I recently switched farriers and my new farrier doesn’t like the side clips and he put toe clips on my horse’s front shoes. I know I have read that a lot of horses come from Europe with the front toe clips and farriers in this country put them in side clips. I was at Harrisburg yesterday and was checking out the hunters feet and they all had side clips.
So what is the deal, why side clips instead of toe clips?
Why clips at all unless the horse needs them?
Just out of curiosity, wouldn’t it be difficult to set the breakover back if you had toe clips? If so, I imagine that is why side clips would be preferred. If not, I have no idea…lol. Maybe side clips are more secure? My horse is actually fine without clips on the front. He has them on the hind shoes though.
Don’t suppose it makes any difference if it holds the shoe and the horse goes well in it. Not something anybody even notices. Mine went in toe clips in front for years, imagine so did most of the others the barns regular farrier did unless there was a reason for side clips. Might just be farriers preference-I never even asked about it, never had reason to.
Toe clips can cause problems in the toe area of the pedal bone after years of use. All that weight gets pushed into the clip. Side clips distribute the force over two areas instead of one. They also make it easier to shoe with an eased-back break over.
HOWEVER: I was riding a very big moving young mare (shod in side clips) in a clinic, and she over reached, tweaked a front shoe a third of the way across her foot, and stepped ON the clip! The poor thing stood with her foot in the air for 1/2 an hour until we could get the shoe off. She punctured her sole in one stride and it sucked.
I don’t use clips at all unless I absolutely have to.
[QUOTE=arlosmine;7811392]
Toe clips can cause problems in the toe area of the pedal bone after years of use. All that weight gets pushed into the clip. Side clips distribute the force over two areas instead of one. They also make it easier to shoe with an eased-back break over.
HOWEVER: I was riding a very big moving young mare (shod in side clips) in a clinic, and she over reached, tweaked a front shoe a third of the way across her foot, and stepped ON the clip! The poor thing stood with her foot in the air for 1/2 an hour until we could get the shoe off. She punctured her sole in one stride and it sucked.
I don’t use clips at all unless I absolutely have to.[/QUOTE]
This ^. And they can be hell on the hoof wall.
Yup, I hate clips. Too easy to hurt the horse if they pull a shoe.
I hate clips too, but the idea is they are supposed to prevent shoe pulling by moving the shoe forward away from the “over step zone” as the hoof becomes longer.
Evidence suggests that this does not work 
I emailed Pat Reilly and he was kind enough to reply:
"The is a lot of tradition associated with the use of clips. As you mentioned, is is common in Europe for horses to be shod with toe clips on front feet and side clips on hind feet. This is likely because hind feet twist as they land and the side clips provide additional stability to this rotational force. Front feet do not twist when landing (as a general rule), but front shoes sometimes slide back on a hoof. Toe clips (and side clips, if the clips are in front of the widest part of the hoof) will prevent the shoe from sliding back.
There are several reasons side clips on front feet have become common in the US. Many farrier chose to set the shoe back on the hoof (easing breakover), and this is more easily accomplished without a toe clip. Some people oppose the use of side clips for fear of contracting the hoof, although science has shown that clips do not interfere with hoof expansion.
If your horse is sound then you are probably fine continuing as your farrier would like. The mechanical difference between side and toe clips is very small (if there is any difference). I think people tend to notice the clips because they are the most visible part of the shoe, but if the shoe is not falling off then you probably don’t have much to worry about. Farriers often have a personal preference, and I would recommend that you allow them to shoe the horse as they would like as long as things are going well. "
[QUOTE=arlosmine;7811392]
Toe clips can cause problems in the toe area of the pedal bone after years of use. All that weight gets pushed into the clip. Side clips distribute the force over two areas instead of one. They also make it easier to shoe with an eased-back break over.
HOWEVER: I was riding a very big moving young mare (shod in side clips) in a clinic, and she over reached, tweaked a front shoe a third of the way across her foot, and stepped ON the clip! The poor thing stood with her foot in the air for 1/2 an hour until we could get the shoe off. She punctured her sole in one stride and it sucked.
I don’t use clips at all unless I absolutely have to.[/QUOTE]
^ This… Especially the bolded part. This happened to one of my horses.
I also agree with jlphilli about not being able to back the toes. Some of the lameness issues you see in horses is from long toes.
…computer problems = double post.
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