What does everyone have in their stud kit??
I’m going to be drilling and tapping my guys next cycle. I have a very very basic stud kit from the last time I had to stud, 10+ years ago, and I’m checking to see if I am missing anything/need to add to it.
Essentials?
Favorite non-essentials?
Nice to havers?
I’ve seen some newer studs:
SupaStuds (or other self cleaning studs)
StudFast
Opinions on these?
WD-40, tweezers or long handled pick to pull out cotton plugs if you use them.
Personally I prefer the rubber plugs or the stiffer cotton-ish plugs you pop out of the sheet over the cotton-ball style - just easier to deal with, and don’t have to worry about cotton snagging on the threads, but that is definitely a personal preference kind of thing. Obviously need a tap of some kind. I grew up cleaning studs off with WD-40, but have also used Stud Suds - whatever your cleaner of choice is. Having a spare horseshoe nail around is handy to finish cleaning out the holes. Adjustable wrench of course to help put them in tight. A tackle box or similar is useful for organized storage.
My basics are a square road stud (I have two sizes of these - small squares and big squares), a slightly pointy still essentially road stud, a pointier small grass stud, and round mud studs. I have bigger studs as well for mud, deeper grass, etc. that I used mainly at Prelim and up. I haven’t bought new studs in years, so not familiar with the newer brands.
I date back to when we stored studs in metal 35mm film containers with a bit of oil soaked cotton to inhibit corrosion.
In the nice to have stud kit category I’d add a hoof stand or hoof cradle. Having the hoof up off the ground in a fairly secure cradle makes the job go much more quickly and smoothly. Photo from internet.
The magnetic tray pictured is a great addition to a kit as well. Available at big box, auto parts stores, and on Amazon. I’ll also add the shortest tap you can find. A longer one is more likely to snap off if the hoof gets away from you and stomped into the ground while you are cleaning out the shoe. If it snaps off flush getting the tip out can be trying. So maybe adding a pair of fine hemostats to grab and twist it out would be a good, hopefully never used, kit addition.
Or save yourself the trouble and just get one of the safety taps! I’ve never actually had a horse step down on a tap, but it’s nice peace of mind. Easier on the hands, too. Somehow I ended up with two (three?) of them after some friends quit eventing and I inherited their XC gear.
Oh, yes, totally forgot the magnetic dish - lifesaver when you drop a stud in the shavings!
I use a small awl from Lowe’s to pick mine out. Much easier on the hands and the perfect shape. I’ve traveled the world with my stud kit and it has a magnetic dish, a safety tap, my awl, a draft horse shoe nail, a wrench, and WD40 in it. I don’t have a preference on plugs (or even use them all the time) and even just use some cotton wool from the vet kit.
My studs are just cleaned with water and towel and then dried and sprayed with WD40.
I also have the tap piece that the farriers use on their drill - used it more than once to fix threads. It’s been passed around the trailer park at many an event. I just use it with a wrench.
I keep it all in an old school square lunch box and my studs are in these little Dewalt organizers. Recently upgraded to two of those instead of just one for more organization. You really don’t need a lot - I’ve run many events with 7-9 horses and just my one tray of studs.
Studs wise, you can easily get away with a set for good, wet, and hard ground. I almost always use the same studs in both the inside and the outside.
From this link, this is what I would recommend:
Good-
Front: H
Hind: D
Wet-
Front: A
Hind: B or Q
Hard-
Front: R
Hind: S
Seconding the safety taps! Much easier to grab and my horse has stepped on it multiple times so I’m glad I had it.
I have a little 45-degree pick thing that looks like a dental tool that gets a ton of use. It’s great for getting small rocks and dirt out and removing plugs (I use the rubber ones so I just slide them down the pick like beads and they stay there until they’re ready to go back in).
Love my bionic wrench. Also recently came across Nunn Finer’s “easiest wrench yet” which looks even better, I might make the swap.
I order mini bottles of WD-40 on Amazon. They’re probably more expensive per ounce but they fit better in my box.
I keep an actual hoof pick in my kit too so I don’t have to go searching for my grooming kit if I need to brush mud or poop out of the shoe. Plus I have a bonus hoof pick when my other 5 inevitably disappear.
No one has mentioned vaseline.I put vaseline on all the threads, to lubricate them and prevent rust. I also use it on my tap.
My father had an extensive machine shop, and gave me my tap, and recommended vaseline, NOT WD 40. WD stands for Water Displacing. WD 40 is good for preventing rust, but not so much for lubricating.
Also, I use a horseshoe nail rather than an awl.
I had a horse snap the screw off the safety tap, which meant that I had to hold his foot off the ground while I yelled for help because he had a sharp-ended piece of metal sticking out of the stud hole… so I try to always have pliers.
I have the StudFast synthetic studs. Unfortunately only had the chance to use them once before my horse has been dealing with some issues, but they seemed to work well.
I did find they were pretty hard to put in - I ended up having to use a socket wrench to actually force them in. I confirmed with the company that I had the correct-sized holes drilled (same as standard metal studs). My metal road studs could be put in the same holes (and I could get them started with my hands). The videos on the StudFast social media show people putting them in by hand but when I emailed with my difficulties I was told to use tools. They also recommend your farrier drill countersink holes (which I did not have).
Since the material is softer than metal, maybe they’re easier to put in the next time since the threads have conformed a bit better.
I second this! Back when I used to use studs (currently barefoot) I had one of these and they worked great.
My stuff is pretty basic. A safety tap is essential. I have a piece of 2" dowel with a finishing nail reversed in the end for cleaning out the stud holes. I have a small adjustable wrench for screwing the studs in. Much more economical than buying the fancy and expensive stud kits.
As far as studs go, I only have two types. A basic hex style road stud for early season or good footing conditions. I’d say 90% of the time I go in Mustaad #6 ice stud. They are a good all around stud that works on any hard ground. I use the same stud all the way around.
I like a safety tap, I am faster with a T tap, but to be safe I use the safety tap.
I like to have a head lamp or a little, battery operated/chargable travel light. It never fails that the lighting is poor when I need to put studs in or out.
I believe you need to have a stud in different cities. You don’t want them crossing paths.
Seriously, I think it all depends on the level, size of horse, physicality of the horse, and location.
I’ve never used anything more than small turf and roads on my horses. I want them to slip a bit. It reduces tendon and ligament loading. I feel it also encourages the horse to step up and balance themselves. I know others feel like they want the horse to be locked in for confidence. On sandy soil, I don’t use studs.
I have lighter TBs as well so big meathooks are just not going to work.
Thus, I have 2 types of studs, roads and small turfs. I don’t bother with oil or such. We wear the studs out soon enough. I have a screwdriver ground down to act like a pick for initial hole cleaning, a tap, socket and drive to put in and remove studs. Pretty boringly simple.
The Nunn Finer Easiest Wrench Yet was sadly not the game changer I dreamed it would be. Doesn’t work well on bullets, taller studs, and some other things I had. I lost it fairly quickly and didn’t miss it.
This wrench on the other hand is amazing. It securely holds all shapes and sizes and I never have to adjust anything. I only use one of the two heads that came with it, but I’m not sure which one. It was a super thoughtful birthday gift from my husband after my entire stud kit went missing at a show.
Definitely recommend the magnetic dish. I just grabbed a new one at Harbor Freight for $6 in my XC colors after misplacing my other one (which I then immediately found in the horse trailer, as one does).
My stud kit is rounded out with Nunn Finer Easiest Stud Plugs Yet (I can’t stand cotton or foam), a cheap generic tackle box for organizing the studs, a small bottle of WD40, a safety tap, T-tap as a backup because the safety tap doesn’t always thread well, and a wood handle stud cleaner. It’s got to be the wooden one- the pokey end is the perfect size/shape and has a little twist to it. It also has a nicely sized brush in the other end but I rarely use that side.
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