Barefoot is better when possible, but not all shoes are “peripheral loading devices”.

A good trim is a good trim. Rest assured.

With that said, however, I will agree that many, if not most, conventional farriers throughout the US, do not perform a proper trim or shoeing job. Follow me here for a moment, and I’ll give you my interpretation of the barefoot bandwagon and how we can all get what we want.

This current substandard state of the farrier art has caused many owners the need to look to a different approach for their hoofcare needs.

A typical example of this could be in the form of a lameness due to incompetence or poor conditions, and, as I’ll explain, probably a lack of money.

What?

Well…

The farrier may drive an hour to shoe an overdue horse that doesn’t stand well and then quickly and cheaply get the work done in potentially un-fun conditions. This allows the farrier very little opportunity to advance because they are always running around getting stinky for too little shine. The owner and farrier are both losing here.

Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound this way, but it can suck more.

Speaking of suck…

Then the horse pulls a shoe and the farrier can’t get back to fix it in a timely manner and the horse is unusable and the feet are a mess. Crap. It’s not the farrier’s fault that their area is large and the clients don’t want to pay enough, but the farrier needs to stay the course and think of the proper solutions and options with owner.

Does the horse even need shoes?

In this situation, would it be better to just trim the horse and use boots or casts?

Good ideas like this often lead to distortion and Kool-Aid drinking.

I have studied the Dr. Bowker research (which I mostly agree with, except, not all shoes are “peripheral loading devices”), the Dr. Strasser methodology (I do not agree with) as well as others. It is good to delve into the microscopic form and function of the equine foot. It is truly a wondrous work of biomechanics, but the gross implications generally haven’t changed since Gary Stern taught me to trim when I was a teenager, and probably for the previous six generations of his German farrier lineage. The difference is now we have more data to confirm a proper biomechanical balance.

The “secret” to barefoot success is a quality trim of course, but then frequency. Keeping a horse barefoot actually requires more frequent attention than most shod horses because they don’t have the protection of shoes. It becomes a matter of preference, but a consistent four or five week cycle can’t be beat for excellent looking hooves.

Politics

As much as some argue that traditional farriery is misleading and barbaric teaching, that is simply untrue. Think about how many horses have been used through the generations and how hoof care developed. Harping on negatives which aren’t even true to sell something is foul marketing. It is incomplete. I don’t want to go off to work without shoes on. Horses are different only by a matter of degree. Some can do it, and some can not.

It is my opinion that the true benefit for the horse and hoof is breeding and solid turn out. If we conscientiously breed for hooves like we do for other attributes, we would have a much larger percentage of usable barefoot horses. There are certain breeds that do this and they are most excellent in overall heartiness. Most breeders today are more interested in other attributes because they want to sell their horses.

Many of my client’s horses are barefoot. I do whatever I can to keep as many as possible barefoot, but almost all of the upper level competitors and really active riders must wear shoes for performance, reliability and kindness to their horses.

One argument of the barefoot trend is that it may take a year for a sound horse to become sound again after pulling the shoes. The plan is that this will then allow the horse to be sound years longer than with shoes. I can think of dozens of horses over the age of 20 that work hard everyday. If you tried to convince their professional and amateur owners to remove the shoes, they would tell you that barefoot, especially in the front, is not a viable option for their working horse. I agree, whether I like it or not. Have you ever worked on a geriatric horse? It is not easy; barefoot is definitely easier.

I have a hard time not being negative about people marketing this natural hoof care as if it is the only alternative to the barbaric practice of farrier art and science. If someone wants to trim horses and not master the profession, it’s supposed to be a free country, but leave my friends out of it and don’t go around making up some crap and lieing to people for your own benefit. Quite frankly, I would love to be able to service my clients by running around in a Festiva.

Using equicast for simple soundness

The few horses I have that just won’t hold a shoe when they get sore have been casted with excellent success. These horses have been through the therapeutic wringer, so to speak. It is typical for previous farriers to have thrown up their hands after a long row of glue ons, crazy clips, maybe some [...]