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- Foot of a Quarter Horse showing the concave sole, healthy frog, and beveled hoof wall of a correct
"You don't need shoes just because you ride a horse, and leaving shoes off is ideal for forming a healthier, stronger foot," he maintains. "I put gravel in my pastures where the horses walk to help toughen their feet. But you have to use common sense, too. If I were roping all the time in a sand arena, I'd probably use shoes."
Clinton Anderson quit using traditional shoeing a year and a half ago, and now puts hind shoes only on his reiners. "You do need the shoes in back to be able to slide," he says. "But other than that, with the right trimming, there's no reason to shoe. The feet don't change overnight--I've found it takes anywhere from six months to a year for them to fully make the transition--but when they do, they get hard and strong and tough enough for most any kind of riding."
Of course, not everyone agrees this is so, and there are any number of traditional farriers and longtime horsemen who'll tell you the "barefoot thing" is misguided, plain and simple. But one undeniable strength of the natural hoof care movement is its emphasis on maximizing the health potential of every foot.
"The key difference between traditional farrier care and the barefoot approach is that we're zoomed in on figuring out how to make all horses grow good feet," says Ramey. "A vet I work with told me recently he used to look at a horse with bad hooves and say, 'Wow--that horse has awful feet.' Now he says, 'Wow--that horse could have good feet if we do this and this and this.' It's a significant difference."
For my part, I'm impressed enough with the underlying science and the case histories to give barefoot a try. My horses received a natural trim from an AANHCP-certified practitioner last December, and are spending several months turned out in an area with varied terrain. When my daughter and I resume riding, we'll use boots if necessary until their feet are sufficiently remodeled.
At the end of the transition period, the worst-case scenario is that our horses will have much healthier hooves on which to nail shoes. And if they wind up happy without their shoes, even better.
This article first appeared in the February 2006 version of Horse & Rider magazine. For more information on going shoeless check out an interview with Pete Ramey in the December 2007 issue.
