Horseshoes (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1257
Down 56% over 5 years
The verdict
Horseshoes (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 29/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,330 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 56% over the last five years.
- 29/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,330
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1257 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 29/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,330 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-56%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Horseshoes (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1257, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,330 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 26,606 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 29/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 56% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (2,504 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (346 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) is laceration to the lower leg, accounting for approximately 2,488 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the head (2,102 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 4,721 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,212 | 426 | |
| 5-14 | 3,381 | 1,340 | |
| 15-24 | 2,611 | 944 | |
| 25-34 | 2,829 | 1,227 | |
| 35-44 | 2,545 | 899 | |
| 45-54 | 3,660 | 912 | |
| 55-64 | 1,355 | 512 | |
| 65-74 | 1,530 | 425 | |
| 75+ | 716 | 85 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ankle | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Hand | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
59YOM PRESENTS TO ED WITH A LACERATION. PT STATES HE WAS CHANGING THE SHOE OF HIS HORSE WHEN HE PULLED THE NAIL OUT AND THE HORSE KICKED, WHICH PUT THE NAIL IN HIS FINGER. DX: LACERATION OF R RING FINGER WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL; FOREIGN BODY PRESENCE
45YOM C/O PAIN AND SWELLING OF LEFT ANKLE AFTER A HORSE SHOE HIT HIM IN THE LEFT SHIN. DX;CONTUSION OF BONE.
31YOM COMPLAINS OF LACERATION TO SCALP. SHE WAS PLAYING HORSESHOES WHEN SHE BENT DOWN AND WAS STRUCK BY ONE. DX: LACERATION OF SCALP
72YOM PATIENT WAS PLAYING HORSESHOES, WHILE PITCHING HE STARTED TO HAVE BACK PAIN DX: SPASM OF MUSCLE OF LOWER BACK, LEFT FLANK PAIN
10YOM WAS PLAYING AT A PARK WHEN AN IRON HORSE SHOE WAS THROWN AND STRUCK HIS HEAD. DX: SCALP LACERATION; MINOR HEAD INJURY.
9YOF WAS PLAYING W HORSESHOES AND HIT SCALP DX: SCALP LACERATION
56 YOM INJURED LOWER LEG, HIT IN SHIN, PLAYING HORSESHOES. DX-RIGHT TIBIA PAIN
49YOM,PLAYING SOCCER AN HIT ON HEAD,FACE,DX:FX NASAL BONE,HEAD INJURY
59YOM PRESENT TO ED C/O R CALF/ANKLE PX.PT WAS PLAYING HORSESHOES TODAY,TOOK A STEP FORWARD W/ R LEG TO TAKE A LARGE SWING HOLDING HORSESHOE IN R HAND STRUCK R CALF,IMMEDIATE PX/POP,NO FALL,NOT ABLE TO BEAR WEIGHT HELPED OFF THE FIELD.NO TRAUMA TO ANY OTHER PART OF BODY.DX:R LEG PAIN
58YOM PATIENT WAS PLAYING HORSESHOES, HE WAS WALKING WHEN HE TRIPPED OVER THE SCORECARD AND LANDED ON HIS RIGHT KNEE. DX: RIGHT KNEE PAIN, FALL, FEMORAL DISTAL FRACTURE
84 YOM WAS MAKING HORSESHOE ART WHEN HE WAS HIT IN THE FACE WITH A HORSESHOE THAT WAS CONNECTED TO THE WELDING MACHINE TODAY.DX: LIP LACERATION, FRACTURE LEFT MIDDLE FINGER, LACERATION OF NOSE
74YOF PRESENTS WITH FOREHEAD ABRASION AND WRIST PAIN AFTER A GROUND LEVEL FALL WHILE OUTSIDE OF HER HOME CORRALING A HORSE DX: FOREHEAD ABRASION, DEHYDRATION, SYNCOPE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 29/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,330 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is laceration to the lower leg, accounting for approximately 2,488 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 56% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 4,721 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 3.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with horseshoes (activity, apparel or equipment)?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 29/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
