H&C

31
Aug
2010

10 Comments

Is extreme shoeing for draught horses fair?

Naked hooves ready for plating in the spring

“Hello again friends! Have you ever looked at the feet of a draught horse? The front feet are usually as big as dinner plates with long toes and low heels. The back feet look like they have wings on the outside; we call these “flares”. If you have a chance to look at a draught foot someday, please do because I am betting that if you have never seen one before, you will not understand how and why we shoe this way.

Heavy shoes for heavy horses

According to our farrier, most light horses wear shoes ranging in size from one to three. Our draught mares wear size ten to eleven! Along with being large, draught horse shoes are also very heavy. A light horse needs to have its leg extend and for that reason, the shoes are light. A draught horse is expected to pick its feet up towards its elbow so the shoes are heavy.

Would you shoe a weanling?

Probably one of the most ridiculous things about showing draught horses is the insane need to put shoes on weanlings. Yes, you read that correctly, shoes on weanlings! What purpose shoeing a three, four or five-month-old horse could possibly have I am not sure, but we made a conscious decision at North Point not to shoe our babies this year. We are in the minority because until and unless the national association comes out and makes it clear that shoes on babies, or even yearlings will not be tolerated, people will continue to shoe because they don’t want to fail to place at a show. I shudder to think what would happen should PETA or another animal rights group get a hold of this information as I am sure they would have plenty to say about it and truthfully, I would be hard pressed, in this instance to disagree. I have yet to see light horse folks throw shoes on a three-month-old foal just weaned from its mother, so I am not sure how draught horse folks felt that it was ever a good idea.

Only the best for North Point horses

One of our veterinarians, one of the leading equine lameness experts in this part of the country and himself a former Clydesdale breeder, has said that scotch shoes are the most horrible thing to ever happen to a horse. He believes that they cause a host of lameness and joint problems and says if he had his way, draught horses would be shod with more moderate toes and higher heels. Since we tend to agree with him and want only the best for our horses, this year we have trimmed back the toes and brought our heels up and it hasn’t seemed to hurt us in the show ring. Of course, until and unless we all sign up for this philosophy, shoeing to extreme will continue.

Our mares are shod every spring with “plates”. These plates are like super-size regular shoes. The horses wear their plates for a few months in order to grow out their toes. In late spring, the horses get their scotch bottom shoes, essentially big heavy draught shoes ranging in size from 8 to 11. These shoes sit on top of a pad or pads, made of leather.

There is also a product called “equilox” which is commonly used on draught horses to fill in cracks, chips and in some cases, if the horse does not have the requisite show and super-sized foot, to make a foot larger, or “build a foot”. Many people use this product in conjunction with shoeing to make a nice presentation in the show ring.

No grazing while scotches are on

Since it is now August, the horses have had the “scotches” on for some time and their lives are different from their light horse counterparts in that we dare not let them out in to the fields to graze. A horse left at liberty in the field might get to raising heck and running, catching a shoe and ripping it off. This is especially common if they catch a “flare”. Draught horses never canter in the show ring partly because of the shoes, as they could rip one off in the ring as well! Not only will it rip the shoe off, it can also really damage the hoof. There have been a few occasions when we have had to send the boys in to the pasture to look for a lost shoe when we have let a horse out for a few hours, since one shoe can cost upwards of $75!

I often wonder if the mares miss being outside in the pastures, eating grass or if they are content in the cool barn, away from the horse flies who hover like helicopters ready to land and bite. The horse flies and green flies have been especially bad this year, either because of the heat or because it has been so dry is a mystery.

Because the horse are in training and being shown, they are driven every day and even then we have had to be careful this year as the ground is rock hard from too little rain. Tim’s cart mare broke the toe off one of her feet on the ground and had to be scratched from a show.

Regular old horses

Come November, when show season is over, everyone will have their shoes pulled and be turned out again in the fields to be just regular old horses. They will get trimmed every six weeks or so until spring when the plates will go back on.

Why do draughts get shod to such an extreme? I suppose the answer is because they always have. Like in so many other areas of the horse industry, what wins in the show ring dictates what is in fashion. What are your thoughts?

Until next time, please keep up with us on our website www.northpointfarm.com or on Twitter!”