How to Insert Threaded Studs

Studs provide horses with temporary extra traction when they are going to be traveling over less-than-ideal surfaces. Because horses can easily injure their legs on studs, horses should always wear leg protection while exercising with studded shoes. You should insert the studs just before you are to ride the horse, and you must remove them immediately after the workout is over. Not all horseshoes will accommodate studs, so if you suspect your horse might need studs, ask your farrier to put on shoes with stud holes. Plug the stud holes with cotton to prevent them from filling with debris.

Things You'll Need

  • Studs
  • Hoof pick
  • Wire brush
  • Stud tap
  • Wrench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Brush and saddle up your horse so that it is ready to be ridden. "Put studs in just before you're ready to mount your horse," advises Wash Bishop on the EquiSearch website.

    • 2

      Run your hand down the horse's left front leg to just above its coronet band. Squeeze lightly, asking it to lift its hoof.

    • 3

      Pick out the horse's hoof thoroughly with the hoof pick, but do not put the hoof back down afterward.

    • 4

      Remove the cotton plugs from the holes in the shoes where the studs will go. If the plugs are difficult to remove, insert a large nail along the side of the plugs to help work them out. "An oversize farrier's nail works well for this," Bishop says.

    • 5

      Repeat this process for the other three hooves.

    • 6

      Lift the front left hoof again and while supporting it with one hand, clean any dirt out of the stud holes with a small wire brush, Andrea McHugh recommends on the website Equine World.

    • 7

      Insert a screw tap into one of the stud holes and screw the screw tap down gently in a clockwise direction until it reaches the bottom of the shoe, McHugh says. If you have difficulty screwing in the tap, gently remove it, clean it out and try it again.

    • 8

      Unscrew the screw tap slowly to remove all debris from the stud hole and remove the tap.

    • 9

      Repeat the process for all of the remaining stud holes on all four hooves. Be sure to clean the debris out of the screw tap between insertions.

    • 10

      Lift up the front left hoof again and screw a stud into each stud hole, turning it clockwise as tightly as you can by hand.

    • 11

      Tighten each stud with a wrench until it does not wiggle or move in the stud hole. The very top of the stud should be level with the shoe at this point.

    • 12

      Repeat the process on the remaining three hooves.

    • 13

      Apply protective boots to the horse's legs and finish tacking up immediately to avoid having it wait around while wearing studs.