boredom invoked question about horses

[nervous]

so... i was just watching sherlock Holmes (i love sherlock Holmes, especially the ones Ive seen a dozen times: its like doing something without doing anything,thus relieving the guilt of inaction) and a part of the story was about horse shoes. which got me sort of thinking. so, thats a first if nothing else.

so... erm... why do the shoe horses? i cant think their hooves wear out do they? am i to assume that before we started shoeing horses, the world was filled with horses whose feet were worn off? or is that were those little ponies started?

i can see the logic in Sherlock's time (technically speaking for those of you wishing to place this historically, i would estimate Sherlock's time sits firmly in the time frame of 'days of yore'), cos they were used more and more as transport and thus the rate of wear would rapidly increase, but we hardly use horses to pull carriages now, so why do we still shoe them?

for instance, the bloke down the road has a field full of horses, but that only ever move about on grass. so why do they need shoes? and if its surface related, why aren't grass-bound horses shoed with a sort of off-road shoe for extra traction and high ground clearance? or are they are? is this where big horses come from?

seriously, someone tell me please. and then ill shut up.

thanks gang,
n.

>>> Edited by nervous on Sunday 27th March 16:25

[big dazza]

God you must be bored!

[nervous]

like no ones ever been bored before. now gimme some info on horses hooves or ill go mad!!

[Trooper2]

Added weight of rider, towing heavy objects (plows, wagons, Etc.) and extra wear on the hooves, do to pavement.


But Lois should be along to straighten us both out on the subject.

[falcemob]

Plodding around a field on their own they don't need shoes but when you start riding them distances and/or on roads or towing things the hooves wear so you need to protect them with shoes.

>> Edited by falcemob on Sunday 27th March 16:50

[nervous]

ok, but the horses round here dont tow anything. and they never go on the road. and they rarely get ridden. in fact they appear to have their own truck which even has 'horses' written on the side, flash equines.

so, are there cases such as these where horses arent shoed? and just how much wear wears out a set of hooves? can you get remoulds to get a horse through the MOT on the cheap?

[Gaffer]

There are many different reasons for shoeing horses and many different types of shoes.

Some shoes are for corrective purposes, some allow more grip (think racing/eventing)but most are GP.

They prevent excessive wear of the hoof and to some extent provide protection to the hoof.

Claire

[Gaffer]

nervous said:

ok, but the horses round here dont tow anything. and they never go on the road. and they rarely get ridden. in fact they appear to have their own truck which even has 'horses' written on the side, flash equines. so, are there cases such as these where horses arent shoed? and just how much wear wears out a set of hooves? can you get remoulds to get a horse through the MOT on the cheap?

If the horses are not in work - they generally shoudnt be shod, if the horses start fighting and they are wearing shoes, some nasty injuries can occur, it also gives the hooves a break.

Shoeing should be done ever 6 weeks, you can reuse the shoes but if there is excessive wear on one side etc, this can indicate there is an unbalance with the horse and that can be rectified.

Shoeing is a good way of checking if the horse is moving correctly and has no problems.

Claire (BHS Stage 2 with Riding and Road Safety - Trained by Pammy Hutton)

>> Edited by Gaffer on Sunday 27th March 16:53

[nervous]

ok, i buy that.

BUT, there must have been a period in time where we did not have blacksmiths/ sweaty men in leather aprons to nail semi circles of metal to animals feet. and if thats true then why arent there tons of websites talking about the unreliabilty of the early models of horse? (theres a TVR joke coming isnt there? i really do walk into these things)(to help start you off, my wife is always telling me my car is 'a load of old pony', perhaps thats why? honestly, the range of things that woman knows)...

[falcemob]

nervous said:

ok, but the horses round here dont tow anything. and they never go on the road. and they rarely get ridden. in fact they appear to have their own truck which even has 'horses' written on the side, flash equines. so, are there cases such as these where horses arent shoed? and just how much wear wears out a set of hooves? can you get remoulds to get a horse through the MOT on the cheap?

Two of my wife's horses aren't shod but their feet need trimming on a regular basis. The one she rides has shoes only on the front at the moment. It will need shoes on the rear but at the horse doesn't like anyone picking his back legs up so it needs a bit of work to get round this problem.

[nervous]

p.s. what i REALLY love about this place is that within 4 minutes a hoove-expert was here to tell me the answer. what a great house. thanks clare, youre a genius.

plus, were getting to use the word 'hooves', which i love.

[Gaffer]

nervous said:

ok, i buy that. BUT, there must have been a period in time where we did not have blacksmiths/ sweaty men in leather aprons to nail semi circles of metal to animals feet. and if thats true then why arent there tons of websites talking about the unreliabilty of the early models of horse? (theres a TVR joke coming isnt there? i really do walk into these things)(to help start you off, my wife is always telling me my car is 'a load of old pony', perhaps thats why? honestly, the range of things that woman knows)...

There is evidence that shoeing horses was around before the 5th centry BC - probably when they discovered iron etc.

It was definately used during the Roman times.

Claire

[nervous]

wait... shoes on the rear, but NOT on the front? doesnt that effect the handling?

plus, you TRIM horses feet? wow. i thought they were like bone type material, not like nails on humans. wow wow.

moreover, you have to change their shoes every six weeks? i thought only the wife did that...

[Gaffer]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EDISImagePage?imageID=1611161576&dlNumber=AN033&tag=IMAGE%20AN:AN028F1&credits=

This is the structure of the hoof.

The frog - gives cushioning and grip, the wall is like our nails and thats the bit you trim down.

The feet should be kept dry and well nourishes so it doesnt become cracked and brittle.

No Foot No Horse..

Claire

[bridgdav]

A bit of info here...

HERE

Saucy night.. Simon Earle trained winner barefoot..

[nervous]

really,really, wow. thats so cool! what a great diagram too. im such a

plus, and heres a little unexpected easter treat for you all, im ABSOLUTLEY bloody terrified of frogs. so it took me at least five minutes of plucking up courage and 2 trips to the toilet before i dare open the link. you see? a little something for everyone.

thanks again you lot. one down, everything else in the universe left to understand. hmm... what else to do?

best wishes and happer easter all,
N.

[nervous]

thanks brigdav, thats amazing! im now going to try racing around the house without my slippers to see if i can improve my lap times.

[MilnerR]

Gaffer said:

There is evidence that shoeing horses was around before the 5th centry BC - probably when they discovered iron etc. It was definately used during the Roman times. Claire

Interesting article depending on your level of boredom.



2000 Years of Shoeing?
by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser

It is often cited as an argument for the indispensability of horseshoes by their supporters that horseshoes have been in use for thousands of years for riding and draft horses. According to the most recent findings, however, it is certain that the horseshoe was first introduced to Western and

Central Europe in the 9th Century, and was previously completely unknown.

In Ancient Greece, too, the riding horses went barefoot. The Greek Xenophon began his treatise "On the Art of Riding" (written about 400 BC) with horses' hooves, and emphasized the great importance of regular hoofcare. His book deals exclusively with the husbandry and training of military horses, which could perform their duties very well without shoes. Markus Junkelmann writes in his book "The Riders of Rome" (Die Reiter Roms vol.3) "The great distances covered by Scythian, Persian, Macedonian and Carthaginian cavalries during their campaigns--think only of the battles of Alexander the

Great--show that cavalry, even without horseshoes, is capable of the greatest of achievements."

And what about the Ancient Romans' attitude to hoof protection? We know of the so-called "hippo sandal" of iron, "soleae ferreae" in Latin, which was in use in the Celtic-Roman area north of the Alps from the middle of the 1st century to the 4th Century AD. The hooves were wrapped and placed in the shoes, which were then fastened with the help of bands running through hooks and eyes at the front and back ends of the shoes. The hippo sandals were usually allowed to be worn only by draft and a pack animal walking on “paved” roads, since a gait faster than the walk seems to have been impossible with the hippo sandals.

Nailed-on horseshoes are to be found neither in Roman literature, nor depicted in art. The equestrian statue of Caesar Marcus Aurelius (died 180AD) shows a horse with beautiful natural hooves.

Since the sculptor represented every detail of the horse and rider very realistically and accurately, he certainly would not have simply left out a form of hoof protection. But no Roman work of art shows even a single shod hoof, while in the Middle Ages shod hooves are always clearly shown even in simple pictures. There are various medieval paintings in which the artist has faithfully represented the shod hooves as contracted hooves--as contracted hooves are in fact a consequence of shoeing.

The invention of nailed-on horseshoes has been ascribed to the Celts, who are supposed to have been using them already in Roman times. If, however, horseshoes had actually been in use by the Galls, Celts or Germanic tribes, Julius Caesar would certainly have mentioned them in his book "The Conquest of Gaul". Also, neither in Pompeii or Herculaneum, nor in the ruins of other Roman forts where mounted units were stationed, have horseshoes been found amongst the considerable iron artifacts. And among the remains of 30 fallen military horses in Krefeld-Gellep, there was not a single horseshoe to be found.

The Swiss researcher Walter Drack compared artifacts of supposedly Celtic horseshoes with shoes from precisely datable medieval finds, and observed that the "Celtic" shoes were the same type used in central Europe from the 10th to the 16th Centuries. On this subject Markus Junkelmann writes:

"The silence of written and pictorial sources, the topological identity of all discovered 'originals' with mediaeval and early modern pieces, as well as the material improbability that the horseshoe, after it was first invented, should then over centuries be only sporadically used, while at the same time the existing, awkward hoof shoe remained in use, support with virtual certainty that there were neither Celtic nor

Roman horseshoes." Nowadays, the working and military horse has become a leisure- and sporting companion who often suffers, through the confined keeping usual in most areas, from extreme lack of movement. Is it not thought-provoking, this assumption that a horse, which is only allowed to move 1 - 4 hours a day--if that--supposedly cannot do without constant shoeing?

Copyright Dr. vet. med. H. Strasser
Blaihofstr. 42/1, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany
Tel/Fax: [phone]
Ed. & Canadian contact: Sabine Naujoks
Box 44, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K 1S7

[nervous]

oooh dear. is it bad that i really enjoyed reading that? and on more than one occasion said, out loud and to myself, 'now, thats interesting'? its happened hasnt it? ive become my dad

[Gaffer]

http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/horseshoes.html

www.sacred-texts.com/etc/mhs/mhs04.htm

There is little evidence they were widely used but they were used, problem with stuff like this - there is so little hard evidence one way or the other.

Shame really.

Claire