25/11/2023
There we go folks and I can't agree more. Discipline depending and other factors to be taken into consideration.
Did you know, sometimes barefoot is best and sometimes shod is?
A recent post sparked another huge debate on barefoot versus shod. I am and always will be an advocate for the barefoot. But is that ideal always achievable in the midst of the un-ideal!?
Understanding variables is a fundamental part of scientific appraisal. Variables make this debate far more complexed then some are willing to appreciate. On both sides of the fence. This brings me back to the resounding message I try to advocate in this parley, what is best for the individual horse!? We can not approach this subject with defiant dogma!
This remains my biggest frustration with this subject.
As someone with this mindset, I have treated both shod horses by going barefoot and barefoot horses by shoeing. With less and less of my horses being shod with the existence of quality boots such as Scoot Boots and others.
I actively encourage my clients go barefoot while acknowledging when factors create the necessity for farriery.
To outline my take, I have condensed years of research, experience and musings into a paragraph.
“A huge proportion of the domestic horse population are shod unnecessarily. The application of anything to the feet has implications. However, due to human demands, breeding, management and the negation of Darwin’s law, a proportion of the domestic horse population require podiatry applications to mitigate physiological discrepancies.”
Lets unpack that paragraph. Firstly, we can’t compare domestic horses with wild ones. Apples and pears. Like comparing dogs and wolves. Human influences have created a different species.
It’s almost impossible for humans to provide the exact environment, feeding habits, roaming habits etc etc that the hoof has evolved to cope with. In fact we provide almost the opposite. Confinement, and unnatural food, and then we put tack on them a bit in their mouth, sit on their backs and ride round an arena doing things their musculoskeletal system isn’t designed to do. Add to this many other factors like backing and training them before their feet or musculoskeletal system is adequately developed. Non of this is natural! Apples and pears!
All of this is going to have an effect on their feet. However, Farriers and owners have got to acknowledge the research that shows shoeing affects hoof function, influencing hoof morphology and could be a compounding factor in the prevalence of poor hoof proportions. This should be factored into the decision making process. Is shoeing necessary?
To really be able to have the debate we also need to outline what we mean by shod. There are modern applications now such as 3D HoofCare pads with different packings, that mitigate many of the unintended consequences of shoeing. For instance, we know that on hard surfaces steel shoes increase shock, however, composite shoes actually created less shock then the barefoot!
Those of us that recognise farriery needs to keep questioning itself, continue to explore other modern materials and ways of protecting the hoof in a less detrimental way.
But for now, practicality and economics are deciding factors.
On soft surfaces there are a few studies that have suggested improved performance when shod, but no one has measured the differences comprehensively between barefoot and shoeing methods yet so we cant discuss that point without bias.
We know that tradition shoes reduce the natural deformation of the hoof, however frog support padding returns some of this expansion of the hoof.
We know that traditional open heel shoes negate some haemodynamic function, however this can be re activated again with modern applications .
So again, what shoeing are we talking about? We can’t tarnish every shoeing method with the same brush!
Neither can we judge farriery by the disappointing work that ends up at the rasp of the podiatrist.
I will reiterate that barefoot is the ideal, however, Well shod feet, balanced around the centre of rotation, with the unintended consequences considered, on a suitable shoeing cycle are not fairly represented in the barefoot argument. Although these practices will have the same positive effect as going barefoot. So again, what shoeing are we talking about?
We must also remember that we are dealing with domestication. Barefoot is ideal, but subject to other ideals being in place, ideals that are not practical for many owners!!
Human Influences on equine biomechanics are extensive and therefore influences on hoof morphology are also often abstract and complexed.
We see injuries in the domestic horse that do not exist in the wild horse, in both the barefoot and shod population, why? Because humans that’s why.
Or if they do exist in the wild they would result in death.
One comment stated that all soft tissue injuries are caused by shoes. We can not attribute all issues in the horse to shoes, we have to recognise the implications of everything else we subject them to and the surfaces we work them on!
We can’t blame shoes in isolation without first asking questions of the diet, the workload, the surfaces, the management, training, turnout, breeding, shoeing cycle, shoeing style, age, weight, metabolism, pathology, the list goes on.
If they can’t cope barefoot it’s the trim, another of the statements.
Simply not true, considering the list I just quoted. Reality is in the wild if they couldn’t cope they are dinner. In captivity we are obliged to intervene in some way.
Shoeing is called cruel by some people involved in the debate. But my question is, if you have a horse in pain because of other influential factors not being ideal, is it cruel to insist on remaining barefoot without those issues being addressed? if they can be!?
Once again the horses welfare should come above puritanical ideology.
This is why I will maintain that barefoot is a suitable and indeed better situation for a large proportion of the population. The next step being Scootboot’s and then shoes when the job/environment/conformation/posture requires.
It’s an ideal, but domestication is not.
I will also invite you to read the other articles relating to the subject which have links in them to even further reading….
https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/horse-shoes-back-to-the-future
https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/physiological-implications-of-domestication-on-the-horse
And here is a comprehensive webinar on the subject ..
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/barefoot-vs-shod
Horse Talk
