'Four horseshoes were found in Etruria dated about 400BC'

1 The Romans are often credited with first developing a rudimentary horseshoe, the hipposandal – a hoof-shaped boot with a metal sole tied around the horse’s foot. However, in 1897, four bronze horseshoes were found at Corneto in ancient Etruria dated around 400BC, suggesting farriery is one thing the Romans did not do for us.

2 They did, however, provide the name, with the word farrier descending from ferrier, Middle French for blacksmith, and ferrarius, originating from the Latin word ferrum, meaning iron. In modern terms a blacksmith works with iron but not necessarily horses, whereas a farrier undergoes four and a half years’ training in order to qualify.

3 Most typical riding horses are shod using steel shoes, but racing plates are made of lighter aluminium. Horses will often be shod with more hard-wearing steel shoes between races, with aluminium plates – which cost around £6 per shoe – nailed on before the race.

4 While having nails driven into the hoof may look and sound painful, the hoof wall is the equivalent to a human finger or toenail and has no feeling – called the horn, it grows continuously, hence why horses require shoeing every four to six weeks. Like hands and feet, horse’s hooves come in all shapes and sizes, as do the shoes, which are made to fit the hoof, not the other way round.

5 However, if the idea of nails through your nail still leaves you feeling squeamish, take solace in the fact glue-on shoes are now available – equine acrylics if you will.

6 Key tools of the trade are the shoe puller (does what it says on the tin), the hoof nipper, for trimming away the excess horn, a rasp, for filing the hoof into shape, a hammer for nailing the new shoe on, and a hoof clincher, for folding over the ends of the nail where they protrude about a third of the way up the hoof.

7 Not clinching down the nails properly can prove costly to trainers – horses who arrive at the track with oversized or protruding nail heads can earn connections a fine from the BHA of up to £560 if they are withdrawn or £1,160 if they race. Trainers can also be left wrong-footed by international rules, such as when the Luca Cumani-trained Volume had to be reshod before the 2014 Irish Oaks when it was discovered she was wearing the wrong shoes – although she still managed third with her new footwear.

8 Losing a shoe – also termed ‘spreading a plate’ – on the way to the start is not an unusual occurrence, hence why all racecourses will have a farrier positioned at the start of each race – although trainers have the option of withdrawing the horse if they lose a shoe on any leg, or just a foreleg, instead of having it replaced. If you’ve watched a horse be reshod at the start, you’ll notice they normally stand very calmly – it is not a new process to them, with foals usually receiving their first trim at around four weeks old.

9 Broodmares will generally be kept unshod, simply receiving regular trims from the farrier like their foals. If mares are shod, they’ll certainly have their shoes removed before visiting a stallion – and will often wear padded covering boots on their hind feet, should they decide to take a swing at the valuable sire behind them.

10 It’s no great secret horseshoes are considered lucky, but the superstitious among us have had trouble deciding which way up they should hang. The most popular theory is facing up, in a U shape, to hold the luck in. However, another school of thought is to hang it upside down, to allow the luck to flow out to its surrounds. The unbearably optimistic believe it doesn’t matter which way up it is, the shoe’s very presence will bring good fortune. Only one thing’s for sure – it’s not lucky for the horse who lost it.