A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear.
Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, although much larger and thicker.
However, there are also cases where shoes are glued.
Horseshoes are available in a wide variety of materials and styles, developed for different types of horses and for the work they do.
The most common materials are steel and aluminium, but specialized shoes may include use of rubber, plastic, magnesium, titanium, or copper.
Steel tends to be preferred in sports in which a strong, long-wearing shoe is needed, such as polo, eventing, show jumping, and western riding events.
Aluminium shoes are lighter, making them common in horse racing where a lighter shoe is desired, and often facilitate certain types of movement; they are often favoured in the discipline of dressage.
Some horseshoes have "caulkins", "caulks", or "calks": protrusions at the toe or heels of the shoe, or both, to provide additional traction.
The fitting of horseshoes is a professional occupation, conducted by a farrier, who specializes in the preparation of feet, assessing potential lameness issues, and fitting appropriate shoes, including remedial features where required.
In some countries, such as the UK, horseshoeing is legally restricted to people with specific qualifications and experience.
In others, such as the United States, where professional licensing is not legally required, professional organizations provide certification programs that publicly identify qualified individuals.
When kept as a talisman, a horseshoe is said to bring good luck.
A stylized variation of the horseshoe is used for a popular throwing game, horseshoes.
History.[]
Since the early history of domestication of the horse, working animals were found to be exposed to many conditions that created breakage or excessive hoof wear.
Ancient people recognized the need for the walls (and sometimes the sole) of domestic horse's hooves to have additional protection over and above any natural hardness.
An early form of hoof protection was seen in ancient Asia, where horse's hooves were wrapped in rawhide, leather, or other materials for both therapeutic purposes and protection from wear.
From archaeological finds in Great Britain, the Romans appeared to have attempted to protect their horse's feet with a strap-on, solid-bottomed "hipposandal" that has a slight resemblance to the modern hoof boot.
Historians differ on the origin of the horseshoe.
Because iron was a valuable commodity, and any worn out items were generally reforged and reused, it is difficult to locate clear archaeological evidence.
Although some credit the Druids, there is no hard evidence to support this claim.
In 1897 four bronze horseshoes with what are apparently nail holes were found in an Etruscan tomb dated around 400 BC.
The assertion by some historians that the Romans invented the "mule shoes" sometime after 100 BC is supported by a reference by Catullus who died in 54 BC.
However, these references to use of horseshoes and muleshoes in Rome may have been to the "hipposandal"—leather boots, reinforced by an iron plate, rather than to nailed horseshoes.
Existing references to the nailed shoe are relatively late, first known to have appeared around AD 900, but there may have been earlier uses given that some have been found in layers of dirt.
There are no extant references to nailed horseshoes prior to the reign of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI, and by 973 occasional references to them can be found.
The earliest clear written record of iron horseshoes is a reference to "crescent figured irons and their nails" in AD 910.
There is very little evidence of any sort that suggests the existence of nailed-on shoes prior to AD 500 or 600, though there is a find dated to the fifth century AD of a horseshoe, complete with nails, found in the tomb of the Frankish King Childeric I at Tournai, Belgium.
Around 1000 AD, cast bronze horseshoes with nail holes became common in Europe.
A design with a scalloped outer rim and six nail holes was common.
According to Gordon Ward the scalloped edges were created by double punching the nail holes causing the edges to bulge.
The 13th and 14th centuries brought the widespread manufacturing of iron horseshoes.
By the time of the Crusades (1096–1270), horseshoes were widespread and frequently mentioned in various written sources.
In that period, due to the value of iron, horseshoes were even accepted in lieu of coin to pay taxes.
By the 13th century, shoes were forged in large quantities and could be bought ready made.
Hot shoeing, the process of shaping a heated horseshoe immediately before placing it on the horse, became common in the 16th century.
From the need for horseshoes, the craft of blacksmithing became "one of the great staple crafts of medieval and modern times and contributed to the development of metallurgy."
A treatise titled "No Foot, No Horse" was published in England in 1751.
In 1835, the first US patent for a horseshoe manufacturing machine capable of making up to 60 horseshoes per hour was issued to Henry Burden.
In mid-19th-century Canada, marsh horseshoes kept horses from sinking into the soft intertidal mud during dike-building.
In a common design, a metal horseshoe holds a flat wooden shoe in place.
China[]
[edit] In China, iron horseshoes became common during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), prior to which rattan and leather shoes were used to preserve animal hooves. Evidence of the preservation of horse hooves in China dates to the Warring States period (476–221 BC), during which Zhuangzi recommended shaving horse hooves to keep them in good shape. The Discourses on Salt and Iron in 81 BC mentions using leather shoes, but it is not clear if they were used for protecting horse hooves or to aid in mounting the horse. Remnants of iron horseshoes have been found in what is now northeast China, but the tombs date to the Goguryeo period in 414 AD. A mural in the Mogao Caves dated to 584 AD depicts a man caring for a horse's hoof, which some speculate might be depicting horseshoe nailing, but the mural is too eroded to tell clearly.
The earliest reference to iron horseshoes in China dates to 938 AD during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. A monk named Gao Juhui sent to the Western Regions writes that the people in Ganzhou (now Zhangye) taught him how to make "horse hoof muse", which had four holes in it that connected to four holes in the horse's hoof, and were thus put together. They also recommended using yak skin shoes for camel hooves. Iron horseshoes however did not become common for another three centuries. Zhao Rukuo writes in Zhu Fan Zhi, finished in 1225, that the horses of the Arabs and Persians used metal for horse shoes, implying that horses in China did not. After the establishment of the Yuan dynasty in 1271 AD, iron horseshoes became more common in northern China. When Thomas Blakiston travelled up the Yangtze, he noted that in Sichuan "cattle wore straw shoes to prevent their slipping on the wet ground" while in northern China, "horses and cattle are shod with iron shoes and nails." The majority of Chinese horseshoe discoveries have been in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Sichuan, and Tibet.
Reasons for use[]
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Environmental changes linked to domestication[]
[edit] Many changes brought about by the domestication of the horse, such as putting them in wetter climates and exercising them less, have led to horses' hooves hardening less and being more vulnerable to injury. In the wild, a horse may travel up to 50 miles (80 km) per day to obtain adequate forage. While horses in the wild cover large areas of terrain, they usually do so at relatively slow speeds, unless being chased by a predator. They also tend to live in arid steppe climates. The consequence of slow but nonstop travel in a dry climate is that horses' feet are naturally worn to a small, smooth, even, and hard state. The continual stimulation of the sole of the foot keeps it thick and hard. However, in domestication, the manner in which horses are used is different. Domesticated horses are brought to colder and wetter areas than their ancestral habitat. These softer and heavier soils soften the hooves and make them prone to splitting, thus making hoof protection necessary.
Physical stresses requiring horseshoes[]
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- Abnormal stress: Horses' hooves can become quite worn out when subjected to the added weight and stress of a rider, pack load, cart, or wagon.
- Corrective shoeing: The shape, weight, and thickness of a horseshoe can significantly affect the horse's gait. Farriers may forge custom shoes to help horses with bone or muscle problems in their legs, or fit commercially available remedial shoes.
- Traction: Traction devices such as borium for ice, horse shoe studs for muddy or slick conditions, calks, carbide-tipped road nails and rims are useful for performance horses such as eventers, show jumpers, polo ponies, and other horses that perform at high speeds, over changing terrain, or in less-than-ideal footing.
- Gait manipulation: Some breeds such as the Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse, and other gaited horses are judged on their high-stepping movement. Special shoeing can help enhance their natural movement.
- Racing horses with weakness in their foot or leg require specialized horseshoes.
Horseshoeing theories and debates[]
[edit] Domestic horses do not always require shoes. When possible, a "barefoot" hoof, at least for part of every year, is a healthy option for most horses. However, horseshoes have their place and can help prevent excess or abnormal hoof wear and injury to the foot. Many horses go without shoes year round, some using temporary protection such as hoof boots for short-term use.