i have not said it is wrong , fact remains the foot bearing surface is still the same , the impression depth left on the ground surface is the same , the remedial expert who tells us this extra width is letting the horse "float " allowing it to perform better on the ground is misinforming us , we all know we can alter gait with shoeing , Anyway David back to the original , what is "float" and "cover" , ?
Chris, Float is the degree of distance the hoof sinks into the ground. It depends on the surface, and the amount of weight per square centimeter the hoof exerts on that surface. Cover is simply the amount of surface area of the shoe that protects the hoof.. IMHO. I'm not quite sure where you're going with this. Regards
we are constantly told that giving the horse more cover aids float and allows the horse to perform better , as i point out if you measure the imprint left behind the difference is so miniscule it doesnt make a difference in everyday working horses , we have 2 horses that are shod by the remedial expert with wide web shoes long and wide with upright heels and constantly losing shoes , event comes up we shoe it with the same section to point of heel not lost a shoe in 3 yrs , no lameness yet he gets the credit in despatches , owners , farriers and vets are being misguided by a few who have the ability to sell themselves on unproven science
Chris, Your last post suggests that it may not be so much the width of the shoe as the fit. That said, I believe the science of physics is solid in the fact that weight spread over a larger area will result in fewer pounds/kilos per square inch/cm. I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out the "science and philosophy" of shoeing horses, instead I base my theories and beliefs on observation. So, if a horse is having a problem and goes better in a wider section then so be it.
This statement puts so much wisdom into such a short phrase and should initiate a vast amount of thought. "Brevity is the sole of whit", well done David. So why do we shoe a horse? Protection, correction, traction. The basic protection is getting something between the hoof and the ground, but the area affected the most by our work is the area where the sole and hoof connect. We by necessity have to have this area closest to live tissue, therefore a wider section would protect this area more. When trying to correct a fault in gait, conformation, hoof distortion, or providing a foundation for the horse to work in a specialty, I judge were the bottom of the individual foot would if the foot were perfect for the situation, and put a shoe there. This can be setting the shoe back from the toe, set wide latterly or medially, and behind the foot. All of these can be accomplished better with a wider section as it will leave more iron still covering the thinner parts of the sole at the hoof wall. Especially the heel area. I set a lot of shoe beside and behind the heels and a narrow section would leave that area uncovered. I widen about every lateral heel behind to give more lat and caudal coverage outside the hoof and everything, including the ends of the frog, inside the hoof wall too. In my quest to put the shoe where the perfect foot would be it just occurred to me that a perfect foot would have a hoof wall at least an inch thick. Bingo! Wide web shoes. As to traction, if a wider section is concaved properly, there should not be a difference. The ability of the wider web to provide correction per it's placement, with adequate concavity, should not diminish traction in speed and turning events, while giving better performance from the horse due to the better protection and bio-mechanics. I've seen barrel horses that I set up more like an Eventing horse, move into the next class on the next run, with all that heel hanging out and those wide shoes. If you are really concerned that a nice 7/8" concave wont give enough traction, just drill and tap. David, thinking over your quoted statement above, I'll bet you were really trying to say that wide section shoes give support and help the horse compensate.
Bill thank you for your kind words. Section width has many aspects ( support is my least fav phrase in farriery, I have needy friends who need support but I'm not sure how it fits as a rational for shoe selection or section selection). I think I misunderstood Mr Buntings first post as I have never heard of the phrase float. Lungwitz model of the mechanics of the hoof still are relevant now as they were 100 years ago, IN MY OPINION over function of the hoof is a problem, I am a bit old school and Smittys phrase "put some metal on it" is very relevant as a good shoe bolted to the foot will reduce some of the sheer forces that will cause soft tissue damage and acellerate pathology. That may be an increase in width. This is just one reason. Another would be if I were restoring symmetry to a distorted capsule, a wider section allows me to place a symmetrical shoe on the hoof, the contracted part of the hoof lining up with the inside of the section and the flared part of the hoof lining up with the outer part of the section.
I told you you should have come to that last Handmades' clininc David! David Varini demonstrated how he would alter a handmade shoe by using a fuller to widen one branch of a machine made shoe and concave the other branch causing the wider branch to 'float' (I'm sure he used that word) and the 'thinner' branch to 'sink' on a surface to try to achieve symmetrical grounding of the foot. He did qualify that this was for horses working on a prepared surface and that it would make no difference in a boggy field! We missed your input in the evening, by the way!
The trouble with what I now understand as floating!!! Is that it is only part of the picture, floating that increases lever arms or supports over pronation is not good. Bless these guys who are great with a hammer but they only have half of the picture.
When I choose to use wider section, 'float' is not something that I really consider because, like Chris, I'm not convinced that it makes that much difference - though, as you may have gathered from recent pictures I have posted, most of the horses that I do either work in deep crap or on tarmac. I am still open minded about the effect on a prepared surface. I look at it this way; although I was taught that only the wall is weight bearing, I have seen so many horses without any walls and hooves so worn that the sole is in contact with the ground and yet still working normally that I have come to the conclusion that the sole also plays a part in weight bearing. If this is the case, then a wider section will allow more of the sole to come into contact with the shoe and be supported by the shoe (yeah, there it is again...) so the shoe, particularly during the loaded phase of the stride - as David said, allows less of a hole for the foot to fall through. The other factor I consider also relates to the sole. Most discomfort I see in horses that have no abnormal pathology is due to the effect of rough or stony ground on the sole. A wider web shoe will cover more of the sole making it less likely that stones will come into contact with the sole to cause bruising or discomfort. Another word to conjure with: 'cover'
Well yes, whilst the effect of the widened branch is floatation (if we accept the premise) on a prepared surface, it has the effect of a lateral extension on a hard surface, which affects the forces up the bony column.
All wide, all the time. I just can't see putting a narrow section on when a wide would be a little bit better. I think a simple research project to determine the sinkability (scientifical term there: sinkability) of different shoe widths, would be to shoe a horse with a different section on each front foot, then walk, trot, canter, and gallop him on a freshly dressed arena. Then spend an hour or two on hands and knees measuring the depth of the divots.
I know you don't like the words 'support' and 'compensate'. That's why I used them in my comment to you. I was being really, really funny, or so I intended. I hate the phrases "I believe the horse should be done like this" or "I feel he'ed be better like that". I only use those words in a Farriery context in this way; "Well, David, we got them all done, I feel like having a fine Ale, I belive I'll get a couple from the cooler and open them for us". Cheers!
On a small foot, 5/8" section is relatively and adequately wide enough. I don't shoe many that small.
