Whats with the square shoes?

[angel7]

I enjoyed spectating at a few agricultural shows including the Royal highland this year but was bemused by the shoeing on several of the horses.
A lot of the heavy horses had square and even triangle shaped shoes on overlarge and deformed feet! To me this made their movement overly exaggerated and jerky, I struggled to see the benefit of them, can anyone enlighten me?

Then there was the couping of the Clydesdale youngstock and foal hind feet. I thought this was being frowned on nowadays but no, everything that was unshod was down the line. If it was clumsy and knocked into itself this seemed to be rewarded.
I was disappointed to see heavy open heel shoes on some welsh section D youngstock too. They had obviously been "worked" in them as the musculature on the youngstock was anything but natural to me.
Why do some showjumpers apply ducktape to the hooves?

It was refreshing to see many riding ponies and M and M's being shown unshod and moving beautifully on the grass though.

 

[tashcat]

Not sure in regard to the heavy horses, but a year or two ago I realised how square and thick the shoes on my boy had become - I switched farriers to a much more traditional blacksmith and he was bowled over by the chunkiness and shape of the shoe. He had a lot to say about new farriers, and poor training. Seemed to think that kind of shoeing was becoming more popular, and required a lot less skill and training.

I couldn't agree more how disappointing it is to see, especially on the young ones!

 

[alainax]

Is it the scotch bottom shoes on heavy breeds?

"Scotch Bottoms
Show shoes, or so-called Scotch bottoms (a term we find insulting to the people of Scotland), are weighted and shaped to enhance the horse’s gait or movement. Bevels may be added to enhance the hoof’s size. Because of attempts to increase hoof size and change the gait in the show draft, shoeing the show horse may cause problems. An increase in the weight of the shoe creates an exaggerated gait that puts stress on muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. The increased weight of the shoe also increases the force of the hoof hitting the ground, creating concussion injuries.
The original beveled shoe (Scotch bottom) complemented the Clydesdale’s foot. The shoe was full and had a slightly square toe and a well-defined toe clip. It had a gentle slope to the outer edge of the shoe to follow the natural slope of the hoof wall. These shoes came either with or without heel caulks.
Our current style of shoeing show drafts consists of an oversize shoe on an overgrown hoof. Flares of the hoof are exaggerated and promoted, resulting in tearing of the hoof laminae. This trend results in a greater incidence of navicular fractures and degenerative joint problems. The hoof of the show draft is no longer natural in form or function, often leading to early retirement of the horse.
We discourage oversize show shoes, designed to exaggerate the size of the horse’s hoof, as they result in improper hoof balance.
Going Against Fashion
Many heavy horses today are kept to be looked at, and fashion plays a greater role than it should in the way they are shod. A regional draft horse show is a good place to check out what’s popular in shoeing in your area. Once a fashion becomes accepted it may quickly become the norm. The fashion we have seen develop is for overgrown feet with built-up outside heels and exaggerated square toes on the forefeet. This fashion has been encouraged to the point of crippling horses.
To stand in the way of fashion takes a brave person, but the hooves of show horses can be brought back to a normal shape and balance. Debilitating fashion trends may be addressed by suggesting classes for Best Shod and an award for Best Shod in Show, to be judged by a knowledgeable draft horse farrier and not the horse owners.
~ Michael J. Wildenstein, CJF
Draft Horses, An Owner's Manual"

 

[Amye]

I'm not sure about the showing (I don't know anything about showing...) but alainax that made me very sad to read What is the point of crippling horses for fashion? It reminds me of what they do to Tennessee Walking Horse's for the Big Lick... obviously not as severe but I'm sure that 'fashion' didn't start out the way it's ended up.