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Why a page on feet? There have been some controversial discoveries and research lately on the effects of shoeing vs. not shoeing horses. New boots form fitted to the horse's foot and more forgiving and elastic than metal shoes are being used by long distance riders. Show jumpers in Europe are showing their Grand Prix horses in boots instead of shoes.
Horses not being used in high stress work (i.e. being ridden less than 20 miles a day) are going barefoot all the time with a special trim first seen in nature on wild horses, whose hooves are trimmed by the territory they live in.
Sarah has fairly typical Thoroughbred feet, with thin walls. Early on, it was difficult to keep a shoe on her... she'd lose them within a couple of weeks, one at a time. Her walls couldn't hold the nails. So, we went to toe clips, which helped somewhat.
Next, I added Farriers Formula to her feed, which showed results within 6 months, and by a year her walls were much tougher. Not thicker, but definitely tougher. I'll keep her on that for the rest of her life.
Still, when I had her barefoot for a break once a year, her feet would chip and tear. Luckily, she never got any serious cracks. I knew there must be something more I could do. After all, no foot, no horse.
Rather than give the information about special trimming and taking her barefoot (no shoes for life!), I will refer to an article I wrote for the Florida Wild Horses and Burros Association, at http://www.flwildhorse.org/flmustanghooves.html. It's written for mustang owners, but applies to all horses, taking into account that most domestic horses do not have the very dense, thick and hard hoof horn mustangs do. Therefore, it takes their hooves longer to adjust to going barefoot, and they may need hoof boots on their front feet while being ridden on trails that are rocky. You can find information about the Old Mac's hoof protection system here: http://www.equinenet.org/ernet/oldmacs.html. These boots are the most practical and affordable ones for use in pleasure and trail riding. If you will be doing endurance or extremely high performance riding like racing, I'd recommend the Horsneaker, which has a website at www.horsneaker.com. They cost quite a bit more, but are the top of the line boots made today, in my opinion. Sarah likes her Old Mac's fine, and they have not changed her stride or action.
On to Sarah's Heart
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