Surprisingly I only found one old thread related to stud plugs, and it was only about how to get them out. What is everyone’s fave method and product to plug stud holes? I use the little jelly plastic ones (I’ve found that the Nunn Finer ones plug the hole better and are easier to get out than the generic ones). My farrier uses cotton–which I find to be a huge pain to pick out compared to the little jelly plastics. I am sort of scared to try blanks because I wouldnt want them to get stuck. What is everyone’s preference and experience? Interested in hearing bad experiences too.
When the horses are drilled and tapped a few weeks before the show I like to put in the little rubber plugs. Sometimes, depending on how deep they sink in the stud hole, I’ll put half of a cotton plug under or over the rubber plug. But all in all, I find the rubber plugs easier to get out when there’s dirt packed in on top of them. I usually dig out the top of the stud area with the stabby tool thing or just use a horseshoe nail. Then run through the holes with a tap, and then usually I’m set for the week.
When I’m at a show I only use the cotton plugs. The fact that they’ve got oil in them makes them hands down the easiest to get in, to get out, and they keep the threads so much nicer overall.
What I consider the most important part of my studding training? Definitely teaching the horses to cock a back leg and leave it on the ground while I get the studs in/out.
No particular horror stories (beyond having to do them at all, lol!). I often have 4 horses that I have to stud/de-stud rapidly throughout a given show day. I try to always have enough studs so that each horse has their own set. The worst times are always when I need the studs from one horse for the next. Those are the days where I really wish I had a groom!
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I used blanks 25yrs ago, and it definitely sucks when one gets stuck!! Never again.
Cotton is also a PITA, no fun picking it out one tiny tuft at a time.
I’ve used the Nunn Finer easy plugs, they’re ok but will fall out if you reuse them a couple times. I used to need studs to jump every week, and had to buy new ones frequently.
Most of the time, I use the white foam plugs. Use all the punch outs, then I cut up the stencils and use those, too. My farriers used to use the foam ones, and gave me all their empty stencils (dozens of them), so after cutting them up I don’t think I had to buy stud plugs for about 5 years! I like the foam because it’s easy to pick them out, and some can be reused once (overnight between xc and SJ on grass, for example).
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I like the white foamy ones. They tend to stay in there for a long time and if you’re good and clean your stud holes before a show… they will pop right out easily with a horse shoe nail.
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seconding (thirding?) the foam plugs. I can’t remember where I found them, but they were black and so nicely dense that using an old horseshoe nail (that was bent into a little hook from where the farrier cut it) pulled them right out. It sounds like others had issues with cotton, but I always give mine an extra spray of WD 40 before putting them in and never had any issues getting them out - I also like to think the extra oil kept the threads from rusting.
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Genius! Why have I never thought of cutting up the stencil part after using all the pre-cut plugs?! I shall be doing that from now on too…
My experience with the “re-useable” plastic ones is that they fell out easily so ended up being kind of expensive. Cotton is great for frequent use as long as you keep it oiled. But my favorite by far is the foam plugs. Easy to twist in and easy to dig out with a shoeing nail.
Going to look for foam plugs…
I’ve never had a blank get stuck but have had headaches when they were not replace often enough and they wore down so the allen wrench couldn’t get a purchase. But they did all come out .
The trick is to pop one in as soon as the stud comes out, and to keep them well oiled.
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I already placed my order! lol This site has free shipping even though the plugs are only $9! https://www.horsemensoutletnj.com/
I had major trouble with threaded blanks–road work caused the shoe to feather over the opening edge–perhaps would have been ok in soft footing.
Best bet–metal polish wadding (eg Duraglit or the like)—keeps the rust at bay, stuffs in & picks out readily. easy to keep a messy tin of it as the wads can be re-used or added to as needed. A bit of WD-40 also used.
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Brasso or cut up bits of sponge with spray oil.
Dirt. I tried all kinds of plugs and decided it was easier to clean the dirt out. During hunting season the horses generally go out once a week. So two horses getting stud holes cleaned out a week. It’s actually pretty easy.
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The trainer I grew up with always warned us against this, and recently I got to see the worst-case-example of why. A friend came home from a show and just left the stud holes open. Dirt corkscrewed up in one of the holes and absolutely crippled the horse. It took months for him to recover from the mess it made of his heels on that foot (none of the other 3 feet seemed to be impacted). I always thought my old trainer (who was also my farrier) was being a bit dramatic, but having seen some minor bruising/abscessing issues over the years and then after seeing that, I don’t ever leave stud holes open.
I’ve had stud plugs come out in between when shoes have been done and leaving for the show, of course, and the less-injurious-but-still-painful alternative is winding up with a rock in the stud hole that cannot be removed. And I’ve had that happen too.
And FTR - I hate the foam plugs. I’ve had them essentially disintegrate in the stud holes when left in for any period of time and allow the threads to rust. I don’t mind using them while I’m at a show and taking studs in and out every day, but much like the cotton plugs, I don’t like leaving them in long term on their own.
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I’ve been doing it this way over 25 years of hunting with no problems. I expect that the example you gave was more from something had already happened to the horse before dirt got in there.
Yahbut…not happening to you doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Just like you can turn your horse out in a field full of junky old vehicles and rusty metal and never have an issue, and I’m sure there are people who say “I’ve been doin’ that for thirty years without a problem!” Doesn’t mean I want to tempt fate with my own horses.
Read any tutorial on using studs and you’ll find a warning not to leave the stud holes open with a mention of potential harm to the horse. I’m guessing more than a few people through the years have seen issues arise.
As for my friend’s horse, it was not a preexisting issue…horse was a high level show horse with a long history of soundness. The dirt effectively worked up into his foot, in the process bruising his heels badly and creating an ugly abscess. Vet’s comment was that it was not uncommon. I don’t know if that means they see it “often,” or had just seen it before, but after having that possibility drilled into my brain by my [very old school, VERY much a consummate horseman] trainer, it’s not something I’m interested in testing out.
Same goes for little rocks getting in there. Glad that’s never happened to you, but it’s happened to me enough times (even with plugs in), that I have no interest in getting to a show and realizing that the only fix is pulling the shoe. If I was using studs mostly for schooling, maybe I wouldn’t care as much. But I have no interest in gambling with shoe issues at the start of a [horrendously expensive] show.
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I thought I was the only person who did that!! I love this. So much easier on my back and on my horse.
I put the foam plugs in but they get packed in deep with dirt. My friend put her horse in a wash stall, gets the feet good and wet and the dirt comes out easily. I always stud and home then boot up and haul. Much easier than a fidgety horse at a schooling show.
Also the blanks are horrible. I got one stuck because it had stripped and the farrier drilled it out at the next showing.
The foam ones are the way to go! They will stay in for quite a while (as in days/weeks) depending on turnout and footing. The cotton ones will end up stuck/rusted into the threads in pretty quick order. Good luck picking all that mess out! I also use what’s left of the foam sheet after all the pre-punched ones are gone. I actually got the right size metal punch and make my own perfect round ones with the punch and a hammer. I put the foam sheet on a piece of wood.
Punch looks like this: (I can’t remember the correct size, but it’s a standard one.) https://www.homedepot.com/p/TEKTON-Hollow-Punch-Set-12-Piece-6588/205848344?cm_mmc=Shopping|G|Base|D25T|25-1_HAND+TOOLS|NA|PLA|71700000034127224|58700003933021546|92700031755124850&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2v7mBRC1ARIsAAiw349p_U244ilnydXYzOxueynRhZu8jvKfYsipOJu5wSaSIX7oit0Ef4EaAq-4EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Just curious how long you think the issue had been brewing before the horse showed signs of lameness? Was it more like a day or two, or a number of weeks?
I actually do have a (mild) horror story involving stud plugs. I used the jelly-plastic, Nunn Finer version for years. Then mare suddenly comes up lame, foot sore. Okay, must be an abscess, pull the shoe… plug got pushed up, somehow, under the shoe and bruised her pretty badly. I pick feet/check shoes religiously, so this happened likely in a day or two. My farrier said he had never seen it happen before. Anyway, I use the foam ones now, but just something to think about.
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