Western Custom

If you’ve ever been exposed to horses, you’ve probably seen horseshoes, or u-shaped metal items fitted onto a horse’s foot. And if you’ve spent any significant amount of time around horses, you might have even seen these horseshoes being fitted onto a horse. A professional horseshoer is known as a farrier, and they fit these shoes by nailing or gluing them into or onto the horse’s hooves. But don’t worry animal lovers. If done correctly, you don’t need to fret about damage or pain to the horse.

The horseshoe is nailed through the hoof wall, which is an insensitive part of the hoof roughly equivalent to a human nail. When this area is trimmed, it can be understood as a kind of manicure for the horse. Many farriers believe horseshoes protect horses from wear and tear on their hooves. There are also a group of farriers, however, who believe that having a horse unshoed, for at least part of the year, can be beneficial to the horse.