The Slypner Horseshoe nails are made as a straight-sided nail with a reasonably large, but short, head and a long, narrow shaft. The short neck of the nail is desirable in providing a large surface area to hold the base shoe in place. The narrow shaft makes as small a hole as possible in the hoof wall. The head of the nail has flanges that grab into the urethane of the wearing sole and thus hold it in place. The shape of the nail is important both for holding the base shoe on the hoof and for holding the wearing sole in place on the base plate. Therefore, only Slypner Horseshoe nails should be used when applying Slypner Athletic Horseshoes.