Costin Horseshoes

Groundbreaking Pride. Created by an Australian farrier, wholly owned Australian business, designed and tested in Australia for Australian conditions.

 

Costin Horseshoes Pty Ltd is a wholly Australian-owned business, headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland and exclusively responsible for the design, development and delivery of the groundbreaking Costin Horseshoe.

 

The Costin Horseshoe is not a shoe to fix problems even though we are seeing amazing outcomes from horses who change from steel and aluminium shoes to the polyurethane Costin Horseshoe, especially in regard to shin soreness. The Costin Horseshoe is a shoe designed to make your horse more comfortable, which gives you better results whether it is racing, trotting or competing.

 

When you see the difference in a horse after shoeing with the Costin Horseshoe you will wonder what the horse must have been going through with steel or aluminium shoes.

 

The Costin horseshoe is designed to make a good horse even better.It is not designed for laminitic horses It is not an orthopaedic shoe. It is a polyurethane shoe, designed to replace steel and aluminium shoes.

 

The damage that a horse suffers from vibration and jarring particularly in the early stages of work must shorten its racing or competing life. Particularly in regards to shin soreness.

 

If you have a good racehorse that can win races how many more races can it win and how much longer can it race by simply using the Costin Horseshoe?

 

“My development of the Costin Horseshoe started 15 years ago when I was trying to fix a mare suffering from laminitis. She was on her last legs, her owner couldn’t afford a veterinarian but she was a good mare and I was determined to prolong her life.”

 

The Creator | Steve Costin is a Master Farrier who has built an enviable reputation over his 37 year career as a farrier, backed with extensive experience as a horse owner, trainer and horse riding competitor. Steve starting shoeing horses at age 13, learning from his father, Ron Costin, himself a very good horseman.

 

While still at school, Steve earned pocket money shoeing and breaking in horses before taking on his 

 

A deeper understanding and appreciation of Steve’s passion and commitment is best realised through his own words…..

 

“My development of the Costin Horseshoe started 15 years ago when I was trying to fix a mare suffering from laminitis. She was on her last legs, her owner couldn’t afford a veterinarian but she was a good mare and I was determined to prolong her life.

 

So I tried as many things as I could to help her – a heart bar, leather pads, you name it, I tried it. I knew I had to protect the sole and take more of the weight onto the hoof wall. However, I did not want to restrict movement with a steel shoe.

 

I had a couple of sheets of breadboard in my ute that I had been using to make hospital plates so I placed the breadboard on the bottom of the mare’s hoof, drew a line on the board around the hoof, cut it to shape with a V cut out for the frog to try and make it move with the hoof and cut lines out to give movement.

 

first job, breaking in horses for renowned equine industry legend, Bob Wearing. His next job was working for highly regarded master farrier, Keith Swan so by the time Steve was 20 he had achieved the credentials of Master Farrier. He engaged in further education and training at highly regarded shoeing schools over 15 years and still continues to seek further knowledge and insight wherever it can be found. Today, Steve operates his farrier business

 

But still there was still too much weight on the sole so I cut small strips in the shape of the shoe to fill the void between hoof and shoe. I didn’t have the fancy glue for plastic that we now have, so I attached the board to the hoof with two nails and filled underneath with silicone, hoping it wouldn’t abscess.

 

The outcome was rewarding and remarkable! The mare seemed a little happier at first and over the following months she improved to the point where she could eventually walk without shoes.

 

Inspired by this experience, I went on to use polyurethane instead of breadboard and improved my design of the shoe by introducing clips and an injection hole to insert silicone under the shoe.

 

Well, that’s the simplistic version. In reality, it has been a long 15 year journey along the development road to arrive at what is today, the Costin Horseshoe.

 

from Beaudesert, Queensland and is highly regarded and sought after by horse owners, breeders, trainers and veterinarians across the equine industry. As a horse rider, Steve has competed in various horse competitions including reining and cutting, has trained race horses, managed horse studs, broken in horses – hands-on experience which have provided him valuable insights into his greatest achievement – developing the Costin Horseshoe.

 

While the Costin Horseshoe is not designed for laminitic horses and is not an orthopaedic shoe, it was my original work with this horse that led to my discovery of the benefits of polyurethane horseshoes as a replacement for steel and aluminium shoes.

 

Since that time, I have used Costin Horseshoes on many horses and am seeing significant improvements, especially in regard to shin soreness.

 

I often reflect and fondly remember that old mare. Without her, there may not be the Costin Horseshoe which is available to help all horses, whether to aid in recovery or as an important preventative measure against risk of injury.”