What are the point to Horse Shoes?

As far as I know it does not hurt them. People put them on their horses because horses hooves will split from running and snow. It's just like our nails we need to take care of them if we don't want them to break. They have to be filed as well before putting the shoes on.

Well, the only reason I can think of is to protect the horse hoof. The hoofs are made for running in the wild. Where there are lot of grass and soft soil (if you compare that to the metal roads we drive on). Also, with the additional weight of the person who rides the horse, the wear and tear on the hoofs would also be much more than those horses who run in the wild. Hoofs, like finger nails, are proned to splitting and breakage. So with the horse shoe protecting it, breakage and splitting would be greatly reduced. That is what I think. May need to surf around the web a bit to get a clearer definition on why horse shoes are needed!