OK horsey people a question from my DD.

[ripsishere]

I have no idea of the answer, I am scared shitwitless of horses.
In olden times, before blacksmithery was invented, how did horses manage without shoes?
I haven't got the foggiest idea. She also wondered whether all horses wore shoes. I did manage to figure out the ones in the new forest probably didn't.

Well before blacksmiths there wasn't so much Tarmac... :)

No, not all horses wear shoes, it depends on what type they are, what their hooves are like and what sort of thing they are used for.

Ponies with tough hooves that are ridden on grass can get away with just a file now and then.

But blacksmiths pre-date tarmac....

Horseshoes have been round a long time. Romans used types of shoes in the 1st century. Europeans starting putting on metal shoes in 6th century and around 1000AD they were casting bronze shoes with holes for the nails.

However lots of horses and ponies don't use them even today. Native ponies (Welsh, Dartmoors, Fells, New Forests, Exmoors, Highlands etc) are probably more often than not left shoeless, particularly on their hind hooves.

As Tabulahrasa says it is really just if you do a lot of road work or ride them in places where their naturally hard hooves are likely to wear down.

My barefoot pony by the way doesn't mind tarmac, it's gravel and stony paths that bother him.

Horses started being shod when they were kept in enclosed spaces - i.e., stables within the castle/village walls and spent all day stood in their own piss & shit which rotted the hooves.

Tarmac is actually very kind to unshod feet as it's got give - like a human running on a lovely soft all-weather track. Shod feet on concrete is the worst combination.

As AllPastYears says it's stones which are more bothersome, but regular work on this type of ground helps as does letting the horse "pick its own path". A shod horse simply doesn't feel the ground, not strictly because it has shoes - but because it's got a "dead leg".

If you look at the pics on my profile there is a thermograph showing the blood flow with unshod vs. shod hooves.

thank you. I've just told her, she is very excited and a lot more knowledgable.
I don't think either of us really understood the thermograph thing. One is obviously different to the other, but neither of us could understand it.

hiya, well when a horse is unshod there is what we call the natural "hoof mechanism" (blood pumping around the hoof & leg) - because the hoof is kind of oval shaped, what happens is when it makes contact with the ground and puts its weight on it, it spreads out (like when you stand up, your foot spreads) - this causes the blood vessels to dilate and the "mechanism" is triggered and blood pumps around the hoof and around the body.

The hoof isn't a solid piece of corn, but instead inside has blood, bone and tissue like any other body part and is encased in a hoof, which is kind of like a shell on a crab for want of a better euphemism!

When the horse is shod the iron is nailed to the hoof in a fixed position, now when the hoof makes contact with the ground and weight is placed upon it - it is no longer able to contract and expand and so we lose the basic blood-pumping hoof mechanism and so the blood flow to the hoof is reduced. This brings a low-level numbness which can mask pain, but unfortunately long term you cannot hide all problems and frequently the horse's life is shortened. In addition we've added an immovable weight to a bodypart - and now when it connects for example with the aforementioned concrete - there is a strong jarring sensation - which, is masked by the aforementioned numbing. And around and around in circles we go!

I hope that's explained a little more - if there's anything else you'd like to know or I've not made clear, please don't hesitate to ask! :)

That's fascinating, and that picture really makes you think! I'm a big advocate of barefoot beasties, glad to know there is sensible fact behind the practice!

A friend had a laminitic, the vet suggested it was shod, which decreases the blood flow, and prescribed ACP, which increases blood supply to the feet! Bloody swings and roundabouts!

I know lots more now, thank you.
One more question if I may. For the past couple of days, I've seen horses in fields on the way to work.
Do they sleep standing up?

They doze standing up, but for a good sleep (only about an hour a day I think) they lie down. When mine is asleep - and sometimes this is with his eyes open - it's really tough to wake him up. You can pretty much roll him over and he doesn't wake up .

So, some of the ones I drive past (around 6.45am) are possibly asleep? How strange. She'll be thrilled to add to her equine knowledge.

We used to have an old pony who would lay down in the field to sleep, and he would chase cats in his sleep! He looked like he was having a seizure!