Saw a clever hoof stand hack at a clinic in Kentucky

Last month I stopped by a farrier clinic outside Lexington and watched a guy rig a homemade hoof stand from an old tractor weight and a welded bracket. He said it saved him from bending over all day on the heavy draft horses. I tried it on a big Belgian and it held steady at the right angle, way better than my usual crosstie setup. Anyone else built their own stands or found a cheap shortcut that works?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_baker4915h ago

Yall ever think about the weight distribution on those old tractor weights? The guy at that clinic probably had it dialed but most homemade stands I've seen tip forward when you got a horse leaning into it. I welded a stand from an old truck brake drum and a piece of square tubing, but the trick was adding a wide base plate angled slightly back, not just a flat bracket. That way the hoof sits centered and the stand rocks back into itself instead of sliding out from under a draft horse. Most people focus on the height or the grip, but the geometry of the base is what keeps you from chasing a tipped stand across the barn floor.

kim_davis15h ago

Always figured the height and how well the pad sat was the whole battle. Your point about the base plate angle makes a lot of sense though, never really thought about how the stand would want to rock forward with the horse’s weight. The brake drum idea is solid, but that angled base sounds like the real fix. Gonna have to mess with mine next time I’m in the shop, see if I can grind a wedge to set under it. Appreciate you sharing that, man, changes how I look at the whole setup.