sea...and his soul.
family members or children to make nails, or hammer them out
themselves at home in the evening. Journeyman nailmakers, an
elite corps of traveling tradesmen known simply as “nailers”, were
the highest skilled and would make up a large supply of horse
It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that farriers could buy as many nails
as they wanted, any time they wanted, or select from multiple
shank sizes and shapes of heads.
nails for a farrier shop before moving on to the next shop in the
next town.
Horseshoe nails have always been made from the finest steel (or
iron) available, whether made by hand or machine. In fact, the
Today’s nailmakers at Mustad’s factories carry on the ancient
traditions of our craft: we know the horse world counts on us.
Our machines make a better product than nailmakers of old
would have dreamed possible, but carrying on their legacy
inspires us to always improve the nails we offer you.
Hoofcare Insider: Nails 5
We haven’t stopped
producing horse nails since 1872.
We’ve never shut down and neither have you. Through war and peace,
depression and prosperity, horses have needed nails and shoes.
As technology improved, so did the nails, and so did your service.
The horses in your care and the owners who ride them deserve the very
best our machines, our technology and our innovation can supply.
We keep working hard so you can, too.
Pressing
Finishing
Sorting
1493
1776
The first horseshoe nails in the
George Washington directed that
Americas probably arrived on the
every regiment of the Continental
second voyage of Christopher
Army should have a farrier.
Columbus with the first horses.
HISTORY OF AMERI
1789
William J. Folsome of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania made 120,000
1520
1861
horseshoe nails a week, using a
1881
Cortez lands a cavalry of shod
combination of mechanized and
The Boston Light Artillery horses
In America, 19 companies are
horses in Mexico.
hand labor.
leave for the Civil War with a large
manufacturing horseshoe nails;
supply of Putnam nails.
only two are manufacturing in
1532
Late 1700s
Spanish conquistador Pizarro
Ezekiel Reed of Bridgewater,
commands Inca smiths in Peru to
Massachusetts makes the first
Putnam nails are adopted by the
make horseshoes of silver for his
machine to both cut a nail and
US Army as the "Government
horse. (No mention of nails.)
form a head on it.
Standard Horse Nail".
1862
1541
1862
Spanaird Coronado marches into
Ausable Nail Company opens in
1836
Texas with 1000 armored
conquistadors riding shod horses.
Keeseville, New York using the
Defenders of The Alamo in San
Vermont-designed Dodge hot-
Antonio, Texas loaded their
forge nail machine.
cannon with horseshoe nails.
1862
1650
1837
Vermont blacksmith John Deere
ironworks in the British colonies
needed Union supply train of
introduces the mass-produced
makes “slit flats and rods” for
horseshoes and nails. They will be
plow from cast iron
General Lee’s cavalry’s salvation.
1839
1678
1863
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Pratt’s Smithy begins in Essex,
Confederate quartermasters plead
penned “The Village Blacksmith”
Connecticut, the oldest shoeing
for shoes and nails; they are forced
about Dexter Pratt, a smith in
shop and oldest continuously run
to import horseshoes from
Cambridge, Massachusetts
England.
family business in the US
1843
George Capewell was born in
1750
Birmingham, England.
The Iron Act passed by Parliament
1848
in London prohibits ironworking
in the American colonies,
Gooding patent, No. 5,489, dated
including nailmaking.
March 28, 1848, described a horse
nail machine
1859
for Want of a Horseshoe Nail” in
Silas Putnam’s machines begin
Poor Richard’s Almanac.
manufacturing hot-forged horse
nails in Neponset, Massachusett.
He gave them away but shoers still
refused to use them, saying they
preferred their handmade ones.
8 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
endorses them.
1881
The Capewell Horse Nail
Company formed in Hartford,
Connecticut by George Capewell
and Dr George Williams on
January 17. Steel wire undergoes
13 rolling, shaping and cutting
operations. 112 nails per minute .
Capewell’s End
Crowns th
of American
1881
1867
Mustad begins making horse nails
in Norway.
Fowler Nail Company, then in
Seymour, Connecticut, makes the
first cold-rolled horse nails.
1885
Northwestern Horse Nail
Company of Chicago is the largest
1878
Globe Nails in Boston boasts that
horse nail plant in the US, making
5 tons of nails a day.
its machine can make 600 pounds
1758
Benjamin Franklin publishes “All
Britain after the French army
Confederates capture a much-
At Saugus, Massachusetts, the first
horseshoes and nails.
Britain. Globe Nails moves to
1886
of nails a day.
Another challenger, the Standard
1876
George Capewell patents a new
nailmaking machine to make
horse nails without heat. He could
make 50 nails a minute.
Horse Nail Company is formed in
New Brighton, Pennsylvania.
1914
As war begins in Europe, Standard
Dr. Williams’ home becomes the
Horse Nail Company exports 725
Connecticut Governor’s Mansion.
tons of horse nails in 6 days
ICAN HORSE NAILS
1893
1943
1943
1918
Horseshoes classified as essential
Capewell opens childcare nursery
to the war effort; production in US
to assist women wartime workers.
factories doubles.
1902
1918
1960
Capewell moves to a new plant
George Capewell took his first
that would become its home for
vacation in years; days later, the
All-time high of 27 million horses
Only 3 million horses in the USA,
almost 100 years.
factory burned. Crews sifted 1
and mules in the USA; the US
(all time low); Capewell is the lone
million pounds of nails and ashes
military alone owned 5 million
US horse nail manufacturer left.
1896
Capewell output was averaging
about 2 million pounds of nails a
with help of neighbor firm Colt
Firearms. One-third of the nails
1919
George Capewell died.
and 63 machines were salvaged.
year, selling for 14 cents a pound.
1920
1903
1898
Capewell factory rebuilt, re-opens.
A new foreign Capewell factory is
Capewell nails first used to shoe
London; one machine can make
Capewell nails are used around
100 nails a minute.
the world.
Mustad has nail factories all over
1907
during Heritage
he History
n Horse Nails
in Hartford doubled since 1897.
the Horseshoers Journal; Capewell
had the back page for 30 years.
1912
1898
20 million pounds, 400 types and
than the rest of the companies in
sizes, sold in 55 countries. The
the world combined.
machines still peaked at 112 nails
per minute.
George Capewell patented two
better wages for male employees.
designs for nailless horseshoes
among the more than 100
inventions he patented.
1913
Capewell buys the Fowler and
Buffalo; name changed to
Capewell Manufacturing
1936
changed to Stanadyne
1971
American Farrier’s Association starts
Stanadyne sells Capewell division
to George D. O’Neill family.
1985
Mustad International Group
purchases nail division and forms
Capewell Horsenails Inc.
Connecticut River floods Capewell
factory. Ten feet of water cover the
nail machines in worst flood in
2012
Mustad combines Capewell with
1939
German blockade of
European commerce
prevents many European
nations from obtaining
horse nails. Capewell
Capewell employees win the fight
became virtually the sole
cars, Capewell ramps up, as the
for an eight-hour day.
source of horse nails for
bigger factory was built on the site.
Capewell Manufacturing; name
Union Horse Nail Company of
In spite of the arrival of motor
horse population boomed. A
Standard Screw Company buys
1981
1936
1912
Horse Nail Company go on strike for
Smithsonian Institute to preserve.
Williams died
Hartford history
1899
1900
Capewell co-founder Dr. George
Capewell’s peak year of nail sales:
Capewell made more horse nails
Women workers at Chicago’s Union
1933
1907
13 nail companies advertised in
Washington, DC for the
1970
1920
Europe, widely exported.
Workforce at Capewell Horse Nails
shipped from Hartford to
the horses at the Vatican in Rome
1904
flourishing in Millwall Docks,
1964
A Capewell horse nail machine is
the Allies.
Delta and Mustad nail operations.
Our boxes may have changed,
but not our commitment
to American horseshoers.
How George Capewell
cornered the horse nail
market, once and for all:
George Capewell was a great American
entrepreneur. He worked for years to cement
his patents, to improve his nailmaking
machines, to build his company’s reputation.
It didn’t take long before George’s machines
were making more nails than the rest of the US
manufacturers combined.
So he finally took a vacation in 1902, and the
factory burned down while he was away. George
came home, rebuilt his factory and began again.
Today, no one remembers George or tells his
story, but his name still carries the weight of a
revolutionary thinker who didn’t just talk about
progress--he made it happen.
When you open a cardboard box of nails, you’re
doing the same thing that thousands of
horseshoers before you have done. You’re
counting on George Capewell’s ingenuity, hard
work, and reputation to help you do your job.
That’s all he ever wanted. Keep up the good
work.
How do nails work in the shoe and ho
Mustad prides itself on being the world’s expert nailmaker of
Even before Mustad made horseshoes, we studied and analyzed
contemporary times. Nailmakers may not sit by the fire
nail holes, shoe creases and the difference between nail holes in
hammering out their product these days, but our high-tech nail
new shoes and after wear. The steel used in the nail would need
machines and computerized milling systems have maintained
to hold tight in two places--both the head and neck in both the
the old-time nailmakers’ feel for a well-crafted nail that will
crease and hole if the design was right and if the steels were tight.
cleanly penetrate--not split--a horse’s hoof wall.
Mustad delved even deeper into nail holes in the past 20 years as
Those old nailers were experts at beveling and pointing. They
the company took the unusual step of leading the farrier industry
knew the iron they worked. But here at Mustad, we have come to
by bringing customers in as consultants. We found that they had
understand that it is not enough to know the fine points of steel
a lot to teach us about how nails work in the hoof wall and in the
and bevel and edge and point. A nail doesn’t exist on its own.
shoe. Steve Kraus, Grant Moon, Meike van Heel and many other
To do its job successfully, every surface of a horseshoe nail has to
be perfectly crafted with all the correct proportions on all the
edges. Yet its job isn’t done there.
A finely engineered nail must be constructed of an ideal alloy of
the highest quality of steel available. Remember how the
leading professionals share their expertise and observations, and
Mustad has funded scientific research into hoof balance,
breakover and shoe placement.
Working with farriers and researchers showed us what the nail
does to the hoof wall and what the hoof wall does to the nail.
gunsmiths once collected the used nubs of nails when the horses
A horse nail doesn’t have an ebb and flow of grip. The horse nail
were re-shod? That’s because even in the 1700s, horseshoe nails
does its job from the moment the farrier clinches it until the
required the finest iron, which is now replaced by the finest steel.
moment that clinch is cut six weeks later. Even when the horse is
But the steel is not the best quality for its own sake. Surely you
can testify to the need for a horse nail to enter and exit cleanly, to
lying down and flat out asleep, the nails are tight.
The nail’s ability to hold the shoe tightly against the hoof wall in
bend without breaking, to hold its point, and to clinch perfectly.
the optimum position for the prolonged term of that shoeing
But deep in the nail hole, there is a marriage between the steel of
cycle is the second amazing achievement for a humble and thin
the nail head and neck and the steel or aluminum of the shoe.
spike of steel. A nail that fits well in the shoe must also be the best
12 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
oof?
nail for the thin, thick, brittle or soft wall. When everything’s
placed for optimum hold and minimal damage, and what role
right, horse nails play a supporting role in transforming horses
arena, trail and track surface play in the function of both the hoof
into the athletes they are, regardless of weather or surface.
and the shoes and nails chosen for it.
And that’s where professional farriers come in. Some of you work
Our job is not finished by sharing our wealth of knowledge
on horses in the swamps of Louisiana. Others have hard, dry
through our farrier advisors, just as your job is not done in
walls in Nevada. Racehorses have thin walls. Sometimes you are
serving the horses in your care. Your input is always welcome
dealing with abnormal flares or upright walls. Each of these and
when you notice how nails perform, how hoof walls are changing
many other hoof wall sizes, shapes and potential deformities sets
and how environmental factors affect your job.
the bar a little higher for a horse nail to do its job well.
Horse nail manufacturing technology keeps reaching higher to
serve horses of all ages or breeds in all sports and environments.
There’s no question that the hoof wall is one of the last frontiers
that equine research has to unravel. Some scientists study the
abnormal walls of horses with laminitis or white line disease, but
very few study the normal hoof wall, and the development of it
from foal to adulthood. We may know more about diseased hoof
We are all in this together, to provide the best care for the horse.
It is our job to offer an almost-infinite selection of the highestquality nails in sizes, heads, blade designs and brands so that
there is a “right nail” for every horse and the job he must do.
You, the farrier, know which nail is the right one when you drive
it. The horse knows it when it steps off the mat. The rider knows it
when she feels a confident, sure-footed horse through the saddle
and the bit. We all share the pleasure of the horse nail’s success.
walls than we do about normal walls, but we do know how to
hold a shoe on with the greatest chance of finding it where you
left it in six weeks’ time.
We still have much to learn about how moisture affects both the
hoof wall and the bond between the wall and the shoe. As
manufacturers, we need to be able to specifically advise farriers
about changes in hoof wall thickness, how nails can be better
For the better of the horse....
Hoofcare Insider: Nails 13
The journey of the horseshoe nail
Normal or “correct” nailing
begins with observing nail
hole pitch and position.
Shank length and head are
chosen for the width and
angle of the hoof wall, along
with the horse’s use.
No-pitch nailing risks
bypassing a secure entry to
the white line; the straight
path of the nail may send it
out through the wall below
the ideal target.
Nailing into a flared wall
may not give the nail the
security of entering through
the white line, even if the
shoe appears to be properly
shaped for the hoof.
Nailing into a flared wall,
with the flare removed:
rasping off the flare (dotted
line) gives the nail a more
secure point of entry and a
better exit height.
Travels through the hoof wall
Level A: The nail is placed in the outer portion of the “yellow” par
line (not in the unpigmented, whiter inner zone).
Level B: 1 cm above the hoof’s bearing edge, the nail enters the in
the coronary horn. The laminar zone consists of interdigi
laminar horn and terminal horn (originating from the ter
papillae)
Level C: 2 cm over the bearing edge, the nail is in the central zone
the laminar zone at this level, the terminal papillae of the
dermis are visible.
Level D: at 3 cm, the nail is exiting through the outer zone of horn
zone, the primary epidermal (horny) lamina interdigitate
a: white line; b: coronary horn (stratum medium)
1: horny or epidermal lamina (yellow); 2: terminal horn in between
the sensitive dermis (red); 4: the germinal cell layer of the epiderm
(blue); 5: sensitive dermal lamina (red); 6: the germinal cell layer o
coronary horn; 8: middle zone of the coronary horn; 9: outer zone
Note: for illustration purposes, the shoe is not shown; tubules and lamina are mo
is usually rasped away after shoeing.
Nailing diagrams: © www.e-hoof.com, Illustrator M. Haab, Equine Department, V
Hoof wall diagram: © Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Vetsuisse Faculty University
14 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
Coarse nailing: A shoe may
be punched “coarse” (wider
to the outside) but a coarse
nail is easily over-pitched
to the inside at the start,
and thus exits too high for
a strong clinch.
Coarsely driven nails may
cause immediate or
eventual damage to
sensitive tissue. Ideally,
nail holes correspond
to the white line.
rt of the white
nner zone of
itating
rminal
e of horn. In
e sensitive
n. In the laminar
e with the primary dermal (sensitive) lamina.
n the laminar horn (pink); 3: tip of the terminal papillae of
mal horn tubules which originate from the terminal papillae
f the epidermal or horny lamina (blue); 7: inner zone of the
of the coronary horn
ore numerous than shown; the periople (stratum externum) is not shown because it
Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Used with permission.
y of Zurich Switzerland . Used with permission.
Hoofcare Insider: Nails 15
All for want of the world’s best horseshoe nail…
Come with us to see how Capewell and Mustad nails are made.
While the two nails are made by different processes and different machinery, they
are made within identically-operated Mustad factories. Our Delta nails are made in
Colombia, South America.
For all brands, the process begins with the highest quality steel wire. This base
material is the finest in the world, something those nailmakers in olden days could
only dream of.
From there, technology takes over: the wire passes through a precise channel of
processes until it emerges as a finished nail, to be sorted and inspected, just like when
they passed through the hands of the ladies in the Capewell factory of old.
Today’s inspectors’ eyes are lasers, and the arms that reach for the nails are now
robotic, but we have never forgotten where we came from, who we are or where we
are going.
16 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
We know you have choices, but now you know our story, from the past to the
present. There is no other story like it. Come with us into the future, and know you
will never “want” for the best horseshoe nail the world has ever known.
HOOFCARE INSIDER is a publication of Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center. Publication, images, contents © 2014 by DMHC.
All rights reserved. Cover photo and pages 2-3,10-11,18, 21 by Marguerite Therrien-Paige.Pages 3-5 Capewell Horse
Nails. Pages 6-7 Scientific American March 1, 1879. Page 12-13 by Sarah K. Andrew. Pages 14-15 © www.ehoof.com and University of Zurich. Pages 16-17 ©Arnd Bronkhorst/www.arnd.nl. Text, layout, design by Fran Jurga.
No use or duplication by any method or media in part or total without express written permission.
Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center 5195 Scandia Trail Forest Lake, Minnesota 55025 USA www.mustad.com
Clinching the future...
The nail industry is moving forward. Even in this age when you
benefits of horseshoeing made much of human progress
might think the horseshoe nail has reached its ultimate state,
possible. And working horses wearing shoes are still required in
there are new companies getting into manufacturing and
many parts of the world.
competing with Mustad.
Perhaps where we have not done our job is to show what shoes
Mustad’s job is far from done. Adhesive technology has made it
and nails can do for horses. We have done a wonderful job of
possible for horses to wear shoes without nails. Idealistic
showcasing the work of farriers to make shoes in competitions,
professionals are experimenting with trimming techniques and
but we haven’t showcased what shoes and nails have done for
hoof boots to bypass both shoes and nails. We applaud the efforts
horses, and what well-shod horses can do.
of those who can make progress and help horses without using
our nails, if they do it without causing discomfort and suffering.
Horses that have been cared for by knowledgeable, observant
and proactive professional farriers on a regular basis can avoid
The rise of the barefoot horse and the glued-on shoe don’t
neglect-related lameness and maintain soundness over their
threaten us, they inspire us. Our business grows for the same
lifetimes.
reason that GM and Ford have made a recent comeback, but not
by making just hybrid cars. What Americans were and are looking
for is a safer, more efficient and more innovative version of the
Nails are not harmful to horses when they are used correctly and
replaced regularly, and when the horse is well cared for so the
hoof capsule is in optimum health.
car they already know and trust.
The next era of innovation for horseshoe nails must be to raise
When Americans buy a used car, they want to see its service and
accident record. They want a car that has been well maintained.
the bar for advanced education of farriers and horse owners, so
that poorly shod or neglected horses can be a thing of the past
If only horse buyers had the same regard for hooves. But for the
and so that we can learn to prevent lameness and foot deformity
true horsemen, the hoof’s service record is visible for all to see.
rather than to treat it after it has compromised a horse’s ability to
Along the way, nails have been blamed for many of the problems
perform its best.
that horses have suffered over the centuries. We know that
neglecting to hire a trained professional and to maintain
sufficiently short and regular re-shoeing intervals can be
detrimental to the health of the hoof, but we also know that the
18 Hoofcare Insider: Nails
continued on page 21
Clinching the future...one nail at a time
continued from page 18
The farrier's skill determines the damage that the nail will do, to a
At the same time, judges and breed officials need to understand
great extent, and farriers are both improving their skills and
the importance of good hoofcare and sound feet, and the role of
educating owners that it's just not ok to leave shoes on for five
professional farriers must be recognized and celebrated.
months, and it's not ok to tolerate substandard shoeing.
These are not easy goals, but they are the ones we must work on
We have been through two revolutions: the revelation that a
together if we are to help the horse. Delta Mustad has started
handmade nail could hold on an iron shoe by piercing the hoof
down this road and we invite you to join us wherever, whenever
wall, and then that high-tech--for their day--machines could
and however you can.
make nails to hold on a shoe. Over the years, both nails and
shoes have been revolutionized by manufacturing and
farrier knowledge. Now it is time to turn our thoughts
to the hoof.
Serving the hoof to the best of our ability as manufacturers and
as farriers translates to more awareness of selecting the best nail
for the shoe and wall to be worked on. Better education
translates to the most appropriate use of nails. And most of all,
When you drive a nail, think what you are doing. Imagine that
fellow who had to make his nails by the fire at night. Imagine the
work of collecting and cleaning nail stubs off the smithy floor to
sell to a gunsmith.
The North American farrier has many choices, many
opportunities, many supporters. Your work to help horses
perform their best is a source of pride for our company, and a
culmination of generations of efforts to perfect our product.
the education of horse owners means horses must not be left too
long between shoeings so the nails don't damage the wall from
We can do more to understand and care for the horse of the
extended wear in the same holes.
future. Let’s move toward that goal, together, as we always have.