# Are racehorses shod? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709 "2006-10-17T00:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/1 "2006-10-17T00:16:56Z")
The thread title says it all—are racehorses shod? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/2 "2006-10-17T00:50:20Z")
“Thoroughbred racehorses use what is known as a racing plate made from aluminum on the front. For the hind feet, an aluminum shoe known as a caulk or cauk is used that is embedded with steel to help improve abrasion and wear resistance. Some aluminum shoes are more squared off to resemble a hoof from a healthy wild horse.” [http://science.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/horseshoe](http://science.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/horseshoe) More in link. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/3 "2006-10-17T00:52:36Z")
Yes. There are a number of different types of shoes, in fact, depending on track conditions and type (turf vs. dirt.) They’re not exactly like the shoes you would see on a non-racehorse, though. Racing shoes are typically light aluminum rather than heavier steel. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/4 "2006-10-17T02:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] Racing shoes are typically light aluminum rather than heavier steel. [/QUOTE] Yep. They don’t have to worry much about durability for racehorses, as long as it lasts thru the race. Other horses are expected to wear their horseshoes for 6-8 weeks, so durability is more important. And weight less important, while it is of critical importance to the race horse. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/5 "2006-10-17T09:58:26Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Yep. They don’t have to worry much about durability for racehorses, as long as it lasts thru the race. Other horses are expected to wear their horseshoes for 6-8 weeks, so durability is more important. And weight less important, while it is of critical importance to the race horse. [/QUOTE] So how often are racehorses reshod, then? Before every race? Also, since the shoes don’t last as long and are therefore presumably reapplied often, isn’t there the danger of putting so many nail holes in the hoof that the shoes no longer fit firmly? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/6 "2006-10-17T21:34:02Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] So how often are racehorses reshod, then? Before every race? Also, since the shoes don’t last as long and are therefore presumably reapplied often, isn’t there the danger of putting so many nail holes in the hoof that the shoes no longer fit firmly? [/QUOTE] As often as needed. Racehorses are watched very carefully, and reshod whenever the trainer thinks they need it. But certainly not every race. Possibly as often as 3-4 weeks. It’s entirely dictated by the needs of the horses feet and the track. Nail holes are in basically the same spot on shoes, so if a set of shoes is reset very soon, the farrier will try to reuse the same nail holes as before. On a regular scheduled reset, of course, the hoof will have grown out so that the nailholes go into a different part of the hoof. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/7 "2006-10-18T01:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] The thread title says it all—are racehorses shod? [/QUOTE] Only if they break a leg. What? Oh, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/8 "2006-10-18T02:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] . Nail holes are in basically the same spot on shoes, so if a set of shoes is reset very soon, the farrier will try to reuse the same nail holes as before. On a regular scheduled reset, of course, the hoof will have grown out so that the nailholes go into a different part of the hoof. [/QUOTE] So why don’t they drill and use screws? Seems to make a lot of sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/9 "2006-10-18T02:11:46Z")
For a lucky charm I have a shoe from a Belmont Park winner on my bookcase. It’s much thinner and lighter than a real shoe. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/10 "2006-10-18T02:19:27Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] So why don’t they drill and use screws? Seems to make a lot of sense to me. [/QUOTE] I’ve seen horses shod. Look at the white part and the pink part of your fingernail as an example. The nail goes through the hoof at an oblique angle, like through the white part that sticks out from the tip. The nail comes out the face and is bent over. A screw would go into the hoof itself, like going into the tip of your finger. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-racehorses-shod/376709/11 "2006-10-18T06:03:30Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] So why don’t they drill and use screws? Seems to make a lot of sense to me. [/QUOTE] Because it wouldn’t be as secure. As Mr. Gobb said, the nails come out the top of the hoof, and are clinched over to hold onto the hoof. They’re not like carpenter nails that go solidly into a piece of wood. Also, most horses wouldn’t stand still for someone going at their feet with an electric drill. And there would be a high chance of drilling into the living part of the horses foot if they flinched. An open puncture wound like that, in a horses foot, that steps in all kinds of dirty stuff, would be an extreme risk for infection. And infection in a hoof is very serious, given the comparitively poor blood supply there. Given the modern improvements in adhesive glues, there have been some experiments with gluing horseshoes on rather than nailing them. The problem is to find a glue with all these qualities: - sets up fast. - is safe when in direct contact for weeks (some of the strongest super-glues are poisonous). - is durable enough when exposed to mud, water, linament, urine-soaked straw, etc. - is strong enough to last for weeks. - is weak enough to come off without tearing off parts of the hoof. The most promising seem to be two-part solutions, with a glue part, and a solvent that will dissolve the glue when it’s time to remove the shoes. But so far, these run afoul of the most basic requirement: - it must cost less (or about the same) as 8 horseshoe nails!