Ask your farrier to put stud holes in your shoes, threaded as normal with a standard 3/8" Whitworth thread (he/she will be familiar with this).

SupaStuds are also available for 10mm threaded stud holes for our French & German customers.

Opinions vary on whether you should use one or two studs per shoe – consult your coach and/or farrier for advice or ring our helpline.

Remember that fitting stud holes to shoes is impossible to do once the shoe is on the horse, so you need to ask your farrier BEFORE he fits them!

Unless you have used your studs very recently (in the last few days), it usually helps to prepare the stud holes the day before you want to use your SupaStuds. You can then insert SupaStuds travel studs to keep the holes clear, and it will be easy to replace these with your choice of studs for the competition the next day. If you don’t want to use travel studs, insert and remove any SupaStud as described below to clean the stud holes.

If you plug your stud holes, first remove your plug. If you do not use plugs, remove the excess dirt and debris from the stud hole using your preferred method: we find a horseshoe nail works well, but you need to ask your farrier to take the sharp end of the nail off before you use this method, or use a nail that is well worn.

Once you have most of the dirt and debris out of the stud hole, simply pick up the SupaStud you want to use and screw it carefully into the stud hole (it goes in clock-wise). Make sure that you are screwing it in with the thread in the hole and that you haven't "cross-threaded" it – if the stud seems to be going in crooked, take it out and try again.

Once you have screwed the stud as far as you can with your fingers (this may not be very far at all, depending on the state of the stud hole!) use a spanner to tighten it. You should find that the stud will screw in all the way up to the stud's shoulder (ie where the flat base of the stud meets the neck). Once you get to this point, give the stud one last quarter turn with the spanner if you can – this locks the stud in place against the shoe and should prevent it from loosening in use.

Simply use a spanner to remove your studs (anti-clockwise). If you like to plug your stud holes do this immediately, before any grit and dirt can penetrate the hole.

Make sure you keep your studs clean, with the slot and base clear of mud, as they won't work properly if these are clogged up. The best thing to do is to clean your studs with a wire brush or similar straight after you take them out, before they go back in your stud kit.

Some people like to spray them with WD40 or similar to keep them clean and fresh to use.

If you are struggling to get your SupaStuds to screw in it could be that the top of the hole in the shoe is damaged – either through road-work or stony ground.  This will be an issue whatever studs you're using!  Ask your farrier to countersink the edge of the stud hole next time he visits and this will help to protect the thread in your horse's shoe.  It's also a good indicator of when your shoes need replacing!  In the meantime, you may have to nip the road burr off with your tap, but there's still no need to tap the entire hole.