Horse-flippers? Have any horses from history, ever been fitted with horseshoes that improve their ability to swim?

ace_garp@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 176 points –

That's it. Any horse, any time period, any peoples, did they fit a shoe that helped the horse to swim in water?

(Was thinking about how horses are pretty good swimmers, maybe due to their power and hoof shape. Could they be better?)

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Flippers wouldn't help really given how horses actually swim, they kind of kick back with each of they're legs in a sequence similar to a trot. Their hooves already have a bit of a hollow which likely helps with swimming. Honestly though horses are pretty good swimmers, because they have huge lungs which helps them stay afloat with ease

Regular flippers would not help.

But some little hinged wings on the sides of each hoof could work.

They fold down on the upstroke flat against the hoof, then fold out horizontal with the downstroke.