Best Foot Forward:
Shoeing for Peak Performance
Equestrians agree a good farrier is worth his or her weight in gold. And as sport horse owners we want and need our horses’ feet to be in top condition so they are most comfortable and able to perform at their best.
their insights about shoeing for competition, and how they work with their farriers to prepare hooves for peak performance.
T
Steel, Aluminum or Synthetic? Choices of shoeing material include metals and synthetics, however most people favor horses in steel shoes. “I love steel shoes the best. The reason is it’s proven over time,” says Steve McAllister, jumper trainer with Team McAllister, Sun Valley, California. Christian Baier and his wife Mckrell Baier train jump-
ers, hunters and dressage at Southern Blues Equestrian Center, Collierville, Tennessee. Steel shoes are also Chris- tian’s preference. “And where we can, no front clips and no side clips,” he adds. Dressage trainer Pam Goodrich of Foster Meadow
Farm, Boscawen, New Hampshire, agrees with Steve and Christian. “I’m pretty much old school: steel shoes 99 percent of the time. I use a regular shoe as long as the horse has no major issues. It’s important to have a good blacksmith who understands all the horse’s angles, and the way of going.” Aluminum shoes are another choice, one that these
All photos by Charlene Strickland
here are a lot of options available when it comes to shoeing—or not shoeing—so we talked with train- ers in jumping, eventing and dressage. They share
trainers say they use more selectively and often temporar- ily due to their lightness. Aluminum is seen more on hunters, with the idea that
the lighter shoes may help the horse’s form. “If we have hunters, they wear aluminum shoes for the show,” Mckrell Baier says. “It only works if they had steel on and you switch to something lighter and they feel a little different. Maybe they touch the ground differently.” Pam and Steve each choose aluminum in certain situ-
ations. “There are some wonderful aluminum shoes that really help the horse. It’s got to be a horse that has an issue. I have one that goes in them,” Pam says. Steve has a couple of jumpers in them as well, but warns of aluminum’s pitfalls. “Aluminum shoes are my least favor- ite,” Steve says. “They oxidize. That destroys the foot and growth and it stings the horse a bit.” Synthetic shoes are molded from polymers such as
polyurethane. Tough synthetics can adhere to the bottom of the hoof, and even fit around the hoof wall. The farrier can place them either as glue-on or nailed. Alexa Ehlers trains eventers at Clear View Equestrian
Center, in Lexington, Kentucky. She’s had much success with glue-ons. “I use them more as a break from nails for the horses that have really thin walls. In Kentucky we turn out at night in the summer. All that moisture—with the crumbly Thoroughbred feet—is really detrimental,” she
Warmbloods Today 61
By Charlene Strickland
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