Why I switched from aluminum shoes to steel on wet pavement

I did a test last month on the same horse, one front foot aluminum, the other steel, and rode through a muddy field after a rain. The aluminum shoe slipped three times on a simple downhill slope while the steel held steady every time. My farrier buddy in Lexington told me steel gives better traction on slick surfaces and I thought he was exaggerating. Now I'm swapping all my clients' trail horses over, but has anyone else noticed steel wearing down quicker on gravel roads?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew77821d ago

Wait, you actually ran one aluminum and one steel on the same horse and body of water? That's wild. I would have been too scared the horse would trip and hurt itself with mismatched weight or something. But your test results are pretty convincing. I've always heard the same thing from my farrier about steel being stickier on wet pavement, but I never had the guts to try it myself. How long did you ride before you saw the slip difference? I'm honestly shocked the aluminum slid that much on a simple downhill, that's scary.

lee_gibson21d ago

Heard a buddy say the same thing after his mare nearly wiped out on a wet bridge with aluminum fronts.