My Barefoot Babies

Why did man decide to nail steel "shoes" to the bottoms of horses' feet? Horses got along fine for eons without them. Some of those eons were even carrying pre-iron age man. So why the shoes?

Perhaps it was thought that nailing metal parts to these noble creatures would transform them into more mechanized conveyances.

But what's the excuse now?

I for one proudly keep my horses un-shod. Not to follow some back-to-nature fad either... in fact, I didn't even know it was a fad until I read about it in this month's issue of Horse & Rider. My horses have lived their entire lives un-shod. I jump and trail ride, and I ride over pavement and rocky ground - all types of terrain. The fact is, my two tobianos have white legs and hooves, which are supposedly softer and more prone to cracks. I know that once shod, however, their feet would get worse and I'd have to keep them shod. The only way to keep their feet tough and resilient is to never start with shoes to begin with.

To me, it only makes sense. Horses were not meant to hobble around on their hoof walls; the whole foot was designed to help absorb shock. Only recently has research begun to recognize that Mother Nature had it right to begin with.

The barefoot movement is becoming more mainstream. Many big-name trainers like Clint Anderson and John Lyons have seen the merits of keeping shoes off their horses and many tender-footed and lame horses have been made sound by freeing their feet.

Yes, vindication is lovely.

Of course, one most be careful. You can't just rip off the horseshoes and go tearing through the hills. (Imagine a human wearing shoes all winter long, then one day deciding to go hiking in the woods barefooted - OUCH!) You must allow a period for feet to toughen and callus up. Also, make sure your farrier knows better than to do just a pasture trim. Mine knows my guys are worked on their barefeet, so he leaves a little cushion in the frog and heel trims down without removing calluses around the toe.

Althogether I've seen far fewer chips and breaks, and fewer tenderness and lameness issues in my two than in any of the shod horses I've known. Farrier bills are smaller and I don't have too much to fear from a pasture kick. For me and my horses, barefoot is definately best.

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Yes, I know something about horses and have my opinions about how to properly raise and care for them. However, I know very little about, oh, stock option investing, for example. The great thing is that I can go online to learn about stocks if I am so inclined. If I decide my car insurance is too high, I can find car insurance quotes on the web. If I decide this stiff kitchen chair is killing me as I sit at my computer, I can check out commercial office chairs on the Internet. I can even do something totally out of character if I want, such as hopping over to look at Airsoft Guns. Now, I'm no fan of guns (despite an overwhelming "hunter's" mentality in Idaho), but these are paintball guns; they're supposed to be safer than the real thing.

See? I can move totally away from the subject of horses... well, at least for a little while.