Horseshoe Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
and nailed onto the hoof.]]A horseshoe is a U-shaped piece of iron, rubber, plastic, rawhide or a laminate of these, naileded or glued to a horse's hoof--very like a shoe. Early horseshoes had "calkins" or protruding tabs at the ends of the shoe to provide additional traction. Kept as a talisman, horseshoes are said to bring luck.
Since the early history of the domestication and use of horses, many factors have contributed to the need for the bottoms of domestic horses's feet (hooves) to have additional protection over and above their natural hardness.
However, in domestication, the customary amount of ground covered by a horse on a daily basis is greatly reduced. Therefore, the hooves harden much less and are more vulnerable to injury.
Since then, metal shoes have been developed. These are nailed to the rim of the sole with nails which find a purchase in the hoof wall.
In modern times, the nails are applied so as to enter the bottom of the keratinous shell of the hoof very near the edge, and at an angle which causes them to protrude through the hoof wall, where they are then bent over, cut off and "clinched" to hold in the hoof wall.
Advances in technology and materials have led to shoes which can be glued to the bottom of the hoof, and which are composed of tough but yielding materials. This cushions ground impact without adding rigidity or excessive weight to the foot and without requiring nail holes. Typically such applications respond to special needs or medical problems of a given animal, and are not routine. Iron is still favored as the most desired material for horseshoes, because the rigidity which it provides protects the hoof against certain types of injury (such as heel shear) which other materials do not protect against.Reasons for use in the domestic environment
Less healthy food
Live grasseses, weeds and shrubs, which are eaten in the wild, are high in nutrients such as beta carotene. Cultivated feeds lose a high proportion of their carotene within hours of harvesting, and so do not provide this vital ingredient to the horse. The hoof is made of horn, much as the human fingernail, and grows hard, tough and flexible only with optimal nutrition.Less varied terrain
Horse shoes are not needed in nature as the horse walks and grazes continuously over a wide variety of surfaces. The consequence of this nonstop travel on the horse's feet is to keep them worn to a small, smooth, even and hard state. The continual stimulation and irritation of the sole of the foot keeps it thick and hard, much like a callus.Added weight
Horses's hooves can become quite worn out when subjected to the added weight/stress of a human, pack loads, cart or wagon traces.Wetter climate
Horses have moved from the more arid steppes to the wetter climate of northern Europe. This wetter climate softened the hooves, making hoof protection necessary, and consequently it was in northern Europe that the first practical horseshoe arose.Consequences of less healthy hooves
In captivity, absent the natural conditioning factors present in the wild, the feet of horses grow overly large, long, fragile and soft. Hence, protection from rocks, pebbles and hard, uneven surfaces is lacking. Cracks in overgrown and overly brittle hoof walls are a constant danger, as is bruising of the soft tissues within the foot because of inadequately thick and hard sole material.History
Earliest horseshoes
Horse owners have sought to remedy the problems shown above with supplemental support and armor, beginning in the earliest days with rawhide boots which could be tied onto the hoof.Metal horseshoes
horseshoes from about 294 CE challenge assumptions about horseshoe history.]]
There has been some debate about when metal horseshoes were first invented - some historians believe that horseshoes were invented during the Middle Ages, but the image on the right shows two of several horseshoes that were part of a much larger loot from a Roman villa, found in a river near Neupotz, Germany. They are dated to c. 294 CE. (From Kuenzl, Ernst, Die Alamannenbeute aus dem Rhein bei Neupotz: Pluenderungsgut aus dem roemischen Gallien. Mainz 1993.)Modern times