[QUOTE=sonomacounty;7562251]
If one has a horse in and you see it’s going to be an off track, how soon ahead of time to you change shoes, if you are going to? [/QUOTE]Usually as soon as they can get the plater over to their barn to do it. Some do it last minute, some are more timely. Just depends on how the barn is run.
Also, what’s the difference between heels, caulks & stickers? When one uses a shoe that has a sticker & a heel, I guess the sticker goes on the outside? Are those used often or just heels on both sides?
What looks like a caulk is referred to on the track as a block. If a sticker is used at all it’s on the lateral or outside. As soon as race is over the groom usually was charged with twisting or breaking them off with a wrench or pliers. To not do so can be pretty hard on horses. Stickers are seldom seen anymore. They seem to have fallen out of favor in the last 20 years or so. Block and sticker combinations it’s been even longer. Haven’t seen them on any horse in more years than I can remember however, they still need to be forged to pass the platers Union test.
If you are at at race track, and you have one in for the next day, if the shoes are already good, do you usually walk the horse over by on the shoer for a nail check still? Does the trainer/assistant make the shoeing/shoe check appointments or does the groom?
Ok, on a TB track trainers are the least hands on of any equine discipline I know of. Many of them have never even ridden a horse in their lives. As a result they’re surrounded by an entourage of people who do everything for them but wipe their butts. (and some might need that done for them too) Part of the job of a track shoer is to first grab an overnight sheet in the morning as he arrives. Check for any entries from any of his outfits. If he sees one from his string in that day he high tails it over to that barn to check the horse or make any last minute fixes. This is how he takes care of his outfit. The first time he doesn’t do it and they have a shoeing problem before a race, more than likely the shoer will get the sack. Keeping an eye on that stuff and covering the situation is part of a track shoers job.
(I used to be a SB groom & am wondering how these things are handledvwith TBs.). Thanks.
Is really a whole different world. Is like comparing football to hockey. Completely different sports with about the only real thing in common being that it happens on a track with horses. SB guys have shops that the horse is brought to. Usually the trainer is breathing down the guys neck watching the shoeing taking careful note of measurements, angles, shoestyles, weights etc.When not doing that they’ll be out riding in a jog cart watching how the horse goes for themselves. 'Nuther words, they actually train horses for a living.
TB trainers don’t know or care much about shoeing. If they’re at the track at all they’ll be on a cell phone most of the day saying whatever they have to say to keep an owner paying. Platers don’t use shops. They typically run from stall to stall as fast as they can getting as much done as they can fast as possible with an impatient groom tapping their foot wanting to get done and out of there. A SB barn judges a shoer by how well he does his job. TB people judge him by how fast he gets them done. It’s a much different working environment.
