Why are horses the only animal with hooves that requires shoes?

Answer 1

And hooved animal that is ridden by humans needs shoes (donkeys, ponys, mules)

It protects their feet with the added weight of a person, as well those animals tend to go more on cement and other non natural surfaces

Answer 2

Equines (horses, donkeys, zebras, etc) are the only group of hooved animals with a single hoof (deer, goats, cows, etc all have two). The hoof is basically the toenail of a very large single toe that like our toenails, will continue to grow over the course of a horse's life.

In the wild, as horses run over rough surfaces, the hoof naturally wears down, but domestic horses need a little extra help. When a horse is shod, a farrier will trim the hoof so that it retains a natural shape. The shoe helps protect the hoof from damage like chips and cracks, which greatly improves and extends the life of the horse. In the wild, horses that suffer a severe injury to the hoof often do not survive long. And when horses are being riden on a hard surface, like a paved roadway which often happens in our modern world, the shoe helps to prevent injury. Other hooved animals are not ridden and do not require this kind of protection.

Answer 3

Horses don't actually 'require' shoes. The only horses that need shoes are horses that are ridden regularly on pavement or those who are ridden in a rocky area and who cannot tolerate the rocks (some horses would require full shoes, some only on the front hooves). Most other animals are not used in such conditions and do not need shoes. Many animals do not have enough outside nail area to hold a shoe on the way a normal horse shoe is applied.
So the answer is 'no animal requires shoes' and no animal except the horse uses one.

Answer 4

Because we ride horses and do other things with them like carriage and such, there is added stress to their hoofs. Shoes are good for helping the wear of their hooves. There is a sensitive balance that is needed in maintaining good hoof care of a horse. Some horses don't need shoes at all! They have good healthy strong hooves. But also some horses don't have generally great hooves and might need shoes sometimes to protect, say if they got a major crack going on. Equines in general have shoes if they are being used for work, riding or just need protection for their hooves.

Answer 5

Horses don't require shoes naturally. If you look at feral mustangs, their hooves are naturally worn down by traversing rough terrain. But our domestic riding horses spend most of their time in stalls, arenas, and paddocks where the footing is well-maintained. Horses in these conditions aren't asked to walk miles everyday searching for the next water hole. So, their hooves grow long and require, if not shoes, at least regular maintenance in the form of trimming and filing.

Shoes come into play when you have a horse that's in regular work and requires a bit more support. They have been adapted to correct a number of physical defects and to aid in performance. For instance, equestrians who want to ride in the winter often put shoes with pads and studs on their horse's feet. The pads go between the shoe and the hoof, and prevent snowballs from accumulating in the foot. The studs allow traction on ice. Saddlebreds and other gaited horses are shod with special, heavier shoes that enhance their natural action and encourage them to pick up their feet higher than they would otherwise. Eventing horses and jumpers also get studs to aid in traction on wet ground or turf. Horses with eviculars often get eggbar shoes to help correct their physical defect.

However, while farriers have been shoeing horses for century, there has been a recent resurgence in "barefoot" horses: those without shoes. This has been a big movement in the Quarter Horse world in particular. Quarter Horses are famous for having tough feet naturally, and many can do quite well without shoes. However, before pulling your shoes off, it's a good idea to have a vet and farrier check to make sure the horse's feet are healthy enough and have a good natural conformation to support a barefoot lifestyle. Some horses have naturally soft, wide, or club feet. Thoroughbreds, for instance (especially those with a background on the track), can have notoriously week hooves. This comes in part from the beating their feet take as a result of race training. Also, climate needs to be taken into consideration. In Florida, for instance, the ground can often be wet and horses may be hosed more frequently to combat the heat. When a horse's hooves are wet for long periods of time, the hoof wall becomes soft and shoes become necessary to help support the foot.

Answer 6

Not all horses require shoes. It depends on the condition of the horses feet and what they are going to be used for. IF a horse has strong hooves that do not split or grow inevenly, and you are not using them in activities that require shoes, then they do not need them. I have known of cases where horses have actually gotten weak, bad feet from being shod. A ferrier and a vet would be the best team to decide on whether your horse needs shoes.

Answer 7

A great many horses have asked that same question!

Actually, horses that are healthy and that have owners who pay attention to their horse's hooves won't require shoes. The true pleasure or pet horse shouldn't need shoes as long as the owner keeps his horse's hooves clean & trimmed, feeds a balanced diet and rides sensibly - on natural ground rather than pavement.

Generally, shoes on a race horse will help the animal gain traction on all kinds of tracks - muddy or otherwise. In training, race horses have heavy shoes on to build up their leg muscles. Just prior to the race, those heavy shoes are replaced with a very light weight shoes.

Show horses such as saddlebreds and Tennessee Walkers will have very heavy and very thick shoes on them to make the horse pick his feet up higher than normal. Horses don't understand that the shoe is nailed on, so they try to step up and out of the weight on their hooves - which gives the illusion that the horse is a naturally high stepping animal.

For parade horses or horses that are regularly ridden on pavement, the show generally gets bits of borium added to the shoe which helps the animal gain traction on smooth surfaces. Otherwise, the steel shoe would cause the horse to slip on the pavement.

A great many horses have weak hooves or damaged internal parts of the hoof which requires attention. A leather pad is then applied over the bottom of the hoof before the shoe is nailed on. This protects the tender underparts of the hoof from gravel or sharp objects on a hard or hot trail.

And there are a great number of horses that have never and will never need shoes. It is a device designed to protect the hoof the myriad of ways we use our horses.

Answer 8

The hooves are a thicker version of your own finger nails and can wear quickly or be damaged on hard surfaces. The metal horse shoe protects the hoof from the wear and tear of walking on hard surfaces like concrete, gravel and roads, it also protects the uncloven hoof from splitting. The second reason for shoes is to correct some fault in the horses hoof or stride. Some horses are a bit pigeon toed and can bang one leg on the other causing themselves pain and injury so a (properly trained) farrier will modify the horses shoe/s to changing the way it walks so that it isn't clipping itself with its hooves. Similarly some horses don't stand or walk with their hoof flat on the ground and cause excessive wear to part of the hoof and sometimes injuries. Once again the farrier goes to work and modifies the shoe usually build up one side so that the horse is forced to put its hoof down flat and walk properly.

Generally horses on soft terrain such as paddocks don't need shoes unless they have problem feet so you are most likely to see shoes on horses kept in stables / suburban environments.

Answer 9

We ride them in ways that their body is not used naturally and over terrain that they may not naturally trod over. For example, a hunter jumper horse needs shoes with caulks in order to really dig in and get over a large fence. In nature although a horse may jump over a downed log, unless they are being chased they typically won't jump the large scale objects that we ask them to.

Additionally sports like reining and dressage require a great deal of lateral movement that unless they are at serious play in the wild, they won't perform much on their own.

And sadly, we have not paid too much attention to great hooves in most breeding programs. This has created thinner walls and weak hooves - which in turn require shoes.

Answer 10

First off: horses dont require shoes. they can go just fine with out them.

Secondly: Horses are the only 4 ft hooved animal that are commonly ridden-- thats why they get shoed. You dont see a goat getting shoed-- because goats arent commonly ridden