Plastic horseshoes

[Stellaluna]

Sorry to start yet another shoeing thread, but I would like to know from the board's resident farriers (or anybody, really) how they feel about the several types of plastic shoes out there.

I started using Ground Control a few years ago with my previous horse and currently use them on Stella. I've had great results with them and one pair (so far) will last me the whole summer. To me, they just make more sense than steel shoes because of their flexibility and coverage, but wondered what others thought. :)

[westmanfarrier]

You might also check out the Epona shoe. I have used them, they seem to hold up pretty well and have traction options.

[WashingtonBay]

I've wanted to try them for some time. Since Fire started using them I've thought they looked like a nifty idea.

Unfortunately, my new farrier, who I like a lot and need badly after my last couple, made a face when I mentioned them. I do think they might be a good idea for my Bay, but I decided not to push it right now.

[HoustonFarrier]

I used a set many years ago on one of my Clydesdale mares......I didn't see it as any better then the steel shoes I was using.

Steve

[Pinky]

They sound pretty nifty - are they legal for use in SJ/Eventing competitions?

I've looked through the BE sites and they don't mention hoof-wear.

[westmanfarrier]

I used a set many years ago on one of my Clydesdale mares......I didn't see it as any better then the steel shoes I was using.

Steve

Studies point to improved concussion reduction, but leather pads do the trick as well.

I applied them at the client's request, and expense;)

[HoustonFarrier]

Studies shoe improved concussion reduction, but leather pads do the trick as well.

I applied them at the client's request, and expense;)

Absent implanting pressure/temperature/shock sensors in a LIVE working horse, it is impossible to scientifically conclude anything. Tests done on cadaver legs are not, IMHO, accurate. One can hypothesize.....but that's about as good as it gets.

Steve

[westmanfarrier]

Science can provide proof that certain materials dissipate vibration better than others, so one can hypothesize that vibration at foot fall would be dissipated with such a material between the ground and the digit.

[HoustonFarrier]

If I take a steel horseshoe, lay it on an anvil, and whack it with a hammer, it will vibrate and have the harmonics of that particular given steel(alloy). If I take the SAME shoe, nail it to a piece of wood, and whack it with a hammer, will I get the SAME harmonics, or different...or any at all??? If I take that same shoe, nail it on a horses foot, and run him across concrete...then ashpalt....will I get the same harmonics? Will I get the same as the piece of wood? See where I'm going with this? There are too many things that muck up the hypothesis of the harmonic properties of a given piece of steel.

Similarly...remember when you were a little kid, and you used to play with the tuning fork when you got your hearing tests??? You whacked the tuning fork, and you could hear it's vibrating harmonics....but....if you bumped it, you killed the harmonics.

Just things that make you wonder :cool:

Steve

[westmanfarrier]

We are getting there in the way of testing live horses.

http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/ajvr.2000.61.979?cookieSet=1&journalCode=ajvr
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=928288

[WashingtonBay]

If I take a steel horseshoe, lay it on an anvil, and whack it with a hammer, it will vibrate and have the harmonics of that particular given steel(alloy). If I take the SAME shoe, nail it to a piece of wood, and whack it with a hammer, will I get the SAME harmonics, or different...or any at all??? If I take that same shoe, nail it on a horses foot, and run him across concrete...then ashpalt....will I get the same harmonics? Will I get the same as the piece of wood? See where I'm going with this?

I think I see where you are going with it. A steel shoe, securely applied to the foot will not vibrate in the same way that it would if it were not applied to the foot. Probably more like the wood than laying on the anvil.

The idea appeals to me in the way that good thick rubber soled shoes appeal to me if I have to stand in all day on a hard surface. What I am not sure on is whether they support and feel better than the natural dirt pack that will ordinarily fill the sole on a shod horse... or whether they provide traction that is better than metal shoes on concrete, which would be a benefit too. I've heard conflicting reports on that. To make them hard enough to hold up to hard use, they aren't exactly soft.

[Stellaluna]

You might also check out the Epona shoe. I have used them, they seem to hold up pretty well and have traction options.

Yes, I've seen them, but never tried them. I have tried a few others, though, but I always went back to the GC.

Unfortunately, my new farrier, who I like a lot and need badly after my last couple, made a face when I mentioned them.


That's why I started the thread because I know others who have had the same "look" from their farriers and wondered how the farriers from the board felt about them. I do a lot of road riding (dirt and paved) and Stella just can't go barefoot. I've done steel on her too, but she really does seem more comfortable in the plastics. What do most farriers do for carriage horses or any horse that works on hard surfaces? Pads?

[fire1]

I really like them, tons!! I have had them on for about 2 years now i think. CLose to it anyway. My horses feet do really well with them and he gets a new set every shoeing. We do endurance so he wears through a set pretty good. I just like the new set each shoeing so he has more to wear down! They flex with the hoof really well and it seems to me they have some good cussioning to them. It just looks that way.