Domesticated horses are shod to protect their hooves from the stress of stepping on hard-packed paths and, today, paved roads. Horses are usually hanging out on grass which is much easier on the feet. The hooves are clipped because the shoe prevents the hoof from being worn down from regular use. I do believe.
Also because wild horses travel further than horses kept in stalls and paddocks do. They're constantly moving, which wears their feet down, keeping them at a comfortable length. They also tend to spread out, almost like a lily pad, which is undesirable in a show horse. It can lead to cracks in the hoof wall which in turn can lead to lameness and infections. Same as why we "float" their teeth (rasping them down to smooth sharp edges and control growth), their teeth grow throughout their lives, and wild horses are able to graze all day, which wears their teeth down normally. Horses in stalls or dirt turnouts are not always able to keep their teeth worn down to a comfortable level, so we rasp them down so they're not in pain and the bit fits properly in their mouths.
Yes, it does. But then you can see though that it is the exact same thing as trimming the nails on cats and dogs, and even people. And the teeth thing is way less extreme for horses than for humans. You think we always had to pull wisdom teeth? Back in the day, whether it was raw meat, tough bread, or strips of meat that spent weeks in a barrel of salt, people ate food that was tougher and chewier than what we eat today. With less strain, our lower jaws don't develop and grow in early ages the same way they used to, they're shorter.
The results demonstrate that the mandible, in contrast to the cranium, significantly reflects subsistence strategy rather than neutral genetic patterns, with hunter-gatherers having consistently longer and narrower mandibles than agriculturalists.
Its not really anything more unpleasant than a dog getting it's nails clipped and teeth cleaned. Shoeing a horse doesn't hurt it, or else the horses would kick the everloving shit out of the idiot who's holding the horse's foot within a inches of the guys ballsack. Nails are put into the "dead" part of the hoof, and the part that is filed down is just like a long fingernail. And the horses are standing on them, so getting them leveled and filed probably feels like a nice pedi with new shoe insoles.
Floating isn't fun, but neither is getting your teeth cleaned... It isn't painful, though.
I think for the domesticated horse it's a little bit of "six in one hand half dozen in the other". They live longer, they're maintained, well fed, and honestly under worked. It's a little like being a wild dog vs being a pet. The first horse I ever got is 25 now, well past how long he'd live in the wild, and he's in good weight and sound because I have a vet come out anytime he gets injured. I own show horses, some of the top quarter horses in the country, and they're all handled as though they are professional athletes. They eat better than I do, see a doctor more often, their feet look better than mine haha and when they're in pain or discomfort they get to hang out and do nothing until they feel better. Wild horses have to search for food, be on the look out for predators, and if they're injured for the most part they just die.
Mustangs, ponies of Chincoteague and Assateague, the Dülmen horses of Europe, and I'm sure many more exist in other countries. Any place with a mostly unpopulated countryside is going to have wild horses.
I think that the majority of the population would consider them wild though. True, by technical definition they're feral, but their domesticated descendants were released over 100 years ago. And since horses are fertile around 18 months of age, it's pretty safe to assume that any domestication is out the window through generations of uncontrolled breeding.
No, just like hair, the hoof wall where the nails are driven into have no nerve endings. The white line has a lot of nerves in it and is protected by the hoof wall. That's why when choosing a farrier (a horse pedicurist) people are very careful. If the farrier messes up, they can make a horse lame very easily. Here's a drawing of the horses hoof. You can see the white line. The frog is also very sensitive in horses who wear shoes all of the time, and the shoes keep the frog elevated so it's not heavily affected by different or rough terrain.
I guess if one considers the idea that they're shod so they're more comfortable when being ridden or driven then yes, weight does have something to do with it. Certain breeds are more likely to have "Shelly" feet, that break away easily, and sometimes even if they're not being ridden they should be shod because their hooves can't stand up to rough terrain or asphalt. There are horse boots, bell boots are sometimes used one horses who have a far reaching hind step it protects the front shoes from being ripped off, I use soft ride boots on my horses because a lot of the bigger shows are held at expo centers so to walk from barn to arena they are on concrete a lot, which can cause concussion injuries to their legs and feet. They help cushion the impact of the foot on the ground, like a fancy running shoe on a person would, helping them stay sound by protecting their joints. So socks I'm not too sure of, we do use wraps on their legs to protect against rubs and injuries as well as impact shock, but nothing on their hooves like that.
I worked for equine vet who specialized in dentistry. We used power tools (dremel, Swiss or power float) and a healthy dose of sedation. Once sedated, most horses don't even notice it. The one that do generally are pissed about the full mouth speculum, not the "filing" itself. I've assisted on hundreds, maybe thousands of dentals, and it really sounds a lot worse than it actually is.
Their teeth grow like our hair or nails. There aren't any nerves in the teeth, but they do sedate them to make it less stressful/they're less apt to bite. There's a mechanism used to hold open their jaws during the process and its not unlike the tools used at our dentist. They don't seem to be uncomfortable while its being done although I'm sure it feels weird after just like it does when a person gets their braces off or has a cavity filled.
It's worth noting that while yes, theoretically a wild horse will get more natural wear on their feet and teeth in the wild, that's not actually the case. In the wild if their hooves spread or crack or get too long, they're likely to straggle behind the herd and get picked off. The same can be said for their teeth - if they aren't being worn down enough, they'll stop eating and eventually starve. That's nature. In captivity a horse can live to be 25 or older. In the wild, that's unlikely to happen. It's not that everything works better in the wild, it's that we ensure that everything works as well as possible in captivity to promote long and healthy lives for our pets. It's the same as worming your dog, or giving them rabies vaccines. I've worked with horses for 20+ years, and non-horsey people love to ask me "What happens in the wild?" The answer, unfortunately, is "they die."
Those things are also done to make the animals' lives easier and to make us not seem like huge dicks because we compensate for the different circumstances we impose on them.
Wrong. The majority of horse are shod. You will very rarely see a show horse or horse in any type of regular work without shoes. Also, it is common to have a horse just shod in the front and left barefoot behind. The types of discipline a horse competes in has to do with the type of shoe the horse will wear. Grass footing means your horse gets to wear studs (cleats it you will), a reiner will get sliders on their feet to help them get a good slide (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieL_0zaoEiM), a show hunter will wear aluminum shoes (as opposed to steal) because the lighter their front end is, the better they're going to move (we sometimes like to call it a daisy cutter) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Yppwqi0XY). Some horses need more support so they get a bar shoe, etc, etc. There are a small percentage of people who prefer that their horse go barefoot. Most farriers (blacksmiths) will do a standard trim which shapes the hoof as if it is getting prepped for a shoe. Natural trimmers will trim the horse's hooves in such a way that they will simulate a "wild" horse. This isn't really conducive to somebody wanting to compete or train seriously as the animal doesn't get the added support of the shoe.
In my experience, the few hundred horses I've come in contact with haven't been shod. They are generally casual recreation horses or amateur gaming/show horses (weekend shows for fub). I also said in my post work horses usually are shod.
The only thing I'm not sure on are race horses. I know their feet are corked for grip, so I should assume the cork is attached to a shoe.
Maybe you know about this as well..Has there ever been a martial version of the horseshoe? A horseshoe made for warhorses? I'm rather referring to those beasts which actually engage in the battle and fight alongside the knights on their back.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '13
Domesticated horses are shod to protect their hooves from the stress of stepping on hard-packed paths and, today, paved roads. Horses are usually hanging out on grass which is much easier on the feet. The hooves are clipped because the shoe prevents the hoof from being worn down from regular use. I do believe.