Horseshoes are one of the key things that a horse needs in order to go about a life of work. When horses are found in nature, they have hooves that are made of keratin and that grow very fast. However, when bred for a life of work, these hooves often wear out very quickly. This is why the iron horseshoe became popular. Horseshoes are hoof-shaped pieces of iron that need to be nailed onto the horses’ feet. This process is called shoeing a horse and it is typically done by a farrier.
Now the type of horseshoes that you use will be essential to consider. There are all kinds of horseshoes, and all kinds of materials can be used to make them. If you want the best horseshoes out on the market, we highly recommend that you go ahead and check out kerckhaert horseshoes. They are made of the finest quality materials and the team will give you all the advice and assistance that you need in order to shoe your horse.
So why exactly does a horse need a horseshoe fitted regularly? Horses that are wild don’t have an iron horseshoe growing at the bottom of their hooves? Well, yes this is true. The need comes when they are domesticated and switch to walking on hard surfaces. When walking on hard surfaces, the hooves wear out far more easily, and if the horse is used for riding or for work purposes without horseshoes, you can almost guarantee that the horse will go lame and limp.
When riding on hard surfaces, the horseshoe actually absorbs a lot of the impact that the ground exerts on the hoof, and the horseshoe will become thinner and thinner by the day as it is absorbing all the impact, however, the hoof is not being impacted and the horse’s path is always cushioned.
In addition, a good set of horseshoes can be extremely useful when the horse is riding on slippery surfaces. For example, If the horse is riding on slick surfaces like fresh morning grass, going full tilt without having horseshoes outfitted would be a terrible idea because horseshoes are absolutely vital for traction purposes. This benefit does not only apply to workhorses but also extends to racehorses, polo ponies etc. Any horse that is going to be moving very fast and taking corners quickly benefits from having a pair of horseshoes kitted on them.
In addition to this, horseshoes can even help with medical issues that the horse is facing. There are many different types of horseshoes out there that can help keep medicine on a horse’s hooves, which can help in changing the shape of the hoof and of the angle that the hoof impacts the ground. Not all horses are made the same, and unfortunately, some may have health problems that need to be addressed. The best way to do this is by using specifically crafted horseshoes in order to correct the issue.