Each year, the quantity and quality of horseshoes available to farriers increase. Selections are increasingly diverse and specialized, ensuring there’s always an option out there for every horse’s needs. However, as the range of available shoes grows, it can be a challenge to know exactly what’s out there and how each shoe is used. 

“The biggest question we get at EasyCare is, ‘You have so many shoes, which one do I use, and why would I want to use this one instead of that one?’ ” says Dan Schroeder of EasyCare Protective Hoofwear at the 2026 International Hoof-Care Summit. 

All of EasyCare’s shoes come in a variety of sizes, most of which aren’t labeled using the usual 0, 1, 2, etc., he explains in a Summit “How-To” Product Knowledge Clinic. Instead, each size corresponds to the width of the widest part of the shoe, moving up or down in 4-millimeter increments, which Schroeder says is about the width of four dimes stacked face-to-face. If a foot falls between two sizes, he recommends sizing up. It’s better to be a hair too big than too small. This sizing method eliminates some of the guesswork of choosing the right shoe and allows for precision in ordering, ensuring dead inventory is minimized. 

Shoes for all Situations

The biggest shoe EasyCare makes is the Versa Grip, which is offered up to 206 mm — about 8 inches across — and as small as 102 mm. It is one of EasyCare’s selection of nail-on urethane…