EQUINALYSIS AUSTRALIA

Research

As part of the Masters program Sophie investigated the biomechanical effect of removing hind shoes from working riding school horses.

For further details about the study please contact Sophie or leave a message on the contacts page.

Lameness and loss of use within the equestrian community is becoming a

discussion point not only with regards to performance but for animal welfare.
Empirical craftsmanship and skill has developed over the centuries yet the
basic farriery application of nailing a shoe to the hoof is unchanged. This report
highlights the immediate influences that removing hind shoes can have on the
biomechanics of riding school horses. As a working animal the horse encounters
biomechanical constraints at all levels of sport and as a quadruped compensated
in form and function within the locomotion pattern.

It is common practice by horse owners and trainers to remove shoes from

horses at times of prolonged periods of rest, safety when turning horses into a
field together and for economic restraints. For these reasons, research is needed
as there is currently no published research on the immediate effect of removing
hind shoes from working horses. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the removal
of shoes would change the biomechanics of the horse attributed by the weight of
the shoe. One of the goals when shoeing is to keep the weight of the shoe as low
as possible (Balch et al., 1997). Adding weight to the hoof increases inertia of the
most distal segment of the limb (Willemen et al., 1997). Hermans et al. (1984)
identified that the shoe restricts the hoof mechanism, increases the weight on the
distal limb and increase the impact shock. Therefore, research on the benefits
and scientific reasoning to continue with the shoeing process that has evolved
over centuries is warranted.

This study explores the immediate effects of removing hind shoes on a group of

riding school horses using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
For this research twelve horses were selected and compared for before and after
shoeing thus not requiring a control group. At the beginning of the trial the horses
were due for shoeing and were presented to the same farrier for the removal of
used shoes. Following the trimming and front shoes only replaced the horses
were allowed a three day acclimatisation period where normal housing and
exercise routines continued. Before the hind shoes were reapplied the horses
were filmed for gait analysis. The farrier then without trimming applied the hind
shoes followed by another three day period of normal conditions before filming
for gait analysis.

Videographic data was analysed using Equinalysis Ltd software for velocity,

stride length, fetlock hyperextension, and stance duration and stride time were
measured in the trot phase. This study demonstrated that the horses responded
to the twelve day programme of shoeing by illustrating that there was significant
(p=<0.05) in a stride length longer in shod, stance duration was longer in unshod
and the velocity higher in shod horses. All the variables tested for this research is
supported and documented by Clayton et al., (2003) to indicate lameness.