02/12/2026
Do You Really "Have to Shoe" Your Horse?
This article is actually about intention, and taking responsibility for your decisions. It is primarily written for barefooters who want to be able to discuss productively with their horse friends who keep their own equines shod. Arguing is never productive, but planting seeds is always useful, even if it simply helps maintain your friendship.
If someone tells you they “must shoe” their horse, make sure to ask why. Chances are, what they are really saying is that they do not want to bother themselves with learning how to barefoot their horse – or have to face up to their own horse’s severe hoof pathology. It is too much trouble for them to learn about the physiologically correct hoof form and the biological needs of an equine. If they readily agree with those statements, fine – as long as they are consciously aware of their decision! And we, as barefoot horse owners, must respect their personal decisions – just as we ask shod horse owners to respect ours. However, if in the same breath as “have to shoe” they also describe it as “what’s best for the horse”… then you might need to point them in a new direction. Shoeing is best for humans – not horses, end of story. One need only to look at horses’ successful survival without shoes for millennia to confirm that (photo courtesy of Erin Phillips, Mustang Mission):
Further, it is an entirely different matter when someone uses the “must shoe” argument to give advice to horseowners, or to criticize the act of barefooting horses at all. What does a “must shoe” statement say in this situation? Sadly, it shows a huge lack of understanding, especially disheartening when it is a person in a position of authority or accomplishment. It can mean that the person speaking lacked the knowledge and skill to be able to barefoot their own horses successfully, and so their own unsuccessful experiences make them determine barefoot simply cannot work for anyone.
It can be a person’s attitude alone that opens or shuts the doors in life: if you believe you will fail, you will. If you believe barefoot cannot work, it won’t – for you. Some people are at a point in their lives where they simply can’t accept new traditions or ideas – “my horses have always been shod, and dangit, they always will be!” Many people’s lives and experiences have been filled with the tradition of shoeing horses, and they cannot accept that it may have been detrimental to their horse’s health...
Read the full article here:
Do You Really "Have to Shoe" Your Horse?
https://www.thehorseshoof.com/do-you-really-have-to-shoe-your-horse/
*From January 2026 BAREFOOT NEWS - Our FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
