Does my horse need hoof protection – and if so, which one?

Barefoot, shoe, Klebebeschlag, Hufschuh or something else entirely?

Barefoot is the most natural option for horses, after all horses are born like that. But: over the course of a horse's life, husbandry conditions, training and the horse's body change, which means that barefoot may no longer be possible without issues.

Does my horse need hoof protection?

Whether your horse needs hoof protection depends entirely on your horse and your requirements. As a general rule: if your horse moves better with hoof protection than without, then you should provide hoof protection. This can be either temporary (for example only when riding) or permanent (e.g. because your horse is also tender-footed in the open stable).

You should also consider hoof protection if it is foreseeable that the hooves will be particularly stressed in the future, e.g. on a long trail ride or when moving to an active stable with abrasive ground. Because: prevention is better than cure!

Typical situations in which hoof protection may be necessary:

• increased training load (e.g. competition season, training period, many long rides/trail rides etc.)
• change of stable (especially from box to open stable – our tip: have a close look at the surfaces in the new stable, hard surfaces often require hoof protection!)
• conditions affecting the hoof (e.g. laminitis, navicular syndrome, nail penetration, and much more)
• generally always when growth is less than wear (e.g. due to paved surfaces in the open stable, sharp-edged sand in the arena, poor mineralisation etc.)

Which hoof protection is the right one?

There is now a very large range of different hoof protection variants. We present the most common versions here in an overview:

Nailed shoe

A nailed shoe is hoof protection that is fixed to the horse's hoof with nails. There are two main variants here:

• Metal shoe (iron, aluminium)
• Plastic shoe (usually with metal core)

Nailed shoes are probably the best-known form of hoof protection, because they have been around for a very long time. The advantage lies mainly in the price, since both material and labour time are low. But a nailed shoe also represents an intervention for the whole horse's body: the nails mechanically weaken the hoof wall and represent an entry point for fungi and bacteria. Metal is also very rigid (and often heavy), which is why the hoof cannot twist naturally and the material is disadvantageous for the joints. With an open shoe the frog support is also missing, which is why shod hooves tend more towards contracted hooves and thrush. These disadvantages can be partially compensated by working with pads or similar.

Klebebeschlag (glue-on)

A Klebebeschlag is sometimes also called a "glue-on shoe"; here the hoof protection is glued to the hoof wall with adhesive. There are also different systems here:

• individual Klebebeschlag, where the base plate is first adapted to the hoof and then tab fingers are welded onto the plate with a hot air gun; the tabs are then glued to the hoof wall with superglue
• pre-fabricated shells, which are glued to the hoof wall using two-component adhesive

The Klebebeschlag from Goodsmith falls into the first category and thus offers the advantage that it can be individually adapted to the respective hoof. Klebebeschläge are of course available from various manufacturers, but many of them only offer base plates or only tabs. In addition, there are very different versions for various requirements: harder, softer, thicker, thinner, different materials and shapes. The market has now become almost unmanageable, and for "glue-on beginners" it is often difficult to make the right choice. At Goodsmith, however, we want more horses to enjoy the benefits of a Klebebeschlag. That is why we have designed our product range so that we offer only one type of Klebebeschlag – our "Perma XT Klebebeschlag" – but it can be modified in many ways if needed. Your horse needs more lateral stability because it turns a lot, for example? No problem, just add side caps! We will summarise the exact modification options for you in a separate article.

Pros and cons of Klebebeschläge

The advantage of a Klebebeschlag is that it comes closer to the natural barefoot than a conventional iron shoe: it provides frog support, the hoof mechanism is less restricted, and the sliding behaviour is also closer to barefoot. That is why Klebebeschläge are often referred to as "modern hoof protection", since plastic production at such a high level has only been possible in recent times and they correspond to the modern understanding of hoof health.

The disadvantage of Klebebeschläge is that the material is more expensive and the labour time can be higher. Due to the reusability of the materials on average 1-2 times, the initial investment is reduced.

Hoof boots

Hoof boots are put on and off as needed and closed around the horse's hoof and partly the pastern with tabs or straps. Here too there are different variants, e.g. made of a plastic shell or of fabric. The advantage of hoof boots therefore lies clearly in their flexibility: if your horse, for example, manages without problems in the stable or the paddock without hoof protection, but goes somewhat tender-footed when riding out, then you can simply put on hoof boots for riding.

But: it is often not so easy to find the right boot. Similar to humans, there is a wide variety of different "foot shapes" and not every boot fits every shape.

Are there other hoof protection options?

There are also hybrid forms of the variants mentioned, for example horseshoes encased in plastic and fixed to the hoof with adhesive. Or completely different variants, such as a cast bandage (a kind of plaster bandage around the hoof). Or plastic that is sprayed/cast directly onto the hoof. But these variants are intended more for special cases that must definitely be applied by specialists.

You can find a detailed comparison of all these variants, by the way, in this knowledge article of ours: What makes good hoof protection?

And as always: not every hoof protection suits every horse. And not every rider either! This article is therefore simply intended to show you options, so that you can find the most suitable hoof protection for your horse. By the way: our certified Goodsmith partners come from many different backgrounds and trimming approaches (farriers, hoof orthopaedists, hoof care specialists, hoof boot professionals etc.) and are happy to help you with the selection.

Author: Nathalie Kurz

Images: Goodsmith archive, Pexels