Barefoot HorseBarefoot Horse Or Shod Horse?This was never questioned, that was just the way it was. Having kept horses here in Ireland myself I started running into various problems with their feet. The first thing that I noticed with my gelding was that when the farrier had just taken off his shoes he didn´t want to stand on the foot and was very uncomfortable without them. Once they were back on again he was ok but he was tripping an awful lot. It surprised me that he was so uncomfortable without them and I always wondered why. My Connemara mare was always barefoot and I had my farrier trim her. After her having a quarter crack I really started questioning the conventional ways of treating horses feet and I decided that I need to learn more about it. I enrolled in a course with the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry and I am now a DAEP (Degreed Applied Equine Podiatrist).
Jess, my Connemara pony in Nov 08 and Nov 09 So why do horses need shoes? With the domestication of the horse came all sorts of problems with their feet. They didn´t move enough to wear sufficiently, the environment they live in is often less than ideal, infections took hold of the feet and as a result the quality of their feet declined. Horses weren´t therefore able to do their job and a solution had to be found: the horse shoe! Nowadays we have the knowledge to understand that this is only a quick fix and a reaction to problems caused by the domestication of the horse. There are solutions that are more proactive and help horses to cope better with the problems of domestication. Nature has given the horse everything it needs and it is our responsibility to help the horse to grow the best foot possible. This is where Applied Equine Podiatry and the HPT method (High Performance Trim) differs from the conventional treatment of the horses foot. Having said that not every horse will be able to go over every terrain or be able for high performance without protection. The majority of barefoot horses however are well able to do what their owners want them to do if they are conditioned well and optimum care is given. This requires knowledge and good teamwork between the horse owner and the DAEP and if necessary a veterinarian or alternative health care provider. If protection is needed it is questionable whether that has to be a steel shoe. Alternatives should be considered such as Perfect Hoofwear, the Hoofwear Pro Series or well fitted hoof boots. These tools if used correctly will improve the quality of the foot. Horseshoes are doing harm to your horses feet A horseshoe creates an artificial environment for the horse´s foot and limits distortion to two dimensions. It doesn´t allow the hoofcapsule to distort on three dimensions, which is natural. Correct distortion is very important as it gives the stimulus for correct growth. Without correct stimulus (correct pressure) important structures like the lateral cartilages atrophy, they get weaker and weaker. The foot as a result can´t deal with kinetic energy as efficiently as a healthy barefoot hoof. This means that structures like tendons, ligaments, cartilage etc. that are not meant to deal with that much shock have to take all that abnormal concussion which may lead to very common problems like ringbone, sidebone, navicular syndrome, pedal osteitis, tendon problems, ..... You often hear: "My horses feet are so bad, he can´t be a barefoot horse!" If your horse seems sound with shoes and has problems without them, are you not just simply disguising lameness with a band aid? It is possibly time to call in a specialist and find out where the problem is and how it can be solved before any long term damage is done! It is probably time to be more proactive rather than being only reactive!
Warmblood mare just after removing shoes
A healthy hoof-What a difference! Return from Barefoot Horse back to Hoof Care |
