Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Skidding with horses, hauling a horse!

Well, indeed my character Max, the first I’ve ever written RP is a draft horse, you know, this big heavy horses, always cool and stuff. Just like those In the add for that well known American beer (darn I laughed with those).
And he didn’t just come out of my mind, no, the real Max exists (at least I think he’s still alive) and I’ve worked with him and few/many other horses.
I’ve worked in the woods, on the fields or on the streets with horses, I drive with horses, I mount horses… I live horses.

So here my post, forest working with horses, my job for about ten years and a lifetime given to those equine critters 🐴

need some help?..

Oh, I LOVE horses! I wish I could live with them, too...

I was wondering... Is it true that horseshoes are harmful to horses? I've heard that pretty often, people are unaware that horseshoes are only needed for horses who spend most of their time on specific turf/ground type?

The absolute question, since mankind uses horses, are horseshoes bad or not!!!
The ever returning argue

Thanks for that one

First a warning, I'm giving my point of view, others might have other opinion. I know exactly where such difference may lead (that means very very far, I experienced). So please, don't go arguing afterwards, this is my point of view and not an imposed rule. I'm sorry, I have to point this out, avoiding any issue. Thanks for respecting.

So, regarding horseshoes:

Yes, they are harmful to horses, as harmful as false nails on a human finger. I'm not kidding.
A hoof is like a human nail, same material, same consistency, only englobing the whole fingertip, as a horse stands on four fingertips/toetips only (like a ballet-dancer, all the others have disappeared in evolution). The only difference is, those animals stand on those hooves 23 hours a day. So putting a 'false nail' on those hooves/nails, is something different than on human hands. And this is where it all complicates.

A horseshoe needs to be adapted to the hoof, it's like a custom designed shoe that protects your feet from abrasion whilst walking. A horseshoe protects from abrasion, especially when that same horse walks on the streets. The concrete streets are like big grates using the nail quite quickly. 60 miles on street and you have a bloody hoof that hurts, and if you have to stay on that one for the rest of the day....

You're going to say, they are nailed... yes, they are nailed, nailed by a professional who made (here in Europe) a three year graduate to learn that. A school in Belgium and renewed every three month AT THE LEAST. Normally you change horseshoe all 8 to ten weeks, as a hoof grows (like a fingernail) with a speed of up to 0.4 inch a month (1cm). This is if not used by abrasion, like for example on soft ground like pasture. Through the centuries of horse farriership, the horseshoe has evolved to have the least possible pressure on the hoof whilst being light and resistant.
You are clipping your nails too, don't you? Same for horse and the very special high tech horseshoe nails, they don't feel anything, the nails go into 'the white line', it's a special layer of the outer hoof that holds the outer hard hoof wall and the (slight softer) sole together. And believe me, if you put a nail into the living part of a hoof.... I have seen what a horse can do in panic, people die! (no exaggeration)

Many technologies have been tried, many materials have been invented to make it easier for the horses to wear horseshoes (if needed), there are boots, there are glued horseshoes, there are all kind of ways to protect a hoof (if needed). So if you have a horse, you need to think of how you use your companion, where you use your friend for life and what he has to carry. So if you have only a pony statue doing your lawn in your garden, no need for horseshoes (except with illness). But a horse that roams through the streets of town, pulling a tourist carriage for 4 to 6 hours a day, barefoot driving is a utopia.

I must admit before I had my Leo permanently with horseshoes, as he was very often on street. Now he's without, as I'm very unfortunately less with him and there is no need of horseshoes anymore. But I drove horses that used their horseshoes (0.5 - 1 inch thick steel) up to the thinness of a razorblade in 2 month. I'm not a fervent bare-foot adept, I'm not a defender of the horseshoe at all costs, I've learned to put into other perspectives the use or not of horseshoes.

In resume:
Yes, horseshoes are needed, in specific cases
Yes, horseshoes are harmful, if not done correctly
Yes, horseshoes are medical, as it can help by hoof accidents, illness, wrong use of the feet or even therapy

No, horseshoes don't hurt, if made by a professional
No, horseshoes are not a modern trend, they found-bronze metal horseshoes in ancient Italy, Etruscan area (2500 years old)
No, horseshoes are not a must, (almost) all horses can survive without and the hoof adapts itself to its use (cf the different types of horses, like for example the Ardenner, like my Leo, has very large hooves, up to 8 inch wide, as the Ardennes are very marshy, soft soiled and the horses weigh up to 1800-2000 lbs)

I tried to keep it short, as I could talk and ramble and give anecdotes for hours and hours about horses, the subject of horseshoes on top of that is an arguing that goes on since centuries (no, no, it's not a modern issue, it's as old as the farrier), but I hope this was quite clear and don't hesitate to ask more.

Yeah, I know! People often forget that horseriding is kinda an extreme and deadly hobby.
Gasp!!! What a handsome fellow! He looks like a marshmallow
Thank you so much! It does make sense, when I think about it now, how hooves are nails, and such.

Yes, what you see of a hoof:
The wall (that outer hard bell) is the nail, underneath is skin/leather as sensitive as unde a human’s nail.
The sole is in fact callus, as fragile as on human feet or hands, natural protection.
The only difference with human finger or toe is that ‘digital cushion’ very irrigated with blood as this is a sort of a ‘pump’ pushing blood upwards when the horse walks. It is said the horses to have 5 hearts.
Inbetween is that famous white line, a connective tissue holding the wall and the sole together. There go the farrier’s nails to hold a horseshoe.
My brother in law is farrier/blacksmith😁