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No Foot, No Horse: Shoeing the Standardbred

© Kimberly Rinker

Just as with people, each Standardbred horse is a unique individual, coming in different sizes, shapes and colors. And, like people, most all go about their daily functions, either in training or racing, wearing some type of footwear.

In Standardbred racing, the shoeing of a racehorse, in many trainers' eyes, is the key to a sound animal. In years past, many trainers shod their horses themselves, and a few still do today. Many trainers rely on the blacksmiths that have shops on the backstretches of raceways throughout North America nowadays, however.

A trainer will consider two factors when having his horse shod: the length of the toe, and the angle of the hoof. The angle is determined by the length of the toe and the height of the heel, measured on a foot which is level on the ground. A blacksmith will use a tool known as a foot (hoof) level to determine a horse's angle. The natural angle of a horse's foot is mainly dependent upon the confirmation of the animal. A trainer will then have the blacksmith either raise or lower the angle to accomplish a specific purpose in regards to balance and gait.

Let's begin with a trotter. An ideal trotter wears a 3 and 1/2 inch toe and a 48 degree angle in front, and a 3 and 1/4 inch toe and 54 degree angle in his hind feet. Typically, this is the exception, not the rule, as it is very difficult to find a "near perfect" trotter, or one that does not interfere somewhere. So there will probably be variance on those numbers, but for our purposes, we will use them as an example. Some trotters will wear a much longer toe, but most trainers prefer their trotters to go with as short a toe as possible in front since a longer toe puts more strain on muscles, ligaments and bones, thus, leading to a possible unsoundness. Also, the shorter the toe is, the less likelihood of interference with the hind leg.

Why is the length of the toe important here? Because it affects the balance of a horse and whether or not he will interfere. A longer toe will tend to help steady a trotter in some cases, and oftentimes, by increasing the lenght of the toe as little as an eighth of an inch, a trainer can sometimes overcome a problem and help the horse establish better balance.

Obviously, you can change the length of a horse's toe simply by either rasping it away, or by cutting it off with a pair of nippers (blacksmith tools). You also will affect the angle at this time. A blacksmith will use a tool known as a caliper to measure the length of a toe, and will adjust the foot according to the trainer's instructions by using a rasp and nippers. If the trainer wants to raise the angle of a hoof, he will have the blacksmith cut down the toe, and leave the heel alone. Conversely, by cutting the heel and leaving the toe alone, you would lower the angle.

The copyright of the article No Foot, No Horse: Shoeing the Standardbred in Standardbred Horses is owned by Kimberly Rinker. Permission to republish No Foot, No Horse: Shoeing the Standardbred in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.