A comparison of three horseshoeing styles on the kinetics of breakover in sound horses.

The study examines the effects of three types of horseshoes – conventional toe-clip shoes, quarter-clip shoes, and Natural Balance horseshoes – on the breakover mechanics of Irish Draught-cross horses. While Natural Balance and quarter-clip shoes are found to decrease the ground reaction force (GRF) during breakover, they do not have a significant impact on the peak distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint moment or the force on the navicular bone.

Research Context and Methodology

• The research is based on the premise that there are a variety of horseshoe designs believed to ‘ease’ breakover, which involves the unloading of the horse’s foot once its heels leave the ground.
• The experiment involved fitting three types of horseshoes – conventional toe-clip shoes, quarter-clip shoes, and Natural Balance horseshoes – to the front feet of 9 sound Irish Draught-cross type horses.
• To analyze the kinetics of breakover, researchers used forceplate and video motion analysis during trot locomotion.
• The key parameters they investigated were the moment arm of the ground reaction force (GRF) on the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint, the peak DIP joint moment, and the peak compressive force on the navicular bone.

Findings

• The research finds that both the Natural Balance and quarter-clip shoes reduce the DIP joint moment arm during breakover compared to toe-clip shoes.
• However, there is no significant difference in the peak DIP joint moment across the three types of shoes used in the study.
• Similarly, the peak force on the navicular bone does not show significant variation with the different shoe types.
• Neither the Natural Balance shoes nor the quarter-clip shoes significantly reduce the duration of breakover compared to toe-clip shoes.

Conclusions and Implications

• While Natural Balance and quarter-clip shoes are found to decrease the GRF during breakover, they do not impact the peak DIP joint moment or the force on the navicular bone.
• This suggests that while these shoe types modify certain aspects of breakover mechanics, their effect on overall hoof health and gait mechanics may be limited and requires further research.