A very controversial topic between horse people is shoeing your horse versus allowing your horse to be barefoot. Some people firmly believe that horses should never have shoes whilst others believe shoes can be beneficial. The reality is there is no hard and fast rule and the situation, health of the horse, health of the foot and conditions of work all impact what is the best option.
SHOES
Therapeutic shoeing – this is often implemented by vets and farriers to tighten the foot (prevent flaring), reduce an underrun heel, manage toe length and balance the wear and growth of the foot. Sometimes lifting the foot off the ground can also prevent stone bruising or protect horses with rotated pedal bones (laminitis) or thin soles.
Shoes for work – high intensity, high frequency work can often wear the hooves faster than they are able to grow, making shoes important for protecting the foot and safely allowing this level of training. Shoes can also increase traction and performance.
Balancing the angle of the foot – some expert farriers are able to use shoes and wedges to improve the angle of the foot by altering the weight bearing axis. This can be done in club footed or flat footed horses depending on severity and initiating cause.
BAREFOOT
Some circumstances are appropriate to leave a horse barefoot, such as competing in less vigorous events and pleasure horses assuming the horse is given time to adjust being barefoot. Some farriers are able to provide therapeutic trimming for horses where conformation is not ideal, sometimes needing radiographs to aid in decision making.
It is important to realise that horseshoes are not an extension of the horse’s foot as it changes the properties of hoof to ground interaction. Without a shoe, there is one interface between the ground and the hoof compared to a shoe which creates two interfaces; one between the hoof and the shoe and one between the shoe and the ground. There are some horses that require to be shod and some that can go barefoot. Therefore no blanket statement can be made that all horses need shoes or not as all horses are individuals and their requirements vary.
If you have any questions about your horses feet, confirmation or any other issues they might be having please give our helpful team a call on 07 4982 2552 or visit our common conditions page on our website for more information.