What Makes Good Hoof Protection?

In the past everything was simple: horses were either kept barefoot or shod with steel horseshoes. But times have changed: on the one hand, the requirements for hoof protection have changed due to changes in how we use our horses and altered keeping conditions. On the other hand, new developments — particularly in plastics technology — have made ever new forms of hoof protection possible. As a result, there is now a wide variety of products on the market, and as a horse owner you are often spoilt for choice: iron shoeing, plastic shoeing, glue-on hoof protection (plate + tabs), glue-on hoof protection (shell), hoof boot, or perhaps a Velcro-fastened protector?!

In case of doubt, the choice should of course always be made by a professional on site — not every hoof protection is suitable for every horse in every situation. But as a horse owner you should also be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the individual variants, because you know your horse and its problems best. And it gives you the necessary tools to be able to competently exchange ideas with your hoof care professional.

That is why we want to explain to you here what requirements a modern hoof protection generally has to fulfil. Exceptions are of course veterinary measures (e.g. in the case of a coffin bone fracture)!

Most importantly, of course, the hoof protection must serve your horse. Therefore, we first want to clarify the requirements from the perspective of equine health before briefly showing which additional criteria there are from the perspective of the horse owner and hoof care professional.

No horse hoof is like another. Therefore, hoof protection must also be able to be adapted to the various hoof shapes. With glue-on hoof protection consisting of two parts (i.e. no fixed shell but a separate base plate and tabs), this is normally no problem, and some hoof boots can also be adapted to the hoof to a certain extent.

However, if the hoof protection cannot be adapted, or only with difficulty, due to its construction (e.g. fixed shells) or its material (iron, etc.), a suitable shape for the hoof must nevertheless be sought. Unfortunately, the reverse approach is sometimes still encountered: the hoof is adapted in its shape to the hoof protection. However, this has serious disadvantages: since only the outer hoof shape (i.e. the walls) is adapted to the hoof protection, the hoof capsule then no longer fits the "inner life" of the hoof. For example, the hoof wall may have been rasped too thin in some places and is then no longer sufficiently load-bearing.

A good hoof protection should be both stretchable and twistable. Why? Quite simply: only in this way can the hoof mechanism function optimally. The hoof mechanism is responsible for a whole range of important functions; we have described which ones (and why) in more detail here: Hoof mechanism

However, the stretchability of the hoof protection is not only important for the hoof mechanism but also for correct growth. Because, as you have surely already noticed, the hoof walls do not stand straight down to the ground but at an angle. This means the hoof is wider at the bottom (at the ground) than at the top at the coronet band. The hoof therefore grows conically downwards, at about 1 cm per month. During this time, the hoof simultaneously grows up to 8 mm in width! However, if the hoof capsule is fixed in a certain size at the lower edge by the hoof protection, the hoof can only grow straight downwards instead. The consequences of this are serious: the hoof is constricted and thus becomes smaller. The sole can no longer stretch over its full width and instead starts to arch inwards. This means: the sole develops an unnaturally high arch which presses inwards onto the coffin bone. This is called "sole compression" (contracted sole) and can be extremely painful for the horse.

It is therefore extremely important that a good hoof protection is elastic enough to allow both the lateral expansion of the hoof and the twisting in the bulb area, and to enable the hoof mechanism.

Here is another interesting video on the topic of hoof mechanism: Video

Every time your horse sets its hoof on the ground, impact energy is created. In nature, the horse runs barefoot over yielding ground; under these conditions the hoof absorbs part of this energy and thus provides cushioning (we have explained this in more detail in the article on the hoof mechanism). If your horse therefore has healthy bare hooves and also runs over yielding ground, it is well equipped to cope with these forces without any problems.

But this is precisely where the catch lies: many horses run on very unnatural, often unyielding ground, e.g. concrete, asphalt or compacted natural ground (in particular, paved paddocks without a sufficient tread layer). The natural cushioning mechanisms of the horse's leg are not designed for such ground and early signs of joint wear (arthrosis etc.) can be the result. If your horse therefore moves a lot on very hard and unyielding