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Thread: What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

  1. #1
    aka ivan the not-quite-as-terrible ivan astikov's avatar
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    Default What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

    It's more or less in the title, but how did horses manage in the wild before 'hoof pedicurists' arrived on the scene and decided they needed better footwear?
    To sleep, perchance to experience amygdalocortical activation and prefrontal deactivation.

  2. #2
    Stegodon PapSett's avatar
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    Default Re: What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

    Horses in the wild wore down their hooves with their movement, although not always evenly or well:

    http://www.barefoothorse.com/HoofChipping.jpg

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tZ-yszpRiPI/S ... 100+lr.jpg

    Remember, they also weren't being used for riding on hard surfaces. Shoes offer protection on concrete and the like.

  3. #3
    AWESOME SAUS Elyanna's avatar
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    Default Re: What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

    It's my understanding that:

    1. They didn't need horseshoes as much til we started putting weights on their backs.
    2. Wild horses have tougher hooves thanks to natural selection; many domestic horse breeds have become dependent on horseshoes.
    "There are no ordinary people. ... It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit." C.S. Lewis

  4. #4
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Default Re: What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

    Quote Originally posted by Elyanna
    It's my understanding that:

    1. They didn't need horseshoes as much til we started putting weights on their backs.
    2. Wild horses have tougher hooves thanks to natural selection; many domestic horse breeds have become dependent on horseshoes.
    Just chiming in to agree with point two there. Domestic breeds can have more brittle hooves, as they're generally not bred for toughness. The horseshoes allow breeders to not have to worry about weaker hooves and so it flourishes. Feral horses such as Mustangs have much tougher hooves, because any who don't are more likely to be injured and unable to spread their genes.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  5. #5
    Stegodon PapSett's avatar
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    Default Re: What did horses do before blacksmiths came along?

    While I agree that wild (feral) horses DO in general have tougher hooves, the top picture I linked to is actually of a wild mustang's hoof. (I'm not sure about the 2nd, although it did come up on my google search)

    So while tougher, they obviously are not invincible.

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