Horseshoe clips help to secure shoes to the horse’s feet. They are used for many reasons and placed in different locations depending on what is needed. Multiple clips on a shoe (like the one pictured) are useful to “cast” the foot when a the coffin bone is fractured.

Horseshoes can (and should) be modified to be more beneficial to each individual horse. Horseshoe clips are among the most versatile and useful modifications to help horses in different circumstances. Clips are the triangular tab of metal that sticks up on the foot surface of a shoe to be seated into the hoof wall. The primary function of clips is to take strain off of the nails. They hold shoes to the feet more securely than just plain nails would. Think of nailing on horseshoes as similar to tying the laces on your shoes; applying clips to a horseshoe would be like double-knotting your laces. There are also other reasons, including therapeutic applications, to put clips on horseshoes. Not every horse needs clips.

Horseshoe clips have been used for many years. Historically, toe center clips are believed have been introduced between 1825—1830 in England by H. Hallen. William Youatt wrote in 1831 that “clips are necessary on all heavy horses.” As Youatt indicated, clips became very popular on heavy “draught” (draft) horses in the early 1800s due to the heavy plodding gait of the work animals. Clips came “into fashion” on riding horses a little later (Ivan Sparkes, Old Horseshoes, 1976).

Anytime a shoe has more strain on it from force or torque against the ground, the nails that fasten the shoe to the foot are at risk for coming loose. Eventually, the horse may lose the protection of the shoe and the foot will be exposed to terrain that could damage it. Heavy draft horses certainly fall into this category but some riding horses are also harder on their feet than others.

I have a riding horse that jams his front feet into the ground with every step he takes. It’s almost like a cork screw motion each time the foot hits the ground. I have another riding horse that seems to barely touch the ground as he moves; he is so light on his feet. The “heavy-footed” horse benefits from clips. Each twisting motion of the foot as it hits the ground jars the nails. He has very sensitive feet as well so if he loses the shoe, he instantly sore. I put clips on the sides of the front shoes (referred to as side clips or quarter clips depending on placement) to secure the shoe to the foot and prevent the nails from being sheared off within the foot. Cutting and reining horses may benefit from clips because of their quick stops and turns.

Traction devices fixed to the bottom of shoes, such as screw-in studs or Borium™, also create extra strain on the nails. Hunter and jumper horses that use traction to set in the ground before jumps, are usually also shod with clips. Borium™ spots applied, with a torch or in the forge, to the shoe can make a horse more secure on ice, but without clips the shoe may not stay on as long. Once, I put some shoes with Borium™ on one of my riding horses, but I didn’t think I would need to put clips on it. I watched as I let my horse back into the paddock and he ran onto a sheet of ice and stopped hard. The shoes with the traction stayed in the ice and the horse kept going! Now I always shoe that horse with clips when I put traction on him in the winter.

Clips can also be used to stabilize the hoof capsule. If a horse has bad hoof cracks, clips on either side of the crack can help prevent the crack from splitting further. Horses that fracture a coffin bone, will benefit from shoes with multiple clips. The clips cast the hoof (and the bone inside the hoof) while the bone heals. It is the same principle of casting a broken bone on a human with a plaster cast. In these cases, clips are usually pulled in the toe as well as in the quarters. In some cases, a veterinarian may prescribe where they would like the clips pulled according to the radiographs of the fractured bone.

Clips can be fit hot or cold, but they should only be put on horses that will be regularly maintained by the farrier. Horses that do not get access to a regular farrier visit (or that have a habit of jumping or kicking during shoeing) should not be shod with clips. Some owners leave shoes on the horse until the shoes fall off. With clips this could be dangerous as a shoe may come partially loose and the horse could puncture the sole by stepping on the exposed clip. This can also happen if the horse does not stand still while the farrier is setting the shoes. Clips should not be extremely pointed to prevent accidental injury in the event of a pulled shoe or partially pulled shoe.

Clips are a necessary addition to any good farrier’s arsenal of skills. Occasionally, a farrier will say, “Nobody uses clips in my area so I don’t put them on.” What that farrier is really saying is, “I can get away with not knowing how to pull clips because a lot of horse owners don’t know what they are used for.” Or “I can justify my inability by defending the clip’s obsolescence.” In reality, there are many scenarios in which clips would be extremely valuable. The American Farrier’s Association considers a Certified Farrier (the most basic level in the United States) as someone who can proficiently modify a shoe with clips. Machine-made shoes with clips are available at higher prices than regular horseshoes.

To learn more about how to make and fit horseshoe clips, watch this video: