Borioum heels and toes on your stock for ice and snow?

[s@gebrush]

Just wondering any of you guys running borioum heel and toe shoes on your mules/horses for riding in the ice and frozen ground this time of year?

[Brady Davis]

I put borium on my shoes on horses/mules ridden in the mountains. For me its twofold, you get some great traction but you also can reset those shoes in most cases over and over again cause that borium is some tough stuff! The key to borium is getting it forge welded correctly so it sticks well.

[s@gebrush]

Thank's brady that is what I have found question for you do you have problems if/when you reset a shoe with the nail holes rusting and letting that shoe move around?

[Mt. Dog]

Borium works good for me this time of year because the ice just doesnt seem to go away. Keeps younger horses from losing confidence due to bad footing. If you think you have nail hole problems just reset a little sooner, but the borium lasts a long time.

[s@gebrush]

Thanks mt. dog for the info do you run heel and toe borium or just on the heels? if heel and toes do you ever have issues with them overstepping and cutting themselves? or do you only put toes on the front shoes?

[Brady Davis]

I put the borium on the heels and toe...As for resetting, I find that the nail holes will get wallowed out and as long as the horse/mules foot can take it you can always adjust the nail. I may nail it twice with a SB5 then if it wallows out, repunch the holes to fit a E head slim then up to a normal E head nail...You can always tune it up in the forge with good punches and pritchels.

Also, all shoes I put on my own stock are handmades so I have a lot more freedom as to what I do...

[Powder River Walker]

Something you might want to try that alot of people here in WY are doing is, instead of using heel and toe shoes for traction. there are nails that they make that the head of them form a cleat. I think saint criox are the ones that make the nails.
PRW

[Brady Davis]

[Mt. Dog]

Instead of normal heel and toe we space 4 borium spots,

[s@gebrush]

thanks for all of the input brady I sent you a pm

[horshur]

are you guys refering to borium or drill tec rod?

[Brady Davis]

horseshur...I mean borium....

[Mike Leonard]

I gave up on borium and I now use Drill-Tech on my winter shoes.

Dril-Tech is a stick of tungsten carbide crystal. Once the shoe is shapped then it is heated in a forges and a torch is used to melt four spots of this matelrail on the heels and toe sides of the shoe. It is allowed to cool naturally and then chinked to make sure you have a good bond. It wears much longer than borium and really bites into even ice on frozed slick rock. Those of you who are familiar with hard banding material on drill pipe will know what I am talking about. The feed lot riders in North Dakota came up with this and passed it on to me a number of years ago and let me say a set of shoes will last a long time with this on. Don't do any fancy reining work with this becasue those shoe bite in and there is little slip.

If you have troube finding this product call Hammontree Farrier Supplies in Aztec, New Mexico (Don Hammontree). Just tell him you are looking for the material he puts on my winter shoes.


This stuff is great!

[s@gebrush]

Thanks for all of the info you guys I learned alot