Argumentative Essay On Horse Hooves

“I predict that the natural hoof care practitioner of the future will be less of a trimmer, than a diagnostician of healthy changes in the hoof and an expert at creating natural behavioral stimuli in the track that serve the adaptation mechanism”(Jackson). What I will be talking about during this research paper is shoeing horses. Contemplating the workings of horse hooves, I found that a horse being shod does not hurt the hoof like so many would argue because when a horse is working on hard ground, the wearing down of the hoof is greater than the hoof growth and the extra protection prevents soreness. My main points throughout this paper will be the history of horseshoes, different types of hooves, how natural selection has been prevalent

in Mustangs, metal shoe alternatives, and which type of shoeing, barefoot or shod, is best.
In ancient times people needed their horses for work, which in turn was key to their survival.

Since horses were the key to a family’s livelihood, they took the time to care for their horses’s hooves because if their horse went lame, they were in trouble. When looking at hoof structure we see that hooves are prone to wearing down on hard ground, and they cannot grow fast enough to beat the wearing down. When horses suddenly went lame, I’m sure it was a surprise to families - and then they had to learn how to counteract the wearing down of the hoof.

Going back into ancient history we see evidence of hoof protection. Horsemen in ancient Asia would protect their horses hooves with booties made from hides and woven plant material. This extra cushioning would protect hooves from the long hours of work on hard ground, and probably helped prevent lameness in horses. My general belief is that shoeing a horse can benefit the majority of horses, but it truly depends on the hoof structure of each individual horse. On the other hand, barefoot can be good in the cases of really hard feet, but will also vary from horse to

horse.
Some people would say, “Oh people back then didn’t care about their horses’s hooves!”, but the evidence says differently. “The sensitivity of horses’ hooves was minimized by the use of the iron horseshoe, which came into use in Europe around 950. The horseshoe provided protection against hard surfaces and on soft ground and allowed horses to dig in their hooves to pull loads”(Rogers 516). Not only was the use of shoes documented in Europe, but it was also documented throughout ancient history. “The great advances made in archaeology now make it manifest that shoeing was known to the Romans and the ancient Gauls... Horse-shoes have been discovered repeatedly in the camps and graves of ancient Gaul, and even in the battle fields of these people. They have been found in numerous instances with Roman relics, such as arms, brooches, lamps, coins, &e., in France, Switzerland, and Belgium; and in this country many have been discovered in excavations in London, in the streets of some of our towns at considerable depths, in Roman camps, roads and villas, and in various other situations”(Fleming 18).
From my first point of the hooves being covered with plant material or hides, it lets me go off on a tangent. When doing research on what shoes looked like in ancient times, I came across many surprising statements. For the longest time it was believed that we just started shoeing our horses in the 19th century, but “through various archaeological findings over the years, historians have been able to ascertain some rather crude methodology for hoof protection dating back to first century A.D. – animal hides and plants were woven together to form a type of crude boot that could be tied around a horse’s lower leg and protect their hooves in the process. It is believed these ‘horse boots’ were employed only when the terrain dictated the need for them and they were not permanently affixed. The Romans used a saddle shoe that was quite similar to the sandals worn by most people of the era, right down to the crisscrossing straps used to hold them in place”(Rogers 516).
Looking back in history we see many different types of hoof protection, but “it is unknown who invented the first horseshoe. Early Asian horsemen used horse booties made from leather and plants. During the first century, the Romans made leather and metal shoes called "hipposandals". By the 6th and 7th centuries, European horsemen had begun nailing metal shoes to horses' hooves. Around 1000 AD, cast bronze horseshoes with nail holes had become common in Europe. The 13th and 14th centuries brought the widespread manufacturing of iron horseshoes. Hot-shoeing, the process of heating the horseshoe before shoeing the horse, became common in the 16th century”(Bellis).
A good counter argument that is often made in favor of leaving horses barefoot, has to do with Mustangs and their hooves.

“The Mustangs have NO hoof care and they’re perfectly fine!” You also don’t normally see elf hooves on Mustangs - why is this? Contrary to popular belief, Mustangs are selectively bred, by nature. Since horses have been out on the range for thousands of years, the ones that are currently out there now are the result of natural selection. Over time the weakest links are weeded out, while the strong survive. “No hoof, no horse” is a popular saying, and I find truth behind it. The process of natural selection means that over time the hooves of Mustangs have become stronger and stronger.

Think of it like this, there are two mares, A & B, and two stallions, C & D. Over a period of 5 years, mare A becomes lame and stallion D has cracked, abscessed hooves. They are both lame. If a cougar chases all four of these horses, which two will survive? Yes, mare B and stallion C will survive. They will go on to produce a foal with stronger hooves than mare A and stallion D would have. This is natural selection, and it is the current and future mustang’s best

friend.
“One white foot, buy him; two white feet, try him. Three white feet, look well about him; four white feet, go without him.” This old mother goose rhyme, could actually have some truth behind it. You may think that hooves are all the same, but this is definitely not true. Every hoof is built a little differently, and the colors of hooves can be solid black, solid white or striped. Every hoof of every individual horse can vary. My old mare, Misti, is an Appaloosa. She had four hooves (thank goodness!) and they were all different. Her front two feet were striped and one was clubbed while the other was nicely formed. Her back two feet were different, the back right was black and the back left was white.
I own four horses, two of which are mustangs. A four year old named Asher, who is still in the process of being gentled, and a 3.5 year old, Rueger, who is completely gentled. The first time my farrier came out to trim Rueger’s hooves, he had to use a blow torch to soften them so he could get them trimmed. My other two horses are Gunner, a Quarter Horse and Gracie, a Pony of America. Gunner has four white hooves, and wears shoes on all four feet. He is constantly bruising his hooves and becomes sore if left without shoes. Barefoot is not an option for him. Both my Mustangs are barefoot, and my farrier says they will probably never need to be shod. This leads me to talk about hoof colors and structure.
Now you may be thinking, “So what if hooves are different, they’re hooves!” A while back my farrier came out and I took a minute to ask something I had been wondering for a while. “Have you found white hooves to be softer than black hooves?” He solemnly nodded and explained to me that since there are so many different types of hooves, there are many different care options. Shoeing will work for one horse, while barefoot is better for the next. He isn’t biased one way or another, he just does what he feels is best for the horses he shoes.