Horseshoes: The Egg Bar

Anatomy of an Egg Bar

A “Bar Shoe” is any shoe that connects at the heels, leaving no opening in the back of the hoof. An “egg bar” is a type of bar shoe.

What makes an egg bar an egg bar, is it’s characteristic “O” or “egg” shape.

Egg bars can be made in an array of materials: from steel, to aluminum, to polymer materials (plastic). As long as the shoe has a rounded connection between the heels, we are dealing with an egg bar.

We recommend reading our article “Bar Shoes: Everything You Need to Know” to understand the basic principles of bar shoes.

How Does it Work

The egg bar is designed to:

• Increase the weight bearing surface of the hoof

• Provide increased support to the back portion of the hoof

• Prevent the heels from sinking too far in soft footing

• Stabilize and decrease movement within the hoof capsule

• Support the deep flexor tendon and inferior check ligaments

When to use an Egg Bar

The use of the egg bar is appropriate in horses who are experiencing caudal hoof pain (pain in the back of the hoof), horses in the early stages of navicular syndrome (now called “podotrochlear disease”), and deep flexor tendon injuries.

They are also particularly beneficial in horses who are ridden in soft footing. The softer the surface a horse is being ridden on, the deeper the heels will sink in it. The deeper the heels sink, the more forces are placed on the structures of the back portion of the hoof.

An egg bar shoe allows for better “floating”, which in this context is a term used to describe a decrease in the ability of the heels to sink as deep as they would with a regular open-heeled shoe.

Egg bars can additionally be used to stabilize a damaged hoof capsule, and increase it’s weight bearing surface. Egg bars are in fact often used in the treatment of quarter cracks, as well as following white line disease resections.

Contraindications

The use of egg bars is contraindicated in horses with suspensory ligament damage, damage to the superficial flexor tendon, or damage to the radial check ligament in the front legs.

Horses that are exclusively used in trail riding aren’t good candidates, as the egg bar is more likely to catch large rocks and debris.

Additional application considerations

A well-fitted egg bar will stabilize the hoof and provide the benefits described above. An ill fitting one will have the opposite effect: it will go and place excessive forces onto the hoof.

Allowing too much “shoe” to stick out in the back of the hoof can lead to pain and potential damage to the hoof capsule, especially in the case of horses that do not bear weight evenly onto the foot.

The dynamics of an egg bar will change depending on the footing the horse is being ridden on. On soft footing, the egg bar will support the foot and float the heels. On hard footing, the bar will strike the ground first, and without being able to sink, it will create a pivot point on the heels that has the potential for damage.

Even the best fitted egg bar will be a liability when it comes to shoe pulling. Any horse wearing any sort of bar shoe should wear a pair of quality, well-fitted bell boots to decrease the risk of shoe pulling and potentially resulting in hoof capsule damage.