How do you shoe a horse?

Shoe a horse by cleaning the hoof, clipping the hoof to the right size, filing it, and then nailing on the appropriate shoe. You need a hoof pick, measuring tape, nippers, a rasp, horseshoes and nails.

1. Clean the hoof

   Pick up the horse's hoof, and use a hoof pick to clean away dirt. Start at the back of the hoof, and clean your way to the toe. Be gentle around the sensitive tissue in the middle of the hoof.

2. Measure the hoof

   Measure the hoof wall from the hairline.

3. Clip the hoof

   If the hoof wall is over 3 3/4 inches long, use nippers to carve away the extra length.

4. File the hoof

   File the hoof with a rasper until the front and back parts are even and level.

5. Add the shoe

   Place the shoe flat against the hoof wall. Hammer the nails at an angle through the holes in the horseshoe. Continue hammering until the ends of the nails poke just through the wall.

6. Clip off the nail

   Use the nippers to snip off the ends of the nail flush against the hoof wall.

7. File down the rough edges

   File down any rough parts of the nail using the rasper.