Shower Thoughts

[Goldwarte]

For the races that have hooves, shouldn't there a be a farrier in town? I would love to sport some horse shoe bling on my Tauren.

[Magistrate]

For the races that have hooves, shouldn't there a be a farrier in town? I would love to sport some horse shoe bling on my Tauren.

Counter shower thought:
If a bovine race is wearing them, are they horse shoes?

[Goldwarte]

Counter shower thought:
If a bovine race is wearing them, are they horse shoes?

[Kokolums]

Counter shower thought:
If a bovine race is wearing them, are they horse shoes?

cows wear a different type of shoe. because cows feet are cloven, they wear 2 shoes per foot, or 8 shoes total! They are called oxshoes not horseshoes. Oxen (male castrated bovines) wear oxshoes for working. Cows (female bovine) are not made to work like that so they don't wear shoes.

[Pakheth]

cows wear a different type of shoe. because cows feet are cloven, they wear 2 shoes per foot, or 8 shoes total! They are called oxshoes not horseshoes. Oxen (male castrated bovines) wear oxshoes for working. Cows (female bovine) are not made to work like that so they don't wear shoes.

Huh, learned something new.

Hmm, do domesticated water buffalo wear these in the field or is that considered their natural habitat and these are then not needed?

[Shadowferal]

Huh, learned something new.

Ditto. And interesting too.

[Rocksteady 87]

For the races that have hooves, shouldn't there a be a farrier in town? I would love to sport some horse shoe bling on my Tauren.

Shoes have never been a requirement for hoofed or cloven animals, just like they've never been needed for any other creature either. Humans included. They make some activities easier, more comfortable, and/or less burdensome and they help reduce wear and tear over time in some circumstances, but they're not "needed" as in if a creature doesn't have them they'll... well, I don't even know what people think happens if you don't have shoes. Spontaneously combust or something? I don't know what the assumption is.

I mean, who goes out into the wild and shoes all those wild horses, zebras, buffalo, goats, and other hoofed/cloven animals that have existed just fine in nature for millennia? Surely someone must be doing it if they're so vital to one's existence.

That said, the actual answer to the question is simple: It's the same reason no one sells underwear (nevermind that everyone's been wearing the exact same pair since day one); it just has no bearing on the game. 90% of the buildings in every city are blocked off/empty/pointless because they, too, have no bearing on the game.

[Shadowferal]

My own shower thought...

Does this ring make me look fat?

[MrLachyG]

For the races that have hooves, shouldn't there a be a farrier in town? I would love to sport some horse shoe bling on my Tauren.

Hoof customisation would be great

- - - Updated - - -

My own shower thought...

Does this ring make me look fat?

Yes, sorry you had to find out this way…

[Biomega]

For the races that have hooves, shouldn't there a be a farrier in town?

It's debatable whether or not hoofed races would actually NEED horseshoes.

One of the big reasons for shoeing is increased loads - pulling carts or ploughs, or being ridden chief among them. Those create pressure that can damage hooves, but that wouldn't really apply to hoofed races in WoW. Chances are they are that not only are they not performing activities with such substantially added load, but they'd likely have evolved differently to begin with, adapted to a bipedal lifestyle involving various activities not too different from what they're doing now. In fact life is probably getting EASIER for them rather than harder, in terms of workload, as opposed to what domestication did to hoofed animals on earth.

I suppose one might argue for traction. On hard surfaces (like paved roads) especially, that might be a factor to consider; it could also conceivably confer benefits in combat (but would have disadvantages, too).

And by the way: many domestic horses actually DON'T wear horseshoes, particularly if they're not being used for regular and strenuous tasks. And there's also horse boots, which can be used in circumstance requiring exceptional protection in the short term, where shoeing would be impractical and/or undesired.

[Ielenia]

It's debatable whether or not hoofed races would actually NEED horseshoes.

One of the big reasons for shoeing is increased loads - pulling carts or ploughs, or being ridden chief among them. Those create pressure that can damage hooves, but that wouldn't really apply to hoofed races in WoW. Chances are they are that not only are they not performing activities with such substantially added load, but they'd likely have evolved differently to begin with, adapted to a bipedal lifestyle involving various activities not too different from what they're doing now. In fact life is probably getting EASIER for them rather than harder, in terms of workload, as opposed to what domestication did to hoofed animals on earth.

I suppose one might argue for traction. On hard surfaces (like paved roads) especially, that might be a factor to consider; it could also conceivably confer benefits in combat (but would have disadvantages, too).

And by the way: many domestic horses actually DON'T wear horseshoes, particularly if they're not being used for regular and strenuous tasks. And there's also horse boots, which can be used in circumstance requiring exceptional protection in the short term, where shoeing would be impractical and/or undesired.

Assuming they don't need it, there's still the fact that some might want to do it anyways for decoration, no different than earrings, necklaces, rings, etc.

Also, the usual adventurer walks a lot, and especially those that wear heavy armor (such as warriors and paladins) are constantly carrying heavy loads, so the use of shoes like that might be warranted.

Also, lightforge draenei already use horseshoes:

[Biomega]

Assuming they don't need it, there's still the fact that some might want to do it anyways for decoration, no different than earrings, necklaces, rings, etc.

Oh for sure, though the question would be, would that be horseshoes or would that be some other kind of decoration.

Also, the usual adventurer walks a lot, and especially those that wear heavy armor (such as warriors and paladins) are constantly carrying heavy loads, so the use of shoes like that might be warranted.

It's actually not about how much you walk - matter of fact, wild horses usually walk MORE than domesticated ones, not less; though usually at lower speed.

As for the load... A set of armor doesn't really compare to a rider - who could ALSO be wearing armor. And that comes with the added strain of usually moving at very high speeds for much longer than normal (which is what riding often looked like during early domestication). That's a very different load than just wearing your own armor.

Also, lightforge draenei already use horseshoes:

That's not the question - it was, do they NEED to

[Ielenia]

As for the load... A set of armor doesn't really compare to a rider - who could ALSO be wearing armor.

And the strength of a horse does not compare to the strength of a human. So, in absolute terms, rider + armor is indeed heavier than just armor, proportionally I believe it's heavier for a person to wear plate than a horse carrying a person plus plate armor.

[Biomega]

And the strength of a horse does not compare to the strength of a human. So, in absolute terms, rider + armor is indeed heavier than just armor, proportionally I believe it's heavier for a person to wear plate than a horse carrying a person plus plate armor.

None of the hoofed races are humans, and going by their body mass (which tends to be how strength scales, by volume) they are proportionately SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than humans. As are horses.

[Magistrate]

cows wear a different type of shoe. because cows feet are cloven, they wear 2 shoes per foot, or 8 shoes total! They are called oxshoes not horseshoes. Oxen (male castrated bovines) wear oxshoes for working. Cows (female bovine) are not made to work like that so they don't wear shoes.

I wish I could give you the tastiest cookie ty

[Ielenia]

None of the hoofed races are humans.

They're still humanoid, and their strength is much more similar to a human than a horse/ox simply for the fact they're bipedal, not quadrupedal.

[Biomega]

They're still humanoid, and their strength is much more similar to a human than a horse/ox simply for the fact they're bipedal, not quadrupedal.

That has very little to do with strength per se. It helps distribute the strength in particular ways, making it easier to bear or pull loads for example; but it's also not great for certain other tasks (try asking a horse to lift something up, say).

Strength in general is proportional to the muscle volume, which is likely to be significantly higher in bulky races like Tauren or Draenei than in humans; of course there's other factors as well that we don't have access to (activation potentials, for example, which are different for small and large muscles) and there's the fact that e.g. Draenei are quite literally alien creatures so who knows if their bodies obey the same rules as at least vaguely humanoid ones (assuming Tauren are basically just anthropomorphic bovines).

(All this assumes at least relatively closely comparable body sizes, things get way more complicated when you're comparing ants vs. humans, say, or humans vs. whales or whatever)

[Ielenia]

That has very little to do with strength per se. It helps distribute the strength in particular ways, making it easier to bear or pull loads for example; but it's also not great for certain other tasks (try asking a horse to lift something up, say).

Strength in general is proportional to the muscle volume, which is likely to be significantly higher in bulky races like Tauren or Draenei than in humans; of course there's other factors as well that we don't have access to (activation potentials, for example, which are different for small and large muscles) and there's the fact that e.g. Draenei are quite literally alien creatures so who knows if their bodies obey the same rules as at least vaguely humanoid ones (assuming Tauren are basically just anthropomorphic bovines).

(All this assumes at least relatively closely comparable body sizes, things get way more complicated when you're comparing ants vs. humans, say, or humans vs. whales or whatever)

But none of that really matters, because we're talking about the need for horseshoes, and how strong the tauren and draenei are in comparison to a human actually works against your argument in this case. Because the stronger they are, the bulkier they are, the heavier they are, the more pressure is put on their hooves, and therefore the more wear happens to the hooves.

[Rocksteady 87]

But none of that really matters, because we're talking about the need for horseshoes, and how strong the tauren and draenei are in comparison to a human actually works against your argument in this case. Because the stronger they are, the bulkier they are, the heavier they are, the more pressure is put on their hooves, and therefore the more wear happens to the hooves.

Psst. How did they evolve into their current form if they didn't have taurenshoes in their ancestry?

Again: No one is out there putting shoes on wild buffalo, bisons, and oxen, and they get along just fine. Even when domesticated and used for heavy manual labor, most of them never get shoed, and they certainly didn't before the iron age. Amazing that, huh?

Shoes are a convenience, not a necessity.

[Biomega]

But none of that really matters, because we're talking about the need for horseshoes, and how strong the tauren and draenei are in comparison to a human actually works against your argument in this case. Because the stronger they are, the bulkier they are, the heavier they are, the more pressure is put on their hooves, and therefore the more wear happens to the hooves.

That's not how it works. Evolution takes care of their natural size, just as it did with horses on Earth - who only need shoes because of UNNATURAL exertion associated with domestication, especially riding and load-pulling. If they're not being ridden extensively and/or are routinely pulling heavy loads, domesticated horses don't need horseshoes either; and as I said earlier, in fact many domesticated horses aren't routinely shoed, because we no longer use horses like we did a century and longer ago.

A Tauren wearing armor does not compare to a horse carrying a medieval knight in full plate.