07/03/2023
Isn’t it interesting that the horseshoe serves as the quintessential “logo” of the horse and everything equestrianism, despite the fact that the horseshoe is something humans add to horses and not something that is naturally a part of the horse?
It’s so common that a generous portion of horse people, even those who are lifelong equestrians, have no idea that the frog print seen in the right side barefoot photo is a necessary component of hoof function.
The frog needs to be stimulated and to make contact with the ground or be stimulated by frog pressure on a shoe (which isn’t happening in the left photo or you’d see a print from the shoe form created for frog pressure).
So, what we’ve learned to view as the “hoofprint” is actually the “shoe print” because it’s missing the presence of a vital structure within the hoof.
It’s also worth noting the fact that the actual shape of the hoof between photos differs immensely.
This isn’t just because they are different horses, it is because of the nature of a lot of common shoeing practices, and how they utilize rigid materials that end up in advertently, pinching the heels in and creating an oval shape of the hoof.
Sometimes human intervention is not for the better. Or even if it is for a time, if it fails to progress, it can be an indicator of our feelings. Our belief that our intervention is always superior, and therefore there is no need to improve on it.
We have been shoeing with metal shoes for centuries, and the general structure of such shoes, and the shape of them has largely remained unchanged. Despite the growing information we have showing that lack of frog support is a characteristic of caudal failure in hooves.
I am not anti-shoe by any means, but I do find a concerning how much miss information is so rampant in the horse world that it took me until my 20s to actually realize that healthy hoof prints should have a frog print.
That what had been marketed to me as imagery of the footfalls of horses was actually something exclusively created by human intervention — not what the natural structure and footfall of a horse actually looks like.
My entire herd is barefoot now, and I would shoe again as needed, but I will never ever again use traditional open heeled metal shoes without frog support, because there’s played a very large role in destroying my horses’ hooves and requiring a substantial rehab from the damage from caudal failure.
The horse world loves tradition and hates change.
This will continue to come back to bite us in the ass if we don’t start to get more curious and wonder if some of our longterm practices could be improved on.
Why have we created a community that views itself as so infallible that people actually take offence to the idea that our decades-old practices could have some room for improvement in the modernized era where we have so much info at our fingertips?
EDIT: Some how people have taken this as an anti-shoe sentiment… I’m not of the mind that I have to love and support shoes to the extent of not believing we can modernize to find better materials and eliminate risk factors that we see being replicated in study… you can still shoe with frog support.
Shoes can be beneficial, I just believe we need to make frog support commonplace and consider using more shock absorbing materials.
If you took this as anti-shoe, perhaps ask yourself why you think people need to be so committed to tradition that they never seek improvement in order to see the value in what shoes can help with.
Accounts to check out that post regular information to learn more about current research, studies, hoof dissections etc:
The Equine Documentalist
Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners
The Humble Hoof
Sole Purpose Hoof Care
Happy Hoof Inc.
AB Equine Therapy
Dr. Tomas G Teskey DVM Equine Lameness Prevention & Rehabilitation
Scholarly search engines you can input study titles or key words into:
http://scholar.google.com
http://jstor.com
http://sciencedirect.com
Citations (not in alphabetical order sorry adding as I find more):
A new Swedish study came out a few days ago: https://news.cision.com/se/agria-djurforsakring/r/viktigaste-forskningsfynden-fran-barfotastudien,c3721326
If you don’t want to translate it here’s an English write up about it including opinion of Grand Prix Show Jumper Peder Fredicson who has transitioned his entire string barefoot: https://scootboots.com/blogs/blog/barefoot-horse-hooves-can-move-50-more-than-shod-hooves
Ridden Pain Ethogram: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eve.13468
Evaluation of displacement of the digital cushion in response to vertical loading in equine forelimbs
Danny D. Taylor, David M. Hood, Garry D. Potter, Harry A. Hogan, and Clifford M. Honnas
American Journal of Veterinary Research 2005 66:4, 623-629
Faramarzi B, Lantz L, Lee D, Khamas W. Histological and functional characterizations of the digital cushion in Quarter horses. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research = R***e Canadienne de Recherche Veterinaire. 2017 Oct;81(4):285-291.
Mattia A. Gunkelman, Carolyn J. Hammer, A Preliminary Study Examining the Digital Cushion in Horses, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Volume 56, 2017, Pages 6-8,
Bowker RM, Van Wulfen KK, Springer SE, Linder KE. Functional anatomy of the cartilage of the distal phalanx and digital cushion in the equine foot and a hemodynamic flow hypothesis of energy dissipation. American Journal of Veterinary Research. 1998 Aug;59(8):961-968.
•Bowker, 2003, Hemodynamic Flow Hypothesis for Energy Dissipation in the Equine Foot, Hoof Care and Lameness, issue 70
Clayton, Grey, Kaiser, Bowker, 2011, Effects of Barefoot Trimming on Hoof Morphology, Australian Vet Journal
Malone, Sara R.; Davies, Helen M.S. 2019. "Changes in Hoof Shape During a Seven-Week Period When Horses Were Shod Versus Barefoot." Animals 9, no. 12: 1017.
D.K. Proske, J.L. Leatherwood, K.J. Stutts, C.J. Hammer, J.A. Coverdale, M.J. Anderson,
Effects of barefoot trimming and shoeing on the joints of the lower forelimb and hoof morphology of mature horses,
The Professional Animal Scientist,
Volume 33, Issue 4,
2017,
Article by Pete Ramey:https://www.hoofrehab.com/ArticlesPDF/Pete%20Ramey%20Q&A.pdf
Article by Dr. Tomas Teskey DVM: https://www.insighttoequus.com/lessons/the-unfettered-hoof-article-2/
Fernando N. Amitrano DVM; Santiago D. Gutierrez-Nibeyro DVM, MS; David J. Schaeffer PhD, 2016, effect of hoof boots and toe extension shoes on the kinetics of horses during walking, American Journal of Veterinary Research, vol77
Back, W., Van Schie, M., & Pol, J. (2006). Synthetic shoes attenuate hoof impact in the trotting warmblood horse. Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology, 3(3), 143-151. doi:10.1017/ECP200691
Roepstorff, L., Johnston, C. and Drevemo, S. (1999) The effect of shoeing on kinetics and kinematics during the stance phase. Equine Vet. J. 31, Suppl. 30, 279‐285.
Willemen, M.A., Savelberg, H.H.C. and Barneveld, A. (1997) The improvement of the gait quality of sound trotting warmblood horses by normal shoeing and its effect on the load on the lower forelimb. Livest. Prod. Sci. 52, 145‐153.
Parkes and Witte, 2015, The foot–surface interaction and its impact on musculoskeletal adaptation and injury risk in the horse, Equine Veterinary Journal, Vol 47
Maarten Oosterlinck, Roxanne Van der Aa, Eline Van de Water, Frederik Pille,
Preliminary Evaluation of Toe–Heel and Mediolateral Hoof Balance at the Walk in Sound Horses With Toed-In Hoof Conformation,
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science,
Volume 35, Issue 7,
2015,
A. Wilson R. Agass S. Vaux E. Sherlock P. Day T. Pfau R. Weller, 2014, Foot placement of the equine forelimb: Relationship between foot conformation, foot placement and movement asymmetry, Equine Veterinary Journal
The effect of gallop training on hoof angle in Thoroughbred racehorses
Sue J. Dyson, Carolyne A. Tranquille, Simon N. Collins, Tim D.H. Parkin, Rachel C. Murray, 2011,
External characteristics of the lateral aspect of the hoof differ between non-lame and lame horses,
The Veterinary Journal, Volume 190, Issue 3, Pages 364-371,
Parkes and Witte, 2015, The foot–surface interaction and its impact on musculoskeletal adaptation and injury risk in the horse, Equine Veterinary Journal, Vol 47
Roepstorff, L., Johnston, C. and Drevemo, S. (1999) The effect of shoeing on kinetics and kinematics during the stance phase. Equine Vet. J. 31, Suppl. 30, 279‐285.
Willem Back*, Maaike HM van Schie and Jessica N Pol, 2006, Synthetic shoes attenuate hoof impact in the trotting warmblood horse, Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology 3(3); 143–151
Moore, L.V.; Zsoldos, R.R.; Licka, T.F. Trot Accelerations of Equine Front and Hind Hooves Shod with Polyurethane Composite Shoes and Steel Shoes on Asphalt. Animals 2019, 9, 1119.
YOSHIHARA, E., TAKAHASHI, T., OTSUKA, N., ISAYAMA, T., TOMIYAMA, T., HIRAGA, A. and WADA, S. (2010), Heel movement in horses: comparison between glued and nailed horse shoes at different speeds. Equine Veterinary Journal, 42: 431-435. doi:10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00243.x
Interview with Dr. Tomas Teskey DVM
https://youtu.be/gQ_UPrPIt0w
Video with Dr Bowker on the digital cushion: https://youtu.be/D_8THtypz38
Video from the recent Swedish study: https://youtu.be/5FTlpFwtCiM
Other articles and resources:
https://equisearch.com/articles/barefoot_112507/
