Some horses make their livings by working on hard surfaces every day.
Without their leg gear, they look naked and vulnerable. And maybe they are. In Amish communities, retrofitted Standardbreds trot for miles each day, barely missing a beat. When they do miss a beat, or two, or three, you might find them in the local horse auction the following week. At a stonedust racing surface like The Meadowlands in New Jersey, it's not unusual for a horseshoe on a Standardbred to break in two.