# Why do horses need horseshoes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637 "2021-08-14T00:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/1 "2021-08-14T00:52:46Z")
How do wild horses manage to survive without horseshoes yet domesticated horses seem reliant on them? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/2 "2021-08-14T00:56:23Z")
Domesticated horses do more walking than wild horses and often do it on worse surfaces. So their hooves wear out more than the hooves of wild horses. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/3 "2021-08-14T00:56:35Z")
Wild Horses are running on soft ground in most cases. If you take horses out on roads of even hard packed dirt, it is very different. Actual stone, gravel and tar roads are far worse. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/4 "2021-08-14T01:06:22Z")
Horse hooves are adapted to carrying just horses. Domesticated horses often carry additional weight, like adult humans on their back, or pull large weights on hard surfaces, such as the Budweiser Clydesdales. The horseshoes protect their hooves from excessive wear and even splitting due to physical forces stronger than what they evolved to cope with. There are also specialty horseshoes - when I worked at a farm that offered winter trail rides the ponies used for those rides would get winter horse shoes with cleats on them for better traction on slick surfaces. Domestic horses that are ridden on soft surfaces (dirt trails, turf, etc.) and not too often can go barefoot without undue damage to their hooves, although if their feet are injured/hoof split a special shoe(s) might be fitted until the hoof wall heals. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/5 "2021-08-14T03:43:25Z")
How about horse sandals? > **[Hoofcare History: Japanese Hoof Sandals Gave Horses Removable Traction](https://hoofcare.blogspot.com/2013/02/hoofcare-history-japanese-hoof-sandals.html?m=1)** > > Say hello to the ancient straw horse sandals, known as umugatsu, of Japan, which appear, at first glance in these antique photos by T. Enemi, to have been the EasyBoots of their day. Or were they? What hoofcare principle is at work here? Is it a... (Marketing note to self: invent horse Crocks.) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/6 "2021-08-14T09:04:51Z")
As the article said, they were used to improve traction. An ingenious solution, really. Both horses and cattle have “boot” options as well as shoe options. And yes, back when oxen were used as draft animals there were iron shoes for cattle hooves, for the same reasons they were used for horses. Sometimes such things are used to today to protect injured or diseased hooves in cattle. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/7 "2021-08-14T09:45:16Z")
When I got back into horses six years ago after a 40 year absence, one of the things that amazed me was the huge advances in hoof care. Where at one time, you automatically kept iron shoes on your horse most of the year, now it is known that it’s beneficial for most horses to go barefoot as much as possible. The majority of horses have hoofs that will do fine with light riding on softer ground without shoes. There are many options now, including glue-on polymer shoes, “pour-in” resin that covers the whole sole underneath a shoe (often used by endurance riders who put enormous wear on their horses’ hoofs and need to protect the soles against bruising), and what I use, hoof boots which are put on only for riding; the rest of the time the horse is barefoot. Mustangs and other feral horses have considerably tougher feet than the average domestic horse which has not been selected for this quality. Also, as was previously stated, horses in a natural state wander slowly all day, grazing, they do not trot for miles down a trail, gallop across fields and jump over things, or any of the other things people want them to do. All with at least 150 lbs on their backs. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/8 "2021-08-14T10:08:13Z")
In the wild, horses born with crap feet/hoof quality don’t survive long. Natural selection means overall better feet, generally. Humans breed horses for things like speed, color, gaits, conformation that appeals to human eyes, etc. Sadly, breeding for good feet is way, way down the list if it’s there at all so too often you get beautiful horses with all the athleticism in the world for a particular use, but they have hooves that won’t stand up to the job without a lot of help. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/9 "2021-08-14T11:18:01Z")
What about other (usually smaller) animals/variants which are ridden (e.g. donkeys and mules)? Do they wear any hoof protection? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/10 "2021-08-14T12:13:15Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > When I got back into horses six years ago after a 40 year absence, one of the things that amazed me was the huge advances in hoof care. Our current farrier has a college degree. You cannot call him to come out and do a trim or a reset. Rather, you hire him to handle your horse’s hoof health. He decides on a schedule to keep the horses feet nice. It’s possibly overkill, but I have to admit he does excellent work. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/11 "2021-08-14T12:43:40Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > What about other (usually smaller) animals/variants which are ridden (e.g. donkeys and mules)? Do they wear any hoof protection? Donkeys have very very tough feet, generally they are barefoot. Mules are half horse of course, and are in between donkeys and horses in their foot shape, toughness, and care. Mules aren’t any smaller than horses (there are draft mules), and even donkeys can be darn large (google Mammoth Jacks). ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-horses-need-horseshoes/948637/12 "2021-08-14T20:46:11Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > What about other (usually smaller) animals/variants which are ridden (e.g. donkeys and mules)? Do they wear any hoof protection? Draft mules and donkeys can be shod as well, as can those who are ridden frequently or otherwise asked to do things that are hard on their hooves. [Here are a selection of mule shoes.](https://www.anvilbrand.com/shop-categories/horseshoes/anvilbrand/muleshoes/) They basically use horseshoes that are, like all horseshoes, fitted to their feet by a farrier. As I mentioned, there are shoes for oxen/cattle/bulls/cows.