05/06/2020
WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD…
I’m gonna go there. Straight to the root of this whole notion of ‘no foot, no horse’. Now, if you’re in the camp where you shoe ‘em all, all the time, nothing I say here will change your mind. If you’re in the band of barefoot trimmers, nothing I say here will change your mind. But for what it’s worth, I’m going to tell you my side of the story.
I’ve showed up to work on the lone barefoot horse. She did her job and at the end of the day, I unsaddled with all the riders and we went for a beer. There were no comments made, because my mare had as much foot under her after eight hours’ hard riding, as she did at the start of the day.
I’ve also showed up to ride a barefoot horse, who, at the end of the day, was plumb out of foot. The ground was gravelly sand that, with every step, wore some of his hoof wall away. By day’s end, I was on a sore horse. I received a few legit comments from folks who were forced to put new iron on, every four weeks. They’d literally ride right through the toes of their shoes ‘til nothing was left. My horses weren’t going barefoot because it was a hill I was prepared to die on... I tend to be a little cheap, is all.
The flip side of this scenario is when I've hauled in to certain places, where people say hurtful things about my shod horse. They don’t ask if I’m trying to deal with an issue, or if I’m riding on sheer ice, or rocks or gravel roads. They just let it be known that if I loved my horses, if I knew any better, they would be barefoot. Naturally.
Thing is, my horses aren’t always living natural lives.
Most of my horses go barefoot, most of the time. If I’m riding a horse who is gimpy, who has a history of wanting and liking his shoes, who is going to be working on ground that will leave him with less hoof wall at the end of the day than when he began it… he will be shod. My need to fit in with any particular group of people does not trump what my horse is trying to say.
Can we acclimate our barefoot horses to tread upon any ground? Often, yes, if that’s what’s important to us. It’s maybe not so important to me. My horses go eight months of the year barefoot, so if they're tender when I want to ride come summer, I figure they've had their chance to toughen up.
I've little desire to buckle up any brand of horse boot, just to see him through without shoes. To me, rubber boots are no more natural than a set of plates. I’ve been forced to use them on one horse whose heel bulbs eventually rubbed raw with them, due to the miles we made through calving season. In trying to make him comfortable, I still ended up making him sore.
No matter what, though, I will not shame you into thinking as I do. I believe every single one of us is trying to do what's best for the horse.
The fervour of the barefoot versus shoeing argument grows old… although, looking back, it’s not an old argument. Years ago, people were more worried about whether their horses were going well, or whether they had enough to eat. We didn’t fight about bitting, shoeing, helmets and other things that seem to keep us busy now. Maybe not having the internet helped.
In the end, I’ll keep on listening to my hoof care professional. We’ll both listen to my horses. They have a pretty good way of saying whether they need to go barefoot, or whether they could use shoes. We’ll pay attention to their angles and whether or not they have healthy frogs, bars, soles and supportive heels.
For about four years, I hauled one of my horses to a barefoot trimmer who came very highly recommended. It was important to me to do my very best to make this horse’s life easier. Miracles were promised. He had issues going in and you know, four years later, he was still the exact same horse. I’ll never know whether my extra care had any effect on his quality of life but I think it made me feel better. I don’t believe it solved all his problems, however. The horse just had unfortunate feet.
I’ve learned that it can be hard, in certain circles, to sell a horse who likes his shoes.
Even in a world where a safe, well-trained horse is hard to find, there are many people who won’t look at a shod horse. I’ll explain the whys and still, people will reluctantly buy such horses and then, put them barefoot when they get home. Six months later, I’m invariably asked to take my nice horse back because ‘he can’t go sound’.
I have a horse right now who will probably be with me ‘til his dying day. He’s big. He’s got small feet. They’ve not got contracted heels, he just requires a larger base of support. The issue should not be whether or not he needs front shoes with pads but why his sire and dam were bred, in the first place.
Truth is, we’ve got away from breeding horses for structurally-sound conformation, which includes correct feet. We’re in an era where it’s more important to mate popular bloodlines with ‘10 movement’ or ‘lots of cow’. We’re engaged in competitive sport that is so far from natural living that we need to help our horses with the appropriate footwear, whether it’s shoes with borium, threaded studs, or rear sliders. To do any less and compete, would actually jeopardize the welfare of both horse and rider.
So, my horses are neither kept shod, nor barefoot trimmed. They are maintained to the best of my ability, so that they may be comfortable and safe, doing whatever it is that I require of them. Shod or barefoot, nobody wants to ride a sore horse.
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📷 ‘Shoeing’ by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A., 1844.
