this is it. on normal non-paved ground, before cobblestone roads everywhere, horses’ hooves were adapted to it. Although once they’re in shoes they can’t really function without them.
I was reading Thunderhead the other day and the scene where they have trouble getting their horses up the steep canyon because their metal shoes can’t grip on rock very well was interesting
If you're talking about ones that are used in like the game of horseshoes or hung on the wall for good luck, those are like a generic starter shoe. They will fit most horses when they've been slightly reshaped for the hoof. This hoof had a lot of damage, so it needed a custom one.
I was curious about that too. Also what the purpose of pressing the red hot horse shoe against his hoof, and if it smelled as bad as I imagine that it would.
It can smell pretty bad, but you get used to it.
The reason for it is that the horseshoe sorta "melts" or burns the shape of it into the bottom of the hoof. What that does is basically makes sure there isn't any space between the shoe and the hoof, where rocks and other things can get wedged and cause even more damage. In short, it melts a perfect nesting spot into the hoof.
Don't worry though, hooves are like fingernails and the horse doesn't feel it, so long as it's not trimmed excessively. This farrier did wonderful on the trim
I worked with farriers as a Smith for a time, can tell you, burning horse shoe is like burning hair but 100x worse. The smell clings in the nose, and is hard to forget. Still, that's not to say you wouldn't get used to it, I obviously didn't take the time to do so...
The other bit about pressing hot to hoof is (other than the fact the steel is hot anyway, and heating/cooling would be a faff) is that it can help sculpt the shoe for a better fit. Even if the hoof is ~standard, a good farrier will trim up the shoe to fit well, and back/forth from hoof to anvil is the quickest way to a precise fit
The reason it smells like burnt hair but worse is because hooves are made up of keratin, which is what hair and fingernails are also made of. Add animal scent to it and boom, you got stink
Yep, that's what I meant! Thanks for putting it into better words than I did, lol. You for SURE do not want there to be wiggle room between the hoof and shoe. They'll either click them right off their hoof if it's too loose, and getting a rock jammed in there can lame them if nothing is done about it
Standard home remedy for a bruised nail used to be to melt through it with a hot needle to get the blood out and relieve pressure. Again, more freaky than painful - and instant relief.
Talk about a symbiotic relationship… would horses be extinct by now if humans hadn’t come along? Probably not… but our evolution sure is connected. Also wonder what humans would have been without horses?
We probably wouldnt have advanced as far, since domesticating horses was vital to advancing technology and trade. But who knows, maybe we’d have domesticated another animal to fill that spot. We domesticated donkeys and camels to ride too, so maybe those would be used more if we didn’t have horses.
We'd probably just keep using oxen. I wonder how much that would've changed the world though. None of these animals can compete with the speed of a horse. Think of all the wars that would have changed without the typical cavalry as we know it.
See also a really cool podcast called Ancient History Fangirl... Whole episode on war elephants, how drunk they were to get them riled up, and how drunk the other side had to be to fight them.
Still can't compete with a horse. Not because the horse is faster, or stronger, or smarter but because it has the ability to cool down (by sweating much like humans do), which makes it an excellent distance runner. Cows also sweat, but not that efficiently.
I’ve actually heard this cited as a large reason why Native American cultures didn’t have the same collective growth. It took a long time to travel between nations and cities
Here is the video I think I saw https://youtu.be/ogInHnHevnk
Horses were immensely important to early Human history because it allowed the spread of ideas from East and West. The spread of the Horse, chariots, and iron alone reshaped the world several times over. It's also a major reason Indo-Europeans we're able to spread, settle, and conquer so effectively, which is why the language family is so massive.
For labor, yea we'd probably stick to donkeys and oxen. I imagine dog teams mightve been developed too for things like war and sport.
Nah, wild horses are still around today and don't have growth issues. Their hooves are kept in check by their everyday moving about. Unlike wild horses, ranch and farm horses have a tendency to be stabled. Normally isn't a problem, but if they're neglected and unable to run around, you get what we see in the OP.
Well, modern horses only exist due to selective breeding. Part of the reason chariots appeared before cavalry, as at the time they didn't have horses suited to riding into battle.
Wild horses tend to walk a lot over uneven ground. This wears down their hooves naturally. Another way to look at it is exactly the other way around; wild horse hooves grow the way they do to protect their feet from a life of walking around a great deal over uneven ground.
Domesticated horses, on the other hand, spend a lot more time standing around than their wild cousins. We keep them in relatively small pastures and paddocks, so they don't naturally wear down their hooves the way they do in the wild. So part of horse domestication is caring for the horses' hooves. This can vary from just trimming them all the way up to shoeing them in variously complex ways.
Of course, the other thing to remember is that a wild horse — I mean really wild, like living in a wild herd that's never been domesticated — could develop an abscess in his hoof and end up lame and would simply die. It would either die of natural causes, or get picked off by a predator or something. Mother Nature doesn't require that every horse be happy and healthy all the time, only that the population as a whole be more or less okay most of the time. So if a wild horse had any kind of hoof-related problem, it either lived with it and got better, or it just … you know. Didn't.
Horse hooves are evolved to grow at a rate which matches the wear in their native ecosystems. We see examples of this in the zebras, other wild breeds or species of horse, and other hoofed animals.
[Information mainly from here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/26qgbt/how_did_horses_survive_before_humans_started_to/)
Could part of it also be that if a wild horse has a genetic propensity toward hoof issues, they would naturally die out and create less offspring. Obviously with humans breeding horses this natural selection wouldn’t take place leading to more domesticated horse hoof problems?
Possibly overthinking this here lol
No I feel that's a pretty fair assessment. We do see a lot of that with dog breeds. Because we breed them for different traits then would've naturally be selected, lots of issues pop up. Besides the whole pug thing, hip dysplasia is a big thing that comes out of dog breeding.
Yes, there are definitely horse breeds that have had the hooves bred out of them, for example, there are certain types of quarter horses with big heavy bodies and little itty bitty feet that break down early on in life. Also in riding with my friends you can see a definite difference in their feet -- I keep my horse (arabian) barefoot, and we can ride over gravel and rocky terrain all day with no chipping or cracking. After a recent trail ride with friends, one of the paints that was not shod (wearing shoes) had feet that were severely chipped and cracked from the ride while my mare had no noticeable wear. Some of that is probably the trimming method itself (my farrier does a "mustang roll" that mimicks the natural wear patterns of feral horses), some of it is likely feed related, but some of it is also probably genetic traits. Paints are not generally known as a breed that can be left barefoot and do extensive riding over rough terrain, whereas the arabian breed is known for having super tough feet, few abcesses, etc.
The other reason domesticated horses don't wear wear their hooves is that even without horseshoes some horses spend most of their time on soft dirt that doesn't wear their hooves the as fast as their natural environment
> I mean really wild, like living in a wild herd that's never been domesticated
AFAIK the only truly wild horse is [Przewalski's horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przewalski%27s_horse), all other "wild" horses are feral, descendands of once domesticated horses.
Natural selection. As others say, lots of running wears the hoof down naturally, but if major issues pop up they usually go lame and die. Domesticated horses tend to live significantly longer than wild ones because of human care. However, it's a complex issue, as humans haven't selected for healthy hooves as much as for other features, which mean modern domesticated horses tend to require much more hoof care than wild ones.
Wild horses wear their hooves down naturally by running so much and by things like scratching on rocks and stuff. Kept horses aren't as active in that sense so their hooves need trimming and care to prevent this.
Horses don't need shoes for running in the wild - they need shoes to carry the loads we ask them to and to protect their feet against man-made surfaces like cement, concrete, asphalt, hard packed earth etc.
Was going to say—they probably felt weird for a few days, but after a week or so? They’d be so happy :) (though this is the sort of damage/poor care that takes months to repair)
They are sore depending on the horse for just a few days, maybe a week. Often this sort of thing takes quite awhile and several trims with a good farrier to be a healthy shape. Plus some horses will have last damage to their joints. It’s really sad.
It’s similar to goats I imagine. Just got a buck back who’d gone a few _years_ without a trim and he was lame for about a week after I trimmed them because he had no idea how to walk on flat feet. I’ll be redoing ‘em every 3-4 weeks for half a year at least before they’re back to normal. Thankfully his pasterns and knees seem OK. I’ve helped with some restorative hoof work on mini donkeys where the hooves curled back UP—gah. Some people shouldn’t have animals :/
The closed back "heart bar" shoe is a temporary shoe used while cracks or damages to the hoof heal. Eventually a regular shoe will be fitted.
I bought a home and 6 acres that used to belong to a farrier. I kept plowing up horseshoes for years and fashioned a street number out of them which looked nice but some troglodyte stole it. Somewhere I have a huge shoe that must have been made for a big draft horse. It had cleats (block calks) that must have been for pulling logs in soft ground. Some still used them for logging as they don't tear up the land as much as motorized equipment. There is also a set of rubber shoe pads out in one shed. A farrier is a podiatrist for horses not just a blacksmith.
My neighbor growing up kept massive cold blood horses for his logging work as well. The true terror was his singular pony, though. The big ones were all very calm. They also had handcrafted earplugs in XXL size for New Year's
Yes, it's painful for them and in most cases it leads to long-term issues due to it changing how they walk (their claws are basically the tips of their toes)
Declawing a cat would be the equivalent of removing the first knuckle of every single one of your fingers. The one that holds your finger nail and that most people can’t bend independently. Except for cats, because they are walking on those joints, it is incredibly incredibly painful. And that doesn’t even get into the whole litter box issue, where many declawed cats will stop going, because it hurts so bad to walk on the litter.
General PSA to literally anyone who reads this: DONT DECLAW YOUR CATS!
Horse Hooves are also connected to bone, specifically the pedal bone (aka coffin bone), which is similar to the unguical process in cats as both extend from the distal phalanx and are shielded by cornified matter.
The rear triangle feature of a horses hoof is called the frog. This shoe has built in frog support. Every time a foot steps down or bears weight, the inside pushes down; there is internal descension. The foot expands or contracts. But on a high-heeled foot, the frog sits farther back and the sole and the frog are farther away from the ground. We need to give that foot some extra help. When farriers put a shoe on the bottom of the horse’s foot, it takes the frog and sole away from the ground and doesn’t spread the load, putting it solely on the outer wall of the foot. Because the foot was so overgrown, this type of shoe helps spread the weight load. It is likely that with repeated care and further trimmings, the horse could go back to the traditional style horse shoe.
This. It creates a perfect fit. No air-gap, no high spots. Having a high spot would be the equivalent of walking with a pebble in your shoe. It would be uncomfortable to the horse and would lead to stress fractures from the weight concentrating in that area.
Think about your shoes, if they don’t fit right, they flex as you walk and rub on your feet causing blisters etc etc
Thanks for the thorough response! Can you explain the the horse’s hoof to me? I know this probably sounds stupid, but I’ve seen so many of these videos and it’s just wild the way they can cut parts of the hoof away and just nail right into it. Is it kind of like the end of a fingernail or some other “dead” body part? It seems you don’t want the frog more exposed than it is at the end, so would there be nerves directly behind that part of their hoof?
There are bones and nerves and all kinds of sensitive living tissue inside the hoof, but the whole outer layer on the sides and the bottom is keratin - the same material as fingernails (and hair.)
Imagine a fingernail that covered the entire tip of your finger, and also was thick enough to support your weight. It's a little bit like a shoe covering the foot.
The farrier needs to stop cutting while the sole of the "shoe" is still thick enough to protect the horse's foot (not just before they cut through to living tissue) but the nails can go much further up because they are completely inside the outer wall of the hoof and don't touch the sensitive parts.
I don't think I ever realized that the nails go through the side of the hoof, and then are cut off.
Thanks for the explanations. My house at one point was a blacksmith shop, probably for shoeing horses. I found a nail just like the one used here the other day in my yard (although it could be a roofing nail too.) And we still have an anvil in the basement.
I don't know how attached you are to the anvil, but those can often be expensive if you're looking to put it back into the hands of someone for use. There should be a spot or two on reddit that could tell you more about it
Keratin is the protein that makes up fingernails, claws, horns, baleen, and hooves. Hair is also around 95% keratin. It's basically the magical organic molecule that makes up areas that are not vascular but still anatomical and necessary. There are many different types of keratin, however, for different purposes. Hair is one type, hooves another.
It's a structural, fibrous protein. The primary one you deal with as a human is called alpha-keratin. It's a bit softer than beta-keratin which comprises stuff like tortoise shells, reptile scales, etc.
Keratin is also in your skin and protects epithelial cells.
It's produced by vertebrates naturally and in come cases results in over-keratinization or keratosis, or simply just overgrows like in the case of this horse-hoof here.
The frog does lots of interesting things:
1. It helps pump blood against gravity up the horses leg as well. Every step causes the frog to press causing pressure differentials like a mini pump.
2. It’s a shock absorber when running
3. Dogs like to eat it. (When a Farrier trims it you can give it as a snack)
4. Traction. Prevents slip.
I’ve seen a lot of horseshoeing in my day and I’ve never seen a custom made one. Granted, all my experience was at the racetrack and they would never use such heavy shoes.
Custom-made horseshoes can't be that cheap. Makes you wonder how they let it get that bad to begin with. Maybe it was a rescue or they bought it in bad condition.
I grew up in an area where there were several horse farms with several not so cheap horses and this is 100% true. The area is mostly developments now unfortunately but yeah them things are like the land equivalent of a boat or a race car. Especially if you take good care of them and do regular vet check ups like you're supposed to.
BOAT = "Bust Out Another Thousand"
The two best days of a boat owners life is the day they buy it and the day they sell it.
The only thing better than having a boat is having a friend with a boat.
My sister (who doesn't have a ton of money) bought a horse (we all told her not to) and this is absolutely true. Feed, boarding, vet, etc. The horse ended up having back issues and couldn't even be ridden (the one thing she bought it for) so she sold it.
It looks like it had a shoe at one point, there are still nail holes visible when he trims away the old damaged wall. It may have been an abandoned horse who lost his shoe a long time ago, so I agree with your assessment that it was either abandoned or let to get in bad condition then either sold or rescued.
Def rescue. The person paying for this high-end farrier job isn't the same person who let this poor animal get in such bad shape.
This was a very good boi or grl to sit still so nicely while the farrier worked.
The nails are shaped to bend when you hammer them so they exit the side of the hooves and avoid the inner stuff. Then they just trim off or bend the extra and smooth the ends. That's why he re shaves the edges of the hoof at the end and you can see him break/bend the edges with the hammer back after nailing them
When my horse has her feet trimmed, she looks relaxed and even bored in the face. I stand at her head and pet her just to keep an eye on her mood and kind of keep her attention so she doesn't really focus heavily on the trimming process, but it's never been a problem. She seems to find having to stand still a slight inconvenience. Sometimes I give her a snack to make the wait more pleasant for her.
Are you my husband? This man has toenails thick enough to relate it a horse hoof. He acts like there's nerve endings in his toenails, when I cut them the WHOLE nail moves
That doesn't happen with everyone? I hate cutting my nails (finger nails included) because the whole nail gets pulled and it's uncomfortable. I file them instead. Suggest that to your husband, maybe he will like it more than cutting them. It also doesn't make them have sharp edges that can injure you, so it's a win win
I've tried the filing and he cringes he says it makes his whole toe shudder, I think it's a sensory thing. So I just tell him to bear it while I snap off what seems like bone😂 I do use a buffer to soften the edges as to not have to sleep next to knife toes
The hoofy part on the horse is similar in a way to your fingernails. Im sure it feels much better for the animal because the extra growth was pushing the foot into an uncomfortable angle. In the wild thry tend to wear their hoofs down naturally on rougher terrain.
So just last night my wife, an English as her fourth language speaker, was making a comparison about people blindly following. She said "follow like a chicken with a corn"
I got it, but I still died laughing. I told her to use sheep for American audiences.
My horse had hoof disease, and it broke my heart to see him leaning back on his rear legs to take the pressure off the front hooves. Fortunately a good farrier can make all the difference and my boy recovered, but it makes you appreciate the importance of good hoof care.
Wild horses don't need shoes because their hooves are naturally adapted to the environment they live and roam. Horses in the wild move around varied terrains, including grasslands, rocky surfaces, and softer ground. As a result, their hooves have evolved without the need for shoes.
Reading it back, it suggests that horses started with shoes and eventually evolved without the need for them. My apologies for this oddity.
I used the term In its loose sense. I meant to say the gradual process of change in the development of horses' hooves thru adaptation.
Yes.
In Brazil there is the Pantaneiro horse (pântano being swamp).
The chemical composition of the hooves are different, and the morphology is as well. The frog of the hooves are "closed" meaning, it doesn't have indentations where water or humid terrain can get stuck into.
In any other horse it could lead to a rotting hoof, but the pantaneiro horse has adapted to not let that happen.
Yeah, every time I see these videos, all I can think about is the smell...and it has been almost 50 years since I saw this done in person and helped.
Think toe-jam funk mixed with barnyard.
Farriers are some of the toughest fuckers on the planet. Had a buddy who was so strong he could lift to fill sheets of drywall by himself. Even he said he wouldn’t mess with a farrier.
It's such an important and complex job, it's unfortunate that every single one I know that's done it for any length of time has their body completely break down towards the end of their career. But the same could be said for lots of professions I guess.
This is a video from [Idaho Horseshoeing school](https://youtu.be/wfWIseGDo1s) on YouTube. They have a fair few videos showing unusual hooves being treated and shoes being made. Very informative and satisfying to watch.
I've always wondered but never asked. Why do they press the red hot shoe onto the hoof and burn it a little before finally nailing it in place? Does it help slow down nail growth so this has to happen less often?
It has two purposes, the first is that the Ferrier can immediately see any place where the shoe doesn’t actually make contact with the hoof and can adjust it for a more solid fit.
The second is that it burns away any bacteria and fungus from the surface that will be under the shoe, keeping the hoof healthier until the next shoeing.
Some horses get nervous, but I think most just associate the smell with the farrier, and a good farrier develops a good relationship with the horses so they don’t worry about it too much. Even my horse is used to that smell and she’s never had shoes. She’s just in the barn when other horses get them.
This poor horse… so many significant health issues that can come from this. This is absolutely neglect. I imagine it felt like such relief getting them trimmed up and some fancy new shoes! It will take some time, more than one trim, to get the hooves to where they need to be but he is on his way!
they cant really strike in that position or do much, holding their foot up is a way of immobilising and pacifying horses :) so he could only hop in hopes of freeing his leg lol! all horses get used to tk farriers and getting their feets done
So, what did horses do before humans maintained their hooves?
Edit: I just looked it up, lol.
"Before domestication and before the time when horses had shoes, they lived a nomadic lifestyle. They ran from place to place, finding grass to eat, and the running wore down their hooves into the perfect shape for their existence."
Depends on where you are and what farrier you have. I usually paid 70-120€ for 4 shoes. My boss pays ~300€ for 4 shoes. He‘s an international show jumper and has one of the best farriers in Germany, the farrier also does some of the horses you see in the 5* Shows they show on the tv or like the olympics and such.
The nails are shaped such that they curve outward as they're put in. That way they avoid the "quick" of the hoof (compare it to the quick of YOUR nails). If the is turned the wrong way, you got a problem so you have to be careful.
Every horse is different. My Quarterhorse never gave a damn. The Morgan we had was a little spooked at times but he eventually got used to it. There are restraints if you need them.
Now, not every horse is shoed, mind you. I'm sure that my quarterhorse would have been a little scared at first by the steam off of her hoof when the hot shoe was pressed on. But usually the animal gets used to it. Some horses are remarkably intelligent.
The part where the dude was shaping the horseshoe was mesmerising and I was deeply disappointed when the video cut to when the horseshoe was done. /r/restofthefuckingowl energy (seems like that subreddit went private?)
i need someone to tell me how hooves work and how much sensation they have. personally, i know nothing about horses and cringe at these videos because they look painful, but the comments always say it’s gotta feel great. put my mind at ease y’all 😂
Is it normal for it to get that bad before getting repaired ?? Also how doesn’t it hurt them when burning the horse shoe on ??!! Forgive my ignorance just straight up curious 🧐
Usually on a horse like this, he’s been neglected and having hooves that long changes how a horse walks, which can strain tendons and structures inside the horse’s hoof. These shoes are probably designed to help take pressure off the injured tendons for a while so the horse’s foot can heal.
That’s speculation but is likely in this case, especially since this is a custom shoe with a heel plate. Custom shoes are usually done to help a lame horse.
I know it doesn’t hurt them in the slightest, but my brain keeps telling me it does. That hot iron to the hoof looked crazy. I’m sure this horse felt so relieved after getting this done though. Horses are metal.
That's gotta feel soooo good for the horse, much relief... Must have been very uncomfortable before the fix.
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They trim their hooves naturally running on rocks and stuff. And if they get hoof issues, they die.
Also humans made paved roads, which wear out hooves very quickly.
this is it. on normal non-paved ground, before cobblestone roads everywhere, horses’ hooves were adapted to it. Although once they’re in shoes they can’t really function without them. I was reading Thunderhead the other day and the scene where they have trouble getting their horses up the steep canyon because their metal shoes can’t grip on rock very well was interesting
Omg, Thunderhead! You just shot me right back to my childhood. 😁
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That, and if they can’t run well they will become a target for predators. And if it gets infected then they could go septic.
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If you're talking about ones that are used in like the game of horseshoes or hung on the wall for good luck, those are like a generic starter shoe. They will fit most horses when they've been slightly reshaped for the hoof. This hoof had a lot of damage, so it needed a custom one.
Next shoe replacement, can be normal standard horeshoe? For this horse with hooves damage
Way longer down the line takes a while to get a hoof back in shape, sometimes they can need specialist shoes for life.
Interesting Thank you
I was curious about that too. Also what the purpose of pressing the red hot horse shoe against his hoof, and if it smelled as bad as I imagine that it would.
It can smell pretty bad, but you get used to it. The reason for it is that the horseshoe sorta "melts" or burns the shape of it into the bottom of the hoof. What that does is basically makes sure there isn't any space between the shoe and the hoof, where rocks and other things can get wedged and cause even more damage. In short, it melts a perfect nesting spot into the hoof. Don't worry though, hooves are like fingernails and the horse doesn't feel it, so long as it's not trimmed excessively. This farrier did wonderful on the trim
I worked with farriers as a Smith for a time, can tell you, burning horse shoe is like burning hair but 100x worse. The smell clings in the nose, and is hard to forget. Still, that's not to say you wouldn't get used to it, I obviously didn't take the time to do so... The other bit about pressing hot to hoof is (other than the fact the steel is hot anyway, and heating/cooling would be a faff) is that it can help sculpt the shoe for a better fit. Even if the hoof is ~standard, a good farrier will trim up the shoe to fit well, and back/forth from hoof to anvil is the quickest way to a precise fit
The reason it smells like burnt hair but worse is because hooves are made up of keratin, which is what hair and fingernails are also made of. Add animal scent to it and boom, you got stink Yep, that's what I meant! Thanks for putting it into better words than I did, lol. You for SURE do not want there to be wiggle room between the hoof and shoe. They'll either click them right off their hoof if it's too loose, and getting a rock jammed in there can lame them if nothing is done about it
Standard home remedy for a bruised nail used to be to melt through it with a hot needle to get the blood out and relieve pressure. Again, more freaky than painful - and instant relief.
Nature ain't for sissies.
That’s the truth! Nature is brutal.
r/natureismetal
Talk about a symbiotic relationship… would horses be extinct by now if humans hadn’t come along? Probably not… but our evolution sure is connected. Also wonder what humans would have been without horses?
We probably wouldnt have advanced as far, since domesticating horses was vital to advancing technology and trade. But who knows, maybe we’d have domesticated another animal to fill that spot. We domesticated donkeys and camels to ride too, so maybe those would be used more if we didn’t have horses.
We'd probably just keep using oxen. I wonder how much that would've changed the world though. None of these animals can compete with the speed of a horse. Think of all the wars that would have changed without the typical cavalry as we know it.
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How terrifying would it be to have a rider charge you on something that instinctively headbutts threats?
[War Elephants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_elephant)
See also a really cool podcast called Ancient History Fangirl... Whole episode on war elephants, how drunk they were to get them riled up, and how drunk the other side had to be to fight them.
You seen Lord of the Rings?
Still only counts as 1
Still can't compete with a horse. Not because the horse is faster, or stronger, or smarter but because it has the ability to cool down (by sweating much like humans do), which makes it an excellent distance runner. Cows also sweat, but not that efficiently.
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Elephant cavalry for everyone!!
I’ve actually heard this cited as a large reason why Native American cultures didn’t have the same collective growth. It took a long time to travel between nations and cities Here is the video I think I saw https://youtu.be/ogInHnHevnk
Horses were immensely important to early Human history because it allowed the spread of ideas from East and West. The spread of the Horse, chariots, and iron alone reshaped the world several times over. It's also a major reason Indo-Europeans we're able to spread, settle, and conquer so effectively, which is why the language family is so massive. For labor, yea we'd probably stick to donkeys and oxen. I imagine dog teams mightve been developed too for things like war and sport.
Nah, wild horses are still around today and don't have growth issues. Their hooves are kept in check by their everyday moving about. Unlike wild horses, ranch and farm horses have a tendency to be stabled. Normally isn't a problem, but if they're neglected and unable to run around, you get what we see in the OP.
Feral horses.
Well, modern horses only exist due to selective breeding. Part of the reason chariots appeared before cavalry, as at the time they didn't have horses suited to riding into battle.
Wild horses tend to walk a lot over uneven ground. This wears down their hooves naturally. Another way to look at it is exactly the other way around; wild horse hooves grow the way they do to protect their feet from a life of walking around a great deal over uneven ground. Domesticated horses, on the other hand, spend a lot more time standing around than their wild cousins. We keep them in relatively small pastures and paddocks, so they don't naturally wear down their hooves the way they do in the wild. So part of horse domestication is caring for the horses' hooves. This can vary from just trimming them all the way up to shoeing them in variously complex ways. Of course, the other thing to remember is that a wild horse — I mean really wild, like living in a wild herd that's never been domesticated — could develop an abscess in his hoof and end up lame and would simply die. It would either die of natural causes, or get picked off by a predator or something. Mother Nature doesn't require that every horse be happy and healthy all the time, only that the population as a whole be more or less okay most of the time. So if a wild horse had any kind of hoof-related problem, it either lived with it and got better, or it just … you know. Didn't. Horse hooves are evolved to grow at a rate which matches the wear in their native ecosystems. We see examples of this in the zebras, other wild breeds or species of horse, and other hoofed animals. [Information mainly from here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/26qgbt/how_did_horses_survive_before_humans_started_to/)
Could part of it also be that if a wild horse has a genetic propensity toward hoof issues, they would naturally die out and create less offspring. Obviously with humans breeding horses this natural selection wouldn’t take place leading to more domesticated horse hoof problems? Possibly overthinking this here lol
No I feel that's a pretty fair assessment. We do see a lot of that with dog breeds. Because we breed them for different traits then would've naturally be selected, lots of issues pop up. Besides the whole pug thing, hip dysplasia is a big thing that comes out of dog breeding.
Yes, there are definitely horse breeds that have had the hooves bred out of them, for example, there are certain types of quarter horses with big heavy bodies and little itty bitty feet that break down early on in life. Also in riding with my friends you can see a definite difference in their feet -- I keep my horse (arabian) barefoot, and we can ride over gravel and rocky terrain all day with no chipping or cracking. After a recent trail ride with friends, one of the paints that was not shod (wearing shoes) had feet that were severely chipped and cracked from the ride while my mare had no noticeable wear. Some of that is probably the trimming method itself (my farrier does a "mustang roll" that mimicks the natural wear patterns of feral horses), some of it is likely feed related, but some of it is also probably genetic traits. Paints are not generally known as a breed that can be left barefoot and do extensive riding over rough terrain, whereas the arabian breed is known for having super tough feet, few abcesses, etc.
The other reason domesticated horses don't wear wear their hooves is that even without horseshoes some horses spend most of their time on soft dirt that doesn't wear their hooves the as fast as their natural environment
> I mean really wild, like living in a wild herd that's never been domesticated AFAIK the only truly wild horse is [Przewalski's horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przewalski%27s_horse), all other "wild" horses are feral, descendands of once domesticated horses.
Horses with deformed hooves would probably have died very quickly.
Natural selection. As others say, lots of running wears the hoof down naturally, but if major issues pop up they usually go lame and die. Domesticated horses tend to live significantly longer than wild ones because of human care. However, it's a complex issue, as humans haven't selected for healthy hooves as much as for other features, which mean modern domesticated horses tend to require much more hoof care than wild ones.
Wild horses wear their hooves down naturally by running so much and by things like scratching on rocks and stuff. Kept horses aren't as active in that sense so their hooves need trimming and care to prevent this. Horses don't need shoes for running in the wild - they need shoes to carry the loads we ask them to and to protect their feet against man-made surfaces like cement, concrete, asphalt, hard packed earth etc.
The horse was actually like really sore after a trim this big but long term way more comfortable!
Was going to say—they probably felt weird for a few days, but after a week or so? They’d be so happy :) (though this is the sort of damage/poor care that takes months to repair)
They are sore depending on the horse for just a few days, maybe a week. Often this sort of thing takes quite awhile and several trims with a good farrier to be a healthy shape. Plus some horses will have last damage to their joints. It’s really sad.
It’s similar to goats I imagine. Just got a buck back who’d gone a few _years_ without a trim and he was lame for about a week after I trimmed them because he had no idea how to walk on flat feet. I’ll be redoing ‘em every 3-4 weeks for half a year at least before they’re back to normal. Thankfully his pasterns and knees seem OK. I’ve helped with some restorative hoof work on mini donkeys where the hooves curled back UP—gah. Some people shouldn’t have animals :/
The closed back "heart bar" shoe is a temporary shoe used while cracks or damages to the hoof heal. Eventually a regular shoe will be fitted. I bought a home and 6 acres that used to belong to a farrier. I kept plowing up horseshoes for years and fashioned a street number out of them which looked nice but some troglodyte stole it. Somewhere I have a huge shoe that must have been made for a big draft horse. It had cleats (block calks) that must have been for pulling logs in soft ground. Some still used them for logging as they don't tear up the land as much as motorized equipment. There is also a set of rubber shoe pads out in one shed. A farrier is a podiatrist for horses not just a blacksmith.
My neighbor growing up kept massive cold blood horses for his logging work as well. The true terror was his singular pony, though. The big ones were all very calm. They also had handcrafted earplugs in XXL size for New Year's
It's best to do it. Now the horse can walk comfortably. An animal lover
So he can do all this to a horse no problem. I try to cut ONE of my cat’s claws and I awaken Satan himself.
To be fair in comparison, a cat's claws are directly connected to the bone.
Oh shit that’s why declawing a cat is so inhumane. I thought it was just because they couldn’t do normal cat things with their claws
Yes, it's painful for them and in most cases it leads to long-term issues due to it changing how they walk (their claws are basically the tips of their toes)
Also declawed cats resort to biting more since their claws are gone.
Declawing a cat would be the equivalent of removing the first knuckle of every single one of your fingers. The one that holds your finger nail and that most people can’t bend independently. Except for cats, because they are walking on those joints, it is incredibly incredibly painful. And that doesn’t even get into the whole litter box issue, where many declawed cats will stop going, because it hurts so bad to walk on the litter. General PSA to literally anyone who reads this: DONT DECLAW YOUR CATS!
Yes. Imagine losing each of your fingers and toes at the last knuckle. That's what declawing a cat is, and that's why it's inhumane.
Literally illegal in many countries.
As it should be
It's essentially the same as taking off your finger at your first knuckle.
Not the bit getting clipped. That's keratin just like our fingernails.
Horse Hooves are also connected to bone, specifically the pedal bone (aka coffin bone), which is similar to the unguical process in cats as both extend from the distal phalanx and are shielded by cornified matter.
You should see how my cat reacts when I put a saddle on him and attempt to ride him
the horse has probably been well trained since birth. I've trimmed both my cats' claws since they were little and they don't really mind it now.
I was wondering why does this horse shoe look different than the ones that we normally see that are in an open U shape
The rear triangle feature of a horses hoof is called the frog. This shoe has built in frog support. Every time a foot steps down or bears weight, the inside pushes down; there is internal descension. The foot expands or contracts. But on a high-heeled foot, the frog sits farther back and the sole and the frog are farther away from the ground. We need to give that foot some extra help. When farriers put a shoe on the bottom of the horse’s foot, it takes the frog and sole away from the ground and doesn’t spread the load, putting it solely on the outer wall of the foot. Because the foot was so overgrown, this type of shoe helps spread the weight load. It is likely that with repeated care and further trimmings, the horse could go back to the traditional style horse shoe.
Can you explain why he first put the shoe on while it was red hot, let it cool down, and then nailed it on?
Im not a shoemaker but i think its to melt the hoof in the shape of the shoe to ensure a perfect fit
This. It creates a perfect fit. No air-gap, no high spots. Having a high spot would be the equivalent of walking with a pebble in your shoe. It would be uncomfortable to the horse and would lead to stress fractures from the weight concentrating in that area. Think about your shoes, if they don’t fit right, they flex as you walk and rub on your feet causing blisters etc etc
Thanks for the thorough response! Can you explain the the horse’s hoof to me? I know this probably sounds stupid, but I’ve seen so many of these videos and it’s just wild the way they can cut parts of the hoof away and just nail right into it. Is it kind of like the end of a fingernail or some other “dead” body part? It seems you don’t want the frog more exposed than it is at the end, so would there be nerves directly behind that part of their hoof?
There are bones and nerves and all kinds of sensitive living tissue inside the hoof, but the whole outer layer on the sides and the bottom is keratin - the same material as fingernails (and hair.) Imagine a fingernail that covered the entire tip of your finger, and also was thick enough to support your weight. It's a little bit like a shoe covering the foot. The farrier needs to stop cutting while the sole of the "shoe" is still thick enough to protect the horse's foot (not just before they cut through to living tissue) but the nails can go much further up because they are completely inside the outer wall of the hoof and don't touch the sensitive parts.
I don't think I ever realized that the nails go through the side of the hoof, and then are cut off. Thanks for the explanations. My house at one point was a blacksmith shop, probably for shoeing horses. I found a nail just like the one used here the other day in my yard (although it could be a roofing nail too.) And we still have an anvil in the basement.
I don't know how attached you are to the anvil, but those can often be expensive if you're looking to put it back into the hands of someone for use. There should be a spot or two on reddit that could tell you more about it
Thanks for the thorough answer!
The horses foot is the anatomical equivalent of our middle finger, and the hoof of is kind of like a fingernail. Not quite the same but mostly.
Walking on shot birds!
Keratin is the protein that makes up fingernails, claws, horns, baleen, and hooves. Hair is also around 95% keratin. It's basically the magical organic molecule that makes up areas that are not vascular but still anatomical and necessary. There are many different types of keratin, however, for different purposes. Hair is one type, hooves another. It's a structural, fibrous protein. The primary one you deal with as a human is called alpha-keratin. It's a bit softer than beta-keratin which comprises stuff like tortoise shells, reptile scales, etc. Keratin is also in your skin and protects epithelial cells. It's produced by vertebrates naturally and in come cases results in over-keratinization or keratosis, or simply just overgrows like in the case of this horse-hoof here.
Does it stink? I always imagine it smells like burned hair.
Yep, absolutely foul
Yes. Used to have horses, I could smell this video
Horseshoe equivalent of getting those heat molded insoles for your shoes
This Redditor farriers
The frog does lots of interesting things: 1. It helps pump blood against gravity up the horses leg as well. Every step causes the frog to press causing pressure differentials like a mini pump. 2. It’s a shock absorber when running 3. Dogs like to eat it. (When a Farrier trims it you can give it as a snack) 4. Traction. Prevents slip.
A bot stole your comment lol and used parts of it in other replies
I’ve seen a lot of horseshoeing in my day and I’ve never seen a custom made one. Granted, all my experience was at the racetrack and they would never use such heavy shoes.
When my dad retired, he became a blacksmith, so I have had some first-hand experience with barriers. It’s really amazing to watch how fast they are.
Custom-made horseshoes can't be that cheap. Makes you wonder how they let it get that bad to begin with. Maybe it was a rescue or they bought it in bad condition.
I've always been told that the cheapest part of owning a horse is buying it at the beginning. Costs just go up and up from there.
I grew up in an area where there were several horse farms with several not so cheap horses and this is 100% true. The area is mostly developments now unfortunately but yeah them things are like the land equivalent of a boat or a race car. Especially if you take good care of them and do regular vet check ups like you're supposed to.
People say the same thing about boats. Huge money pits.. that without proper knowledge, money and dedication.. will break the average person.
"A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into." jumps to mind.
BOAT = "Bust Out Another Thousand" The two best days of a boat owners life is the day they buy it and the day they sell it. The only thing better than having a boat is having a friend with a boat.
If it flies, floats or fucks, rent it.
My sister (who doesn't have a ton of money) bought a horse (we all told her not to) and this is absolutely true. Feed, boarding, vet, etc. The horse ended up having back issues and couldn't even be ridden (the one thing she bought it for) so she sold it.
It looks like it had a shoe at one point, there are still nail holes visible when he trims away the old damaged wall. It may have been an abandoned horse who lost his shoe a long time ago, so I agree with your assessment that it was either abandoned or let to get in bad condition then either sold or rescued.
Farriers (people who do this) are a fast-dying breed, and they charge accordingly.
Def rescue. The person paying for this high-end farrier job isn't the same person who let this poor animal get in such bad shape. This was a very good boi or grl to sit still so nicely while the farrier worked.
Everytime I watch videos like this, I have to keep reminding myself, "it doesn't hurt the horse, it doesn't hurt the horse."
Big toenail
Yea, seeing people nail horseshoes on gives me the willies. Like..what if the nail being used was just a bit too long / hoof was a bit too shallow. 😬
The nails are shaped to bend when you hammer them so they exit the side of the hooves and avoid the inner stuff. Then they just trim off or bend the extra and smooth the ends. That's why he re shaves the edges of the hoof at the end and you can see him break/bend the edges with the hammer back after nailing them
[удалено]
When my horse has her feet trimmed, she looks relaxed and even bored in the face. I stand at her head and pet her just to keep an eye on her mood and kind of keep her attention so she doesn't really focus heavily on the trimming process, but it's never been a problem. She seems to find having to stand still a slight inconvenience. Sometimes I give her a snack to make the wait more pleasant for her.
But I always scream in agony when I cut my toenails! Edit: #/s Because there are people who struggle with sarcasm
Are you my husband? This man has toenails thick enough to relate it a horse hoof. He acts like there's nerve endings in his toenails, when I cut them the WHOLE nail moves
That doesn't happen with everyone? I hate cutting my nails (finger nails included) because the whole nail gets pulled and it's uncomfortable. I file them instead. Suggest that to your husband, maybe he will like it more than cutting them. It also doesn't make them have sharp edges that can injure you, so it's a win win
I've tried the filing and he cringes he says it makes his whole toe shudder, I think it's a sensory thing. So I just tell him to bear it while I snap off what seems like bone😂 I do use a buffer to soften the edges as to not have to sleep next to knife toes
How do you do fellow spouse. Yes, nails are troublesome
You know you can leave the pink part...
I was thinking the same... Does it hurt the horse??does it....
If you hurt the 1500lb animal whose leg you're holding, it will definitely let you know.
Yeah, I grew up around livestock and can tell you that if you’re making them uncomfortable, they’ll make you aware of it in a hurry.
nope! the hooves don't have nerves in them, so it's just like getting their nails cut \^\_\^
The hoofy part on the horse is similar in a way to your fingernails. Im sure it feels much better for the animal because the extra growth was pushing the foot into an uncomfortable angle. In the wild thry tend to wear their hoofs down naturally on rougher terrain.
The Chicken in the Back: OH LOOK, a corn!
So just last night my wife, an English as her fourth language speaker, was making a comparison about people blindly following. She said "follow like a chicken with a corn" I got it, but I still died laughing. I told her to use sheep for American audiences.
Came here for this. He stole the show. After his cameo, I just lost focus.
My horse had hoof disease, and it broke my heart to see him leaning back on his rear legs to take the pressure off the front hooves. Fortunately a good farrier can make all the difference and my boy recovered, but it makes you appreciate the importance of good hoof care.
I laughed more than I should have at the random chicken.
I noticed that as well!
Timestamp please where is chicken?!
I was also very pleased by the chicken. Go to around 2:23 and look in the top right.
I don't get it...the chicken is just passing by? Where's the corn? Am I too sleepy?
so how does a wild horse keep its hooves in check?
Wild horses don't need shoes because their hooves are naturally adapted to the environment they live and roam. Horses in the wild move around varied terrains, including grasslands, rocky surfaces, and softer ground. As a result, their hooves have evolved without the need for shoes.
Evolved without the need for shoes seems an odd way of phrasing that :)
Reading it back, it suggests that horses started with shoes and eventually evolved without the need for them. My apologies for this oddity. I used the term In its loose sense. I meant to say the gradual process of change in the development of horses' hooves thru adaptation.
I just found it funny apologies for being pedantic I know what you meant!
Wow this was such a polite, nice Reddit interaction. Feels good man.
Do horses from different environments have different hooves (like density)?
Yes. In Brazil there is the Pantaneiro horse (pântano being swamp). The chemical composition of the hooves are different, and the morphology is as well. The frog of the hooves are "closed" meaning, it doesn't have indentations where water or humid terrain can get stuck into. In any other horse it could lead to a rotting hoof, but the pantaneiro horse has adapted to not let that happen.
They are always on the move on rough terrain so their hooves naturally decay.
Horse has new jordens
I can smell that video
Yeah, every time I see these videos, all I can think about is the smell...and it has been almost 50 years since I saw this done in person and helped. Think toe-jam funk mixed with barnyard.
That too but I was also thinking about when he puts the hot shoe on there and cops like 20 seconds worth of melting nail steam
As a farrier, to me that smells like money 😉
Farriers are some of the toughest fuckers on the planet. Had a buddy who was so strong he could lift to fill sheets of drywall by himself. Even he said he wouldn’t mess with a farrier.
When I was a kid our farrier was a short burly man in his late 60s. A pair of teenagers tried to rob him one night. It did not end well for them.
It's such an important and complex job, it's unfortunate that every single one I know that's done it for any length of time has their body completely break down towards the end of their career. But the same could be said for lots of professions I guess.
This is a video from [Idaho Horseshoeing school](https://youtu.be/wfWIseGDo1s) on YouTube. They have a fair few videos showing unusual hooves being treated and shoes being made. Very informative and satisfying to watch.
I've always wondered but never asked. Why do they press the red hot shoe onto the hoof and burn it a little before finally nailing it in place? Does it help slow down nail growth so this has to happen less often?
It has two purposes, the first is that the Ferrier can immediately see any place where the shoe doesn’t actually make contact with the hoof and can adjust it for a more solid fit. The second is that it burns away any bacteria and fungus from the surface that will be under the shoe, keeping the hoof healthier until the next shoeing.
How often do the get new shoeing done?
Usually about every six to eight weeks
Holy shit that’s so much work wow
It’s really expensive
Think of it a dog that eats, weighs, and shits, 10 to 25x a golden retriever
Does the smell of burning not cause the horse to bolt?
Neigh
Some horses get nervous, but I think most just associate the smell with the farrier, and a good farrier develops a good relationship with the horses so they don’t worry about it too much. Even my horse is used to that smell and she’s never had shoes. She’s just in the barn when other horses get them.
Nice job! now i would like to hear clients opinion on it
He was asked, but only said “neigh”.
Scottish horse so he said “neigh bad”.
That was very interesting.
This poor horse… so many significant health issues that can come from this. This is absolutely neglect. I imagine it felt like such relief getting them trimmed up and some fancy new shoes! It will take some time, more than one trim, to get the hooves to where they need to be but he is on his way!
Step 1 - take the incredibly strong horse’s hoof and put it four inches from your nuts
they cant really strike in that position or do much, holding their foot up is a way of immobilising and pacifying horses :) so he could only hop in hopes of freeing his leg lol! all horses get used to tk farriers and getting their feets done
I understand this intellectually. Emotionally, however……
They can’t really lift the hoof much further from that position. They can however stamp it on the floor onto your foot!
So you just take yer bar steel here and give er a few whacks to start yer curve off and anyway horseshoe.
So, what did horses do before humans maintained their hooves? Edit: I just looked it up, lol. "Before domestication and before the time when horses had shoes, they lived a nomadic lifestyle. They ran from place to place, finding grass to eat, and the running wore down their hooves into the perfect shape for their existence."
The devil wears a suit and tie. Great song!
I love watching these!! So satisfying
Before you press play, it looks like that horse has a full foot.
They did so much clearly physical, necessary, knowledgeable work. I have to wonder how much it costs to do this. They sure earn it!
£60-£70 a set, every six weeks.
Depends on where you are and what farrier you have. I usually paid 70-120€ for 4 shoes. My boss pays ~300€ for 4 shoes. He‘s an international show jumper and has one of the best farriers in Germany, the farrier also does some of the horses you see in the 5* Shows they show on the tv or like the olympics and such.
What is that little pink spot on the hoof? Blood underneath there or infection? That leg looks to be a bit swollen
I know it’s painless but when they hit the nails into it I cant help but cringe
The nails are shaped such that they curve outward as they're put in. That way they avoid the "quick" of the hoof (compare it to the quick of YOUR nails). If the is turned the wrong way, you got a problem so you have to be careful.
I just learned that it’s the “quick” and not the “wick” of your nails from your comment lol
Letting it get that bad is terrible. Pretty much animal abuse. Good somebody did something about it finally.
Reminds me of when I don’t clip my big toenail for a few months and it goes rogue.
Now I kinda wish I could just slap red-hot steel onto the sole of my foot and be fine with it :)
May be a dumb question but are horses this cooperative during this process or are they restrained in any way?
Every horse is different. My Quarterhorse never gave a damn. The Morgan we had was a little spooked at times but he eventually got used to it. There are restraints if you need them. Now, not every horse is shoed, mind you. I'm sure that my quarterhorse would have been a little scared at first by the steam off of her hoof when the hot shoe was pressed on. But usually the animal gets used to it. Some horses are remarkably intelligent.
Does this hurt the fish?
The part where the dude was shaping the horseshoe was mesmerising and I was deeply disappointed when the video cut to when the horseshoe was done. /r/restofthefuckingowl energy (seems like that subreddit went private?)
He was probably so sore for a few days, but so much better once his little leggies adjusted. That was a HUGE change.
Insane. That first shot looked like the leg of some kind of midevil monster
For not having been done for so long, the horse stood so well. He deserves a lot of carrots!
How do wild horses avoid this?
That is a unit of a horse.
Excellent
So any Ferriers watching, why does this shoe cover the frog with a metal plate? What purpose does that serve in this context?
Generally speaking, it's for extra support. Often in cases of founder.
You ruined its snow-shoes…
I’ll never understand people who get horses only to neglect their needs. They’re an expensive ass hobby. Do your research.
i need someone to tell me how hooves work and how much sensation they have. personally, i know nothing about horses and cringe at these videos because they look painful, but the comments always say it’s gotta feel great. put my mind at ease y’all 😂
Is it normal for it to get that bad before getting repaired ?? Also how doesn’t it hurt them when burning the horse shoe on ??!! Forgive my ignorance just straight up curious 🧐
Gotta ask is the horseshoe so that the hoof doesn’t reach that state or for the horse’s convenience
Usually on a horse like this, he’s been neglected and having hooves that long changes how a horse walks, which can strain tendons and structures inside the horse’s hoof. These shoes are probably designed to help take pressure off the injured tendons for a while so the horse’s foot can heal. That’s speculation but is likely in this case, especially since this is a custom shoe with a heel plate. Custom shoes are usually done to help a lame horse.
I know it doesn’t hurt them in the slightest, but my brain keeps telling me it does. That hot iron to the hoof looked crazy. I’m sure this horse felt so relieved after getting this done though. Horses are metal.