Horseshoes?

Question

Wll you explain or give a website to learn or at least understand why the different shoes on Throughbreds when racing?

I see they wear mud caulks, aluminum, queens but want to know the significance of those shoe changes. And if those are shoe changes, what's the normal shoe and why dont we know that? Does it make a difference when wagering?

I've tried searching, but I may not know enough to even search the right catagory, usually all I find is who shoes, and where to buy.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Answer 1

The website racehorsegal referred you to is a great one and about says it all in terms of explaining about the shoes and what the differences are.  

To answer your question about does the kind of shoe a horse is wearing make a difference when wagering, to some extent that's a matter of opinion.  In general, on a fast dirt track or a firm turf track, I would say that that the kind of shoe the horse is wearing as a variable to consider is overwhelmed by more important factors.  However, a caveat there:  if a horse is running back for the first time after being claimed and there is a change in the kind of shoe, that might be significant.  It's possible that the barn that claimed the horse might have claimed it because they felt the horse could be moved up by making some changes, shoeing among them.

With regard to Polytrack and other artificial surfaces, I think the jury is still out as far as what kind of shoes might work best. There have been some reports of problems with the artificial materials collecting and "balling up" in the soles of the hooves of horses running over the artificial surfaces if the waxy material used to coat the sand in the mix isn't just right.  

On a muddy or sloppy dirt surface, mud caulks can make a difference, and they are one item you might factor into your handicapping if the track isn't fast.

As a general comment about shoeing, the kind of shoe a horse is shod with is only part of what's important.  The way a shoer trims and shapes the hoof, the angulation of the hoof and foot after the trim, the frequency of trimming, and the general health of the hoof and foot are all factors of great importance-- and there is no way the average horseplayer can get the nitty-gritty about these.  However, if the horse is in a barn where the trainer has a high percentage of in-the-money finishes, you can take it as a given that there's some good farrier work being done there.  While a good shoeing job won't necessarily make a winner out of a horse, a bad shoeing job can certainly make a loser out of a winner.

Answer 2

Here is a website I found http://www.winninggonewild.com/horseshoe... it probably explains what you want to know better than I could explain them to you.

Answer 3

Racing plates in general are made of aluminum. If a horse runs in steel or glue-on shoes it is usually noted in the past performances or listed as a change in the program. Theraputic shoes such as bar shoes or aluminum pads are also indicated in the past performance line or listed as a change when being worn for the first time. Of all shoes these can represent the largesst amount of significant information for the bettor. Using either of these types of shoes indicates something that is being attended to by the trainer regarding that horses feet. This doesn't mean one should ignore a horse in the betting who is wearing this type of shoe because hopefully good management is allowing this horse to appear at his best. Caulks are used by some trainers in the sloppy or muddy going and these are also indicated in the past performances if they have been worn before and are posted on the information board and scrolled on the tv screen at the track so that bettors know before the race that the horse is wearing caulks. Most horses racing on dirt wear shoes with toe grabs which can give the horse a little extra purchase in the dirt. These grabs are usually about a 1/4 of an inch. High toe grabs often called quarter horse grabs (widely used in quarter horse racing) are also used but some tracks are banning them based on studies which indicate a higher rate of injury do to the stress caused by the increased angle the quater horse grab creates. Queens plates have no toe grab and are usually used on turf courses so as not to chew up the track and are often used on two-year-olds for training and even racing. The reasoning behind this is that 2yos often come up with sore shins and the toe grab can put extra stress on the developing 2yo. The Queens xt as a very tiny raised toe which can allow for better traction. There are all sorts of inner and outer rims but they are not as widely used and again are aimed at giving the horse better traction. To inform the bettor whether the horse is in queens plates or a regular shoe is really not vital. It is kind of like telling if a basketball player is wearing Nike or Adidas. Neither is going to give one horse a significantly better edge than the other. Hopefully the trainer is shoeing the horse to give him the best chance possible based on his knowledge of that horses needs and abilities.