Horseshoe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Horseshoe (disambiguation).
A horseshoe is a U-shaped piece of steel, aluminium, rubber, plastic, rawhide or a laminate of these, nailed or glued like a shoe to the hooves of horses and some other draught animals. They are used to protect the animal's hooves from wear and tear. Early horseshoes had "calkins" or protruding tabs at the ends of the shoe to provide additional traction (these are still used on some competition horses in sports like team penning). Kept as a talisman, horseshoes are said to bring luck. Horseshoes are also used for a popular game, horseshoes.
The horseshoe seems to have been introduced to Western culture by the Greeks in the 4th Century. Horseshoes are available in a wide variety of materials and styles, developed for different types of horses and the work they do. Common materials are steel, aluminum and plastic, and specialized shoes may include use of magnesium, titanium or copper.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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.
[edit] Metal horseshoes
Since then, metal horseshoes have been developed. Farriers nail them to the rim of the sole with nails which find a purchase in the hoof wall. Modern horseshoes are made of either steel or aluminium. Steel tends to be preferred in sports where a strong shoe is needed, such as polo, eventing, show jumping, and western events. Aluminum shoes are lighter, and often facilitate "prettier" movement, and so are favored in the sports of dressage, hunt seat, and are also seen in racing, where a lighter shoe is desired.
Metal horse shoes do not appear to have been commonly used until the Middle Ages.
[edit] Reasons for use in domestic environment
[edit] Reasons for use
Since the early history of the domestication and use of horses, many factors have contributed to the need for the bottoms of domestic horses' feet (hooves) to have additional protection over and above their natural hardness.
- Less healthy food
- Live grasses, 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 keratin, much as the human fingernail, and grows hard, tough and flexible only with optimal nutrition.
- Furthermore, domestic horses are often fed grains and other concentrates as well as alfalfa and lush pasture, all of which are known to cause laminitis, inflammation of the laminar attachments of the foot which holds the hoof wall onto the underlying coffin bone. This unhealthy and unnatural diet, when it doesn't cause acute laminitis, contributes to weak feet because the horn is attached to the coffin bone by only a weak attachment. Effectively, a diet which is high in grains, legumes, or lush pasture causes sub-clinical laminitis. Because horse shoes hold the hoof wall in a rigid shape they can reduce (but not eliminate) the pulling away of hoof wall with weak laminar attachments.
- Less varied terrain
- Horseshoes 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. 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.
- Added weight
- Horses' 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 and heavy soils softened the hooves and made them prone to splitting, making hoof protection necessary, and consequently it was in northern Europe that the first practical horseshoe arose.
- Exposure to ammonia
- The hooves of horses that are kept in stalls or small turnouts are constantly exposed to ammonia from urine. The hoof capsule is mostly made from keratin, a protein, and is weakened by this exposure. Wearing shoes does not prevent or reduce damage from ammonia exposure. Rather, they are meant to reduce wear on weakened hooves.
- 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.
- Corrective shoeing
- The shape, weight, and thickness of a horseshoe can significantly affect the horse's gait. Farriers trained in hot shoeing can make custom shoes to help horses with bone or musculature problems in their legs.
- Traction
- Traction devices such as borium for ice, horse shoe studs for muddy or slick conditions, calks, 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.
[edit] New ideas about horseshoeing
The traditional point of view on horseshoeing has been deeply reviewed in the last years based on physiological, scientific arguments. Observations on wild horses and horses in natural boarding situations (and barefoot trimmed) have suggested that domesticated horses in domestic situations can grow hooves as healthy as those of wild/feral horses and do not need shoes if properly cared for, as sustained by Jaime Jackson. However, a long tradition of conventional horse keeping, stall boarding and shoeing has meant that these ideas have been slow to be adopted.[1]
There are several variations on the theme of barefoot trimming and natural horse keeping with their main differences stemming from different philosophies on the limits of invasive trimming techniques and differing strategies during the 'transition phase' when a horse is transitioned from a traditional keeped and shod lifestyle to a natural and barefoot lifestyle. Two horse care practitioners who have been particularly influential on the barefoot horse movement are Jaime Jackson and Dr. Hiltrud Strasser.
[edit] For luck
Horseshoes are considered a good luck charm in many cultures. A common tradition is that if a horseshoe is hung on a door with the two ends pointing up (as shown here) then good luck will occur. However, if the two ends point downwards then bad luck will occur. Traditions do differ on this point, though. In some cultures, the horseshoe is hung points down (so the luck pours onto you); in others, it is hung points up (so the luck doesn't fall out); still in others it doesn't matter so long as the horseshoe has been used (not new), was found (not purchased), and can be touched. In all traditions, luck is contained in the shoe and can pour out through the ends.
In some traditions, any good or bad luck achieved will only occur to the owner of the horseshoe, not the person who hangs it up. Therefore, if the horseshoe was stolen, borrowed or even just found then the owner, not the person who found or stole the horseshoe will get any good or bad luck. Other traditions require that the horseshoe be found to be effective.
One reputed origin of the tradition of lucky horseshoes is the story of Saint Dunstan and the Devil. Dunstan, who would become the Archbishop of Canterbury in AD 959, was a blacksmith by trade. The story relates that he once nailed a horseshoe to the Devil's hoof when he was asked to reshod the Devil's horse. This caused the Devil great pain, and Dunstan only agreed to remove the shoe and release the Devil after the Devil promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe is hung over the door.
Another theory concerning the placing of horseshoes above doorways is to ward off Faeries (the Celtic kind); the theory being that Faeries are repelled by iron and as horseshoes were an easily available source of iron, they could be nailed above a door to prevent any unwanted, otherworldly guests. One can see how the custom, as people began to forget the stories concerning the Fair Folk, eventually morphed into a simple good luck charm. It is also possible that the Romans, when arriving in Celtic countries, came across horseshoes nailed above doors and simply borrowed the concept of horseshoes as good luck charms, failing to understand the background of the Celtic custom, and made their use more widespread.
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