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"From the
perspective of the horse's health, the claim that a metal shod hoof is an
improvement over the natural structure provided by evolution is an extraordinary
one, and as such requires extraordinary proof." William Strawbridge
Why Barefoot?
Simply put, because your horse will be healthier. Whether you're doing
endurance racing, playing polo, doing eventing, jumpers, reining, a hunter
course, a hack in the park, trekking across the Gobi desert or just trail riding
the best thing for your horse is barefoot. Why? It allows him to
feel the ground, have maximum traction without the possibility of something
digging into the ground and breaking his leg (which I have seen on the polo
field) which gives him better knowledge of the ground he's on with full feeling
and blood flow. Here's a list of many of the benefits of your
horse being barefoot with a physiologically correct trim:
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Your horse
will have the ability to distribute his body weight correctly. This aids
in correct pastern alignment and shoulder angle which leads to more athletic
and supple movement. |
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Your horse
will be able to feel the ground and know when to pull his weight and how use
his body better. This makes him more athletic and able to take
advantage of the natural traction of his hooves. Thus, he is more
stable and sure footed on all types of terrain: ice, mud, slippery wet grass
on a slope, etc. |
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He will
have normal blood circulation throughout his body thus helping to maintain optimum
health. |
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All the
internal parts of your horses hooves will be able to function properly. |
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Your horse
will have use of the shock absorption provided by millions of years of evolution.
Consider this fact: A horse's hooves with metal shoes on lack 70-80% of
their natural shock absorption. A shod horse walking on asphalt
receives three times the impact forces of an unshod hoof trotting on
asphalt. |
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On your
young horse (five and under), the development of a full and correct coffin
bone will be possible. |
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Your horse
will have a better chance of surviving a bout of inflammation that could
otherwise lead to chronic laminitis and founder. |
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Your
horse's hooves will be able to follow a normal flight path when in motion
not overstressing his joints and ligaments each time he moves.
Overstressing can lead to arthritis and other damage. |
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Your horse
will have an easier time maintaining correct hydration in his hoof and that
means better elasticity and fewer crack and chips. |
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Physiologically correct hoof form will allow your horse to have pain free
feet. He will express joy in movement and will be a joy to watch and
ride. |
In today's context of most horses being
shod, it wouldn't be fair not to say something about the effects of shoes.
In an article titled "Most of your income comes from shoeing lame, but still
used, horses" (American Farriers Journal vol. 26, Nov. 2000), editor Frank
Lessiter quotes Walt Taylor of the World Farriers Association and Together for
Equines regarding the overall health of the world's estimated 122 million
equines (horses, mules and donkeys). Taylor's assessment is summarized as
follows:
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"... no more than 10 percent
are clinically sound, exhibiting no sign or effect of trauma or disease
that diminishes their utility." |
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"Some 10 percent are
clinically, completely and unusably lame. They are kept for various
reasons, but are 'used' little, if at all, by their owners." |
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"The remaining 80 percent of
these equines are somewhat lame, but still usable." |
Lessiter goes on to advocate farriers learn to deal with and shoe lame horses,
as that is where most of their income will be coming from. We can be
stunned by his statistics while not taking his advice. Most people I
know love their horses and want to do what's best for them. I have very
dear and long term friends who have for years had their horses shod. All
they can say is, 'Who knew?' All of us are in the process of discovering
this 'new idea' about caring for our horses and there is much to understand and
work out and discover yet. So, in that spirit, here is some very valuable
information on the negative impact of shoes:
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A steel
shoe is a danger to the horse that wears it as well as to another
horse, human, animal and the environment. |
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Shoes
negatively alter traction. Either digging in when they shouldn't or
sliding when they should hold. |
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Shoes
prevent natural wear of the hoof walls, which results in the hoof walls
getting longer than they should and at the same time locks in any balance
problems in the trim. |
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The
vibration of a shoe (calculated at 800HZ) causes changes in the structure of
the lamina corium resulting in inferior suspension of the coffin bone and it
irritates the ligament and tendon attachment points in the periosteum of the
bones and of joint cartilage. |
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Shoes
impair hoof mechanism and this results in a 60 to 80% decrease in shock
absorption. By fixing the hoof walls the sole is not allowed to draw
flat and the sole corium is pinched by the descending coffin bone. |
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By
fixating the hoof capsule in its narrowest state, shoes produce pathological
stress on the corium, which results in inflammation and pressure necrosis
with the attending results on horn quality and quantity. |
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The
centrifugal effect of the shoe leads to unnatural strain and damage to the
joints and ligaments from the hoof all the way to the shoulder. And
old farrier saying is "One ounce at the toe equals one pound at the
shoulder." |
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The type
of breakover with a shoe stresses the lateral cartilage and its ligaments
and can cause ossifications. Even without ossifications of the lateral
cartilage the stress caused to the joints, tendons and ligaments can cause
arthritis. |
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When the
hoof grows down it wants to grow out and the result, with a shoe that
fixates the hoof in its smallest state, is contraction. |
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Nails
violate the insulation integrity of the hoof wall and the holes they leave
are an access root for pathogens. One often sees black nail holes when
the shoe is removed. This is necrotic tissue. |
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Because
shoes fixate the hoof capsule, blood supply is impeded which interferes with
oxygen uptake which decreases nerve flow. Ever laid on your hand or
arm and had it go to sleep? The same thing results to the hoof with
the use of shoes: it goes numb! What do you think the long term
effects of that are? |
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A coffin
bone is not finished developing until a horse is five years old. Think
of all those racetrack thoroughbreds being shod at two. This, at the
very least, prevents the full development of the palmer processes and can
prevent the full growth of the coffin bone leading to a smaller than natural
hoof with all the problems that entails. |
By removing the shoe you remove all of
the negative effects that shoes present. If that were all that was needed,
this would, indeed, be an easy process. But there is at least one more
thing that needs to be done: Your horse needs to be given physiologically
correct hoof form in order to bring about all the positive effects of being
barefoot.
Understanding what that is and how to
get there is what physiologically correct trimming is all about and what is covered
under The Process.
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