# rolled toes



## ticobay831 (15 May 2011)

can someone please explain to me why horses have front shoes on with rolled toes??
i know its somthing to do with the breakover point, but why and what do they acheive??


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## unbalanced (15 May 2011)

My horse has them. By making the foot shorter as I understand it the horse has to bend the leg less to complete the stride. This makes this type of shoe more suitable for older horses and those with joint problems. I am prepared to be corrected if I'm wrong though. My farrier understands these things and makes everything work beautifully for my pony - I just have to present polite pony with clean legs and provide tea and money!
There was a trend a few years ago for Cytek shoeing which used really short squared off toes. It was supposed to be more in line with nature but you hardly ever see Cytek shod horses anymore, so maybe not. 
I have also heard that shoeing with shorter toes can be useful for laminitics and for some foot conditions - perhaps someone knows more about this than me (not very hard) and can enlighten us? Please?


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## ticobay831 (16 May 2011)

Thankyou for your reply


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## Lydz13 (16 May 2011)

It's definitely to make break over easier. My mare has rolled toes because she has a pedal bone fracture and needs less concussion when the foot is landing


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## Tnavas (16 May 2011)

Rolled toes allow the foot to break over and leave the ground faster than a shoe with a normal toe.

They are often used for horses:
That stumble - less likely to trip if there is no sharp edge to catch.
Over reach - Front foot can leave quicker before the toe of the hind foot can catch the heels


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## ferrador (16 May 2011)

they are there so us farriers can charge more . as has been pointed out a rolled toe can help to ease breakover 
chris


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## unbalanced (16 May 2011)

My farrier charges the same. Actually all the fancy stuff she has at the moment (rolled toes and lateral extensions) is free.


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## K27 (16 May 2011)

One of my horses was shod for many years with rolled toes - he now has front shoes with quarter clips which do the same thing.  

Rolled toe shoes are great for horses that don't go well in normal front shoes/needa  quicker breakover or that need a wide web shoe as they can be shod a lot longer and wider at the heels than a normal shoe i was told.  My farriers used to hand make my boys rolled toes and i was never charged any extra, they are not that special a shoe really, so farriers shouldn't charge extra because if they didn't have a rolled toe they could just hammer out the toe clip and hey presto you have a rolled toe shoe!!


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## Ranyhyn (16 May 2011)

Ed had rolled toes, as it helped him go better in front.  My farrier never charged more.


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