Why a Barefoot Horse is so Fantastic

What Shoes do to Horses Feet

Contents

Introduction

I love this quote from Dr Cook - it says it all......

"Horse's hooves should expand and contract with every step. They can't do it if their hoof walls are clamped with an iron hoop and crucified with seven nails."
- Dr Robert Cook FRCVS, PhD

Natural hoof care, barefoot, barefoot trimming are all expressions that describe keeping and riding a horse without the use of metal shoes as opposed to horses who are fitted with horse shoes.

In order to do this in most cases:-

• the shoes will need to be removed.
• the feet will need to be trimmed.

This is not a basic pasture trim, but a trim based on a wild horses foot and is called a barefoot trim.

The Feel of an Unshod Horse

You only have to ride a barefoot horse once to feel the benefits.

The constant concussion that you hear and feel which is so normal in a shod horse goes. They feel so much softer and lighter to ride.

You also feel a real benefit throughout your own back and body. Once having felt the difference of riding a barefoot horse it is easy to imagine what the long term effect metal shoes have on a horse's skeleton and soft tissues - not exactly a health benefit.....

How to Compare Shod from Unshod When Riding

If you were to ride a barefoot horse alongside a shod horse and you put your hand on the withers of the shod horse when trotting and then on the barefoot horse you're riding, you would feel a tremendous difference. This is particularly noticeable on roads but the difference can be felt on any terrain.

The concussion i.e. banging that vibrates through a horses body when it has shoes on is just not present with a barefoot horse.

When you take the shoes off a horse for the first time and ride them, you can almost feel their feet, they feel so light and soft to ride.

At the same time, it almost feels like they are feeling their feet again; after having not been able to feel them properly, in many cases for years. Their hooves seem to become alive - it is a truly lovely feeling.

It was this feeling that stayed in our memory banks and kept us going through some of the problems we encountered on our road to reach our ultimate goal which was to have and ride high performance barefoot horses.

History of Iron Shoes

Horses have been used for work and pleasure for thousands of years. There are quotes from Xenophon, a fourth century BC Greek cavalry officer who said, "naturally sound hooves get spoiled in most stalls" and said, "their hooves should be toughened by putting a cobblestone area in their paddocks."

Removable iron horseshoes were certainly being used in the Middle Ages and may have been invented by the Romans.

One of the reasons shoes were introduced was because the hooves standing stationery all day in sodden urine bedding rotted and the horses became unsound. Leather pads were also used but wore out and metal shoes were much longer lasting.

Disadvantages of Horse Shoes

Below is a simplified list of some of the many disadvantages of metal horse shoes.

It is by no means complete, but when I first started reading about barefoot horses it was these sort of points that helped me make the decision to learn how to transition our horses from shod to barefoot.

1. Increased Risk of Injury

Shoeing greatly increases the chances of tendon injury as well as many hoof problems due to the reduced circulation that is created by using shoes which then goes on to create many muscular skeletal problems.

Hoof problems and injuries which are associated with shoeing for example are increased risk of abscesses, thrush, navicular syndrome, navicular disease, club foot, laminitis and founder.

Tendon injury alone is reason enough to consider transitioning a horse from shod to barefoot.

How many horses in the peak of their athletic career, end up lame, due to tendon injuries. You can look at any top eventer and after they have competed they are more often than not, checking and feeling their horses legs and tendons.

With the work, cost and commitment that goes into keeping/riding horses for it to end with this type of injury is extremely sad.

Risk of injury to rider and other horses is greatly increased. A horse kicking out whether in play or to protect itself is much more dangerous if wearing shoes.

2. Reduced Circulation and Impaired Hoof Mechanism

Reduced circulation to the hooves and legs - this is so important to appreciate.

Good circulation is essential for the health and repair of all living tissue. The application of a shoe limits the normal expansion and contraction of the hoof (this is called the hoof mechanism).

This then results in contracted heels, poor frog development, poor development of the internal structures of the hoof etc

3. Increased Concussion

Shoes reduce the ability of the hooves to absorb shock by 70-80%. This concussion force instead of being dealt with in the hoof is then conducted up the leg and goes on to creates damage to joints, tendons, muscles and eventually leads to arthritis etc

4. Camouflages Underlying Health Problems

Wearing shoes camouflages underlying health problems within the hoof. This can go on slowly for years and when a problem finally appears it is often too late to be able to rectify and the horse is often retired long before it should be.

Advantages of Barefoot Hooves

Here are some of the many advantages of riding a sound barefoot horse.

Again by no means complete, but hopefully some of these will help you to decide what you want to do with your horse(s).

Advantages

1. Reduced impact and concussion on their entire body
2. A healthy hoof - with all the internal and external structures in tack and functioning as they were designed, without a piece of metal being attached to live living tissue
3. Proper circulation to the horses legs and hooves
4. The frogs have passive contact with the ground and are able to function fully as circulatory pumps and pumping blood back up the horse limbs - so leading to increased stamina.
5. A huge reduced risk of injury to the horse, to other horses and to humans
6. Horses can be turned out together mares, foals and geldings (and stallions) without concern of serious injury.
7. Greatly reduced likelihood of them tripping, slipping and stumbling
8. You can't camouflage lameness or poor movement
9. If the feet are unbalanced it shows up in how they wear. If the horse is unbalanced and not moving properly this also shows up in the hooves. Ie You are able to determine so much from the hooves and they can give you a picture of the overall health and balance of your horses physical body.
   Once you as an owner are able to read the hooves your are in a much more knowledgeable position to understand their physical body.
10. Many foot and laminitis problems reduce and get better once a horse goes barefoot.

Now some of the smaller benefits - but still significant of keeping a barefoot horse......

1. Huge reduction in farrier bills. You may decide to pay a trimmer but there will not be the cost of metal shoes.
   
2. No worry of losing shoes, less churned up fields.
   
3. Finally - you will not need to use traveling boots........

The Challenge of Barefoot Hooves

The main disadvantage about going barefoot is:-

1. Not knowing How to Do It

Good information, good support and advice can make it so much easier.

2. The Transition Period

You will need to give your horse time to transition and depending on the state of his hooves will depend how long this will take.

We have bought horses which have had good hooves and whose feet have been looked after and trimmed regularly by farriers and they have transitioned very quickly.

We have also bought other horses where it has taken longer to transition as their feet have been in really poor condition and have been shod for quite some time from an early age. Obviously the longer they have been shod the more damage that is likely to have occurred within the hoof capsule.

3, Finding Underlying Problems

One of the hardest things, (although a long term huge advantage) is you can no longer hide problems. By this I mean, by removing their shoes, it is a bit like opening a 'can of worms'. i.e.. shoes create all types of pathologies as mentioned above, once you remove the shoes you are able to see what is going on and how unhealthy the hoof is.

In addition if they are not balanced and using their bodies correctly their feet wear unevenly. With shoes it can be camouflaged to a certain degree by help from your farrier but less so when they are barefoot, as if the hooves wear down too unevenly this can be a problem

Ok so what does that mean? Long term it means you are able to increase and improve your horses health dramatically.

Conclusion

Once I found out about barefoot horses I became extremely interested. I was advised that it was just a matter of taking the shoes off, however I would add here, that some horses are more straightforward than others.

Transitioning to barefoot requires:-

• Attention,
• Skill
• Dedication
• Patience

Every horse and every location is different and horses will progress at different rates. We have found some horses easy and some more tricky. The difference is due to many factors, but to sum up, a few of these differences are:-

• Shape of the hoof to begin with
• The condition and damage that exists
• The living environment
• The trim
• The length of time the hooves were shod

What To Do Now

Correct Barefoot Trimming , correct Horse Nutrition and suitable Barefoot Grazing are all important to help maintain healthy hooves and enable a horse to transition and be ridden barefoot.

There is a great deal of information available on each of these topics but it can become extremely confusing.

I suggest you work through these three page links on this website. They should be easy for you to read and understand. We have tried to summarize a lot of the information for you that is out there and so save you time, going through loads of books and articles and getting confused or overwhelmed.

Once you have a grip on the basics, you can then explore further. The basics are covered here along with the necessary recommended literature and tools. If you go through the pages on this site you will be able to achieve all that you want with natural horsecare so that it works for you and your horses.

Want Some Help?

Stuck and want some help... Contact Us. If you want to send us photo's of your horses hooves and want trimming advice let me know, we can help you.