Hooves

 As we know, a horse´s hooves are an extremely important part of its anatomy, so we feel that this subject deserves closer attention, especially concerning the Shire breed.

The Shire is a big, heavy animal. The size of its hooves is closely related to its body weight. It is important to understand that the shape and size of the hooves are to some extent the result of the stresses and strains they are subjected to, but are also formed by inherited factors.

Concerning heritability, hoof shape and the posture of the legs can both be passed on. Often a fault in either parent becomes more noticeable in its offspring. Faulty stance can lead to problems not only in the legs and joints, but can particularly affect the hooves too, often giving them an unsuitable shape. 

The horse rests 60 percent of its body weight on its forelegs, which means that normally the front hooves are larger than the hind hooves by approx. one shoe size, but there can be individual variations.

We believe that the Shire needs its large hooves to act as `shock absorbers´, partly against pressure from the ground, and partly to bear its own body weight – a Shire horse weighs a great deal! When we say `large hooves´ we reject large, cracked and spread hooves.  Allowing a horse´s hooves to spread in order to make them larger is painful for the horse and is to be condemned. A large hoof at the coronet will be reflected by a large hoof at ground level. Hooves should be round in shape, not pointed and narrow, be broad at the heel and should allow frog pressure. Forming a large hoof by rasping the walls to fit a smaller shoe is bad practice. The shoe should be slightly (2-3 mm) larger than the hoof. Fitting a Shire with shoes that are too narrow will constrain the hoof´s natural function so that it cannot expand as the horse shifts weight from foot to foot. In the long run this can cause it to hobble and also give rise to other problems in sinews and joints. The bigger the hoof, the larger the `shock absorber` will be so as to reduce the strain on the legs and joints. A smaller hoof bears more pressure per surface unit, which can result in greater strain in legs and joints.We have asked many breeders and Judges why they believe that hoof size is so important; their answers are listed below.

 “Balance and harmony”

 “Imagine a man 6,89 foot (210 cm) tall and weighing 23,62 stones (150 kg), who takes a size 36 (Swedish) shoe (English size 4)  . . . . . . !” 

Other factors affecting the shape of the hoof, that we have not covered, are diet, gait, and what the horse stands and walks on.

 When a horse has reached 5 years of age one can assume that its hooves are fully developed and can cope with the duties of a workhorse.

 The Shire seems to be especially prone to cracking in the hoof wall, which is known by different names depending on where the crack occurs and how severe it is. It is often caused by poor quality horn, which can be hereditary. Dry, brittle horn allows hooves to crack. With all due deference to oil and hoof dressings – hooves need water! Other causes underlying hoof cracking can be overloading, careless trimming and shoeing, and the ground conditions and temperature. Horn quality has often been improved by feeding special diets of certain products. It may be worth trying.

 A useful tip to keep the feather out of the way when trimming or shoeing is to draw a gauze tube over the hoof. This can be bought at the chemist´s in several sizes (normally used as bandaging). Another tip is to tie up the feather in small bunches, using hairbands or elastic bands. It is very important that the blacksmith can see the angle of the hoof when working on it and shoeing a horse. The hoof angle should be about 45 degrees.

 Shoe sizes for Shire horses vary from 7 upwards, depending on the manufacturer and where they are made, so be on your guard!

 A good blacksmith is worth his/her weight in gold! We are really grateful to all those blacksmiths who who take their job so seriously and responsibly and are prepared to shoe Shires without flinching at their bulk and the size of their hooves! We need you!

 Below:

Jim’s front and hind hooves. Shod by Mikael Berg at SLU (the Swedish Agricultural University), here in Uppsala.