© Richard Dunivant

first published in American Farriers Journal, December 1999
reprinted here, unabridged, at the request of the author

Competitive demands on performance horses are increasing, and the farrier industry is experimenting with the function of specific hoof wear. Each specialty horse needs footwear designed for the task demanded of it. For many years precise shoeing techniques have been the rule for Standardbred Racers and Tennessee Walking horses. Recently owners and competitors of barrel racing horses are demanding the same for their equine athletes.

Little attention has been given to the barrel racing industry which continues to be one of the fastest growing equine sports. Equistat reports that barrel racing events paid out 12.2 million dollars or more in 1998. These figures come from top futurities, professional rodeos, derbies, sweepstakes, National Barrel Horse Association Supershows, National and State shows and World championships. Barrel Horse News estimates there are 50,000 barrel racing competitors nationwide.

Barrel racing arenas vary in soil composition, depending on the area of the country. This ultimately affects the horse's footing. A professional rider may run in deep sand one weekend, slick mud and clay the next, followed by a run on sticky gumbo soil or hard rock gravel - all in the same month.

All barrel horses move differently, and arena compositions vary widely, so there is not one specific way to shoe the barrel horse. The use of numerous techniques can be used to enhance breakover, improve overall speed, promote tighter turns, shorten stride length, correct forging and prevent strain on the lower back muscles and leg tendons. It is best to watch the barrel horse run a pattern to judge what type of shoe will promote optimum racing performance. A slow motion video of the horse can be helpful to check the horses hoof breakover, length of stride, and traction around the barrels. Check for gait faults such as forging, a history of hock problems, and what job the horse performs when it is not barrel racing.

In many areas of the country the horse is utilized as a working ranch horse, cutting and roping during the week and barrel racing on the weekends. You may not want to give this type of horse too much traction around the barrels if the horse is primarily used for roping or cutting or both.

For the average barrel racing horse's hoof, it is essential that medial-lateral balance be achieved so the correct lead can be picked up on its turns around the barrels. A lower angle on one front hoof compared to the other can contribute to the shoulder of a horse dropping too low into a turn, causing the horse to hit a barrel. The idea of lowering lateral hoof walls to improve turns is poor in my opinion, as I have seen coffin joint problems occur in barrel racing horses with long standing improper mediolateral hoof imbalance.

Generally a hoof angle of 53-58 degrees is needed to maintain performance in these horses. Keeping angles elevated will prevent too much stride length, break the foot over faster, decrease leverage and increase elevation near the stride arc end. Low angles lengthen the stride causing too much overreach around the barrel, and prevent a horse from making a tight turn. This can add a fraction of a second per barrel, slowing down the overall time and preventing a competitor from placing and winning prize monies.

Low hind angles aggravate low back musculoskeletal pain and increase the chances of deep flexor tendon injury. If a horse is shod with long toe and low heel, the risk of suspensory desmitis increases, according to Abilene, Texas veterinarian Joe B. Stricklin.

Sore backs and hocks are frequent problems that hinder speed in a large percentage of barrel racing horses. It is common to find pain or tenderness to the touch when running a finger and thumb simultaneously from the withers to the dock along both sides of the spine, indicating the bony column support in the vertebrae and sacrum have been compromised. Low heel angles cause strain on the biceps femoris and semitendinous muscles.

A wedge shoe with a built in lift is helpful, or a lift riveted under the heel branch alone can be used.

When a barrel horse "sets" he slows down his speed enough to make a good turn, then "collects' by gathering his hindquarters under him allowing him to shorten his stride for the stop and turn.

As the back feet move forward under the trunk, the ileum and ischeum of the pelvis tuck under, dropping the sacrum and stretching the gluteus medius and superficialis extensor muscles of the hip joint. The femur flexes forward, the tibia and fibula angle anteriorly while the cannon and long pastern bones move downward causing stress on the hock joint and it's ligaments.

Horses having longer hind strides often "set" harder and are more prone to back and hock injuries. Running a longer heel shoe will provide hock and hind tendon support. Dr. Jean Marie Denoix D.V.M., Phd., in his lecture to the American Farrier's Association convention in March, 1999, reported that common hock problems are: spavin of the medial side of the hock and ligament injury to the lateral or medial hock due to slipping or stumbling as can easily occur in barrel horses. He teaches that spavin responds best to a shoe that is narrower on the compression side and wider on the opposite. If a horse has a ligament or tendon injury of the hock, a wider web shoe should be placed on the affected side and a narrow web on the opposite branch.

Injury to the cranial cruciate ligament of the stifle can cause a hock to twist - rotating inward before landing and outward before breakover. He recommends a wide lateral branch shoe with a heel wedge.

Walt Kopesich has designed an aluminum side support shoe, not to be confused with a side weighted shoe. This shoe, with its wider web on one side, increases the weight bearing capacity on the side with a broader landing surface. He says that "a side weight shoe, aluminum or steel, can be used to advantage on the hind foot of a barrel horse to support the hock while the horse is turning a barrel in either direction. The outside quarter of the inside hind leg bears a lot of strain and the wide branch on the outside of the shoe will add support and traction".

Owners of barrel horses commonly complain their horse consistently forge and loose shoes. Careful evaluation by the farrier is needed to ascertain why. Conformation rarely affects this problem, but incorrect shoes and/or shoeing methods are usually to blame.

Are the front angles too low? Are the front shoes too heavy? Often elevated front heels with lower hind angles will create a forging problem in a barrel racer. Higher front angles break the axis of the foot forward with the support anterior allowing the fetlock to drop lower with weight bearing.

The front foot has a higher, shorter arc and the hind foot a lower, longer arc, so that the back foot "clips" the front. Lighter aluminum front shoes often help.

Squaring the back toe will hasten breakover and prevent forging by removing the pointed toe that strikes the front foot. When squaring a toe of a shoe, no matter where the apex of the frog points, the middle of the square should be straight off the end of the frog apex. Draw a "T" square type of position off the apex to ensure proper breakover when looking down at the pole. When the hoof is on the ground surface it may look toed in or toed out, but it is squared properly if centered off the apex of the frog.

Often the farrier, in an effort to prevent forging and pulling off a shoe, will undershoe a barrel racer and/or "cork in the heels". Turning the branches of the shoe in will contract heels and predispose to the horse to development of navicular disease. Undershod hoofs will cause various concussion without support.

Dr. Bill Moyer, equine veterinarian at the Large Animal Department at Texas A&M University, states "this has the ultimate effect of reducing the bearing surface of the foot and creates the same effect as the low heel, long toe configuration".

Other farriers prevent forging by turning the medial shoe branch inward causing sole bruising and corns.

Barrel horses need to be shod tight, with minimal room for heel expansion on the front, and reset more frequently, every four to five weeks, to prevent heels and quarters from overgrowing the shoe.

The back should be shod allowing normal hoof expansion. Use an acrylic composite to fill any lip or overhanging shoe edges.

There are numerous shoes that can be used successfully on the barrel horse. Shoe these horses as light as possible.

"Weight," teaches Dr. Doug Butler, "no matter how added, increases the foot flight arc, decreases agility, endurance, slows down breakover, increases fatigue, and makes a higher, longer flight arc". Use aluminum whenever possible.

Thorobred, Inc. has a variety of racing plates that can be used on barrel racers successfully. Based on the findings from the study of over 100 wild horses, farrier Gene Ovnicek designed, and Thoro'Bred Inc. has engineered, the World Racing Plate (WRP). This shoe eases breakover and reduces fatigue on tendons in the leg.

According to Ed Kinney, at Thoro'Bred Inc., "the WRP has become one of the most widely used and accepted competition shoes in recent history.

"Forged from a military grade, government specification aluminum and heat treated for added strength and wear, the WRP square toe has given hundreds of competition horses, the winning edge. Approved by every race track in America, the WRP shoe not only helps race horses perform, but can improve horses that compete against the clock. The WRP is tough, durable and a proven winner in all competitions."

Dr. Kimberley Henneman, D.V.M., of Park City, Utah, reports WRP's placed on thoroughbred and quarterhorse racers have less traction problems in mud, better grip on the track, and decreased injuries to the sesamoid, front ankles and leg tendons. "It is important," she says, "not to cup out the sole, pare away frog, and cut out the bars when placing this shoe."

The hind WRP has a set back toe with a raised heel equal to the toe height. I have also used the Low Toe Plate on horses who compete in sandy soils and hard soil arenas.

An inner rim shoe has been popular for years on polo ponies. The Victory Elite Inner Rim is a good choice for deep soil and helps the barrel horse make quick directional changes without compromising traction.

The Natural Balance Shoe is also a good shoe for enhancing breakover, and promotes soundness because the design is so close to the natural wear of wild horses. This is a good shoe to place on a barrel horse with hoof capsule distortion or one that performs more than one rodeo event simultaneously, like barrel racing and cutting.

Gene Ovnicek explained to me that the "edge of the NBS shoe has radius to begin with, which allows the foot to break over where the horse needs to, according to it's limb structure, within days or hours. It's the most adaptive shoe to the individual horses' anatomy."

"Because of the wide web and the mass of aluminum, it has adherent qualities on various soil compositions similar to the hoof itself, eliminating the need for a toe grab. This has been proven on California race tracks.

"The NBS can be placed on the hind foot of a barrel horse that is having hip and/or stifle problems. It is a good choice for a barrel racing shoe.

Toe grabs can be used, but with caution, since the odds of suspensory apparatus injury is three and a half times greater. The higher the toe grabs height, the greater the risk of injury according to Dr. Al Kane, a Colorado State University researcher.

G.M. Pratt, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes a "self-protected stride mechanism", where at high speeds, torque develops, shifting weight anteriorly to posteriorly with less resistance and a vertical loading pattern. This mechanism becomes less effective as the horse fatigues.

However there is a fatigue factor present with thoroughbred race horses with low hoof angles wearing toe grabs that is not seen on a barrel horse. A barrel horse with good angles is only running a short patterned 15 second run. He is not as prone to fatigue But the abrupt turns around the barrel and quick stops places the foreleg under tremendous load.

If a horse needs traction coming off the barrel into the sprint between barrels, I may employ a toe grab if other shoes are not doing the job. Start with a toe grab as LOW as possible and keep in mind you are changing the functional angle of the foot and limb by "raising the toe".

Clips on a shoe will prevent it from slipping and can eliminate heel nails, which is an advantage with sharp turns around the barrel. Traction devices can also be employed, such as screw in studs or traction nails if necessary.

There are many barrel racers that complain aluminum will not hold up as long as steel will in their area of the country due to the hard terrain.

" Everyone is obsessed with shoe wear" says Walt Koepisch , owner of Dutchtown Forge Inc. "One of the biggest advantages of aluminum is that it is suppose to wear, at the toe, as the foot grows. Wear, plus the added thickness of aluminum, allows the shoe to develop a roll as the foot is growing."

Foot dimensions change during the time between shoeings because the hoof is constantly growing. The toe grows longer causing the heel to drop, thus slowing down breakover and adding strain on leg ligaments and tendons.

This change occurs slowly and may not be noticeable for about 3 weeks. As Walt says, "What is the point of using aluminum if you don't make use of one of it's biggest advantages? The wear factor is one reason for using aluminum, and not taking advantage of it adversely affects the way the horse performs throughout the shoeing period".

My clients barrel race every weekend and cannot afford to diminish their performance three weeks before they are reshod.

There are many barrel racers that still prefer to be shod in steel. Considering the effect of weight on a hoof, I often use a St. Croix Ultra Lite Steel, after I have widened the full crease.

Another choice is the TFT Performance Shoe manufactured by Tucumcari Forge. This shoe was designed specifically for the barrel and roping horses. It interacts well with the dirt, facilitates breakover at the toe, while the heel "floats" on top of the ground. It is now made of lighter steel with a concave design for self cleaning.

I take into consideration gait faults, arena soil conditions, rider skill, hock and back problems and the natural abilities I would like to enhance before making a decision on the type of shoe to place on a barrel racer.

It may take several shoeings before the perfect combination is found. I start with a four and a half race or city nail to lighten the load and prevent hoof injury from large nail holes.

This allows me to reset using a size larger nail. Overall I prefer a light weight shoe (aluminum or light steel) with a full swedge (creased or fullered) and concave for self-cleaning.

To me, the fun part of shoeing barrel racers is that they all run differently, and numerous shoeing techniques can be used to enhance optimal performance.

Many of my clients return from Western rodeo with stone bruises. A few of my clients horses diagnosed with Navicular problems are running barrel patterns successfully with the use of Grand Circuit Stabilizer. This is an aluminum insert with cut-outs installed between the shoe and foot, by a rivet in the shoe branch. It affords protection to the sole, frog and heel area.

Every year participants and sponsorships in sanctioned barrel racing events increases. Successful shoeing techniques for the barrel racing horse will be demanded by owners and trainers. As farriers, we are going to have to keep one stride ahead.

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