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Research findings suggest that the bottom of steel horseshoes, covered with soft polyurethane, may help reduce overloading of the horse's front legs
.
The researchers set out to study how steel shoes whose surfaces were covered with soft polyurethane performed compared to conventional steel shoes
.
Lauren Veneta Moore and her colleagues conducted research in Vienna, Austria, using four horses typically used for carriage driving
.
Landau carriages pulled by two horse teams are common in Vienna, covered with cobblestone streets, asphalt, concrete and various other surfaces
.
Most of these horses wear steel shoes with several anti-slip features, such as toe catches, studs, and pins
.
Polyurethane shoes are nailed to the hoof with steel studs and screwed to the horseshoe on the other side
.
When testing traditional steel shoes, two horses had toe catches and pins installed, while two horses had only pins in the toe area and no toe catches
.
In the experiments, accelerometers were mounted on the front of the hoof to measure the acceleration of the hoof when trotting on asphalt, a path used to replicate an urban street
.
The team found that the abrupt deceleration of the hoof was smaller when the polyurethane-covered hoof landed
.
They also got more acceleration after being pushed off the ground
.
They said that the front and rear hooves exhibited similar accelerations when worn with the polyurethane-covered shoe, and that deceleration of the front hooves was more difficult than the deceleration of the rear legs in traditional steel shoes
.
"So, when wearing softer shoes, horses run faster and have longer strides than steel shoes," they said in a report published in the journal Animals
.
Polyurethane shoes allow for a more even distribution of acceleration between the forelimbs and hindlimbs than steel shoes
.
"This suggests that polyurethane shoes could help reduce the overloading of the horse's forelimbs
.
"
The researchers noted that despite the difference in trotting speed, there was no significant difference in the number of exercise cycles used for each length
.
"So the horse's pace is slower when wearing steel shoes compared to wearing polyurethane shoes
.
"It would be very interesting to correlate this finding with the level of comfort that horses experience when trotting in either of the two types of shoes; unfortunately, the current study did not investigate this complex but related question
.
"
The research team consisted of Lauren Veneta Moore and Theresia Fran\ziska Licka from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna
.
Rebeka Ro\za Zsoldos from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences is also located in Vienna
.
