What is Good Horse Shoeing?

Are corns the result of poor shoeing?

For those that don't know exactly what a corn is, they are found in the heel area, where the wall angles in toward the tip of the frog, forming the bars. The triangular piece of sole in this corner becomes bruised and forms a corn. It has deep roots and is to be cut out if possible, with the hook of the knife so that there is no pressure on that area. That whole area is known as the buttress at the heel and needs to be kept as a triangle with the bar level with the heel wall, for approximately 1" for strength. The bar then should be tapered down to the sole.

While corns are a shoeing problem, they are not necessarily the fault of the farrier. If the shoes are left on too long before the farrier is called in in to reset or replace the shoes, then the fault lies with the time between shoeing. By being left on too long the shoes are forced inside the hoof wall and breaks down the buttress at the heel, creating a corn with the shoe pressing on sole in that area. Galloping on hard ground will also push the heels of the shoe up into the corn area. A good setting free of corns mainly depends on proper scheduling and riding according to the ground surface, as well as being set correctly in the first place.

When a blacksmith is responsible for corning a horse he simply has not cleaned the sole out from the seat of the corn area. This is careless dressing of the foot. Also if the heels of a shoe have been shaped too narrow, in no time at all, the shoe will dig down into the heels which will result in corns.