John Lyons Horse Trainer/Clinician

Horse & Rider, "Is Barefoot Better?"
"You don't need shoes just because you ride a horse, and leaving shoes off is ideal for forming a healthier, stronger foot."

Pete Ramey Farrier & Hoof Care Instructor, AANHCP

Horse & Rider, "Is Barefoot Better?"
"Because the bare foot is such an effective blood pump, the horse's heart doesn't have to work as hard. Endurance riders have known this for a while -- it's why many of them use boots instead of shoes: Their horses recover faster."
"Trimming barefoot riding horses demands a higher level of intuition and competency. A horseshoe or a hoof boot can hide even the most serious errors in judgement (for a while). A mistake on a barefoot riding horse will tell on you in a heartbeat!"

Clinton Anderson Horse Trainer/Clinician

Horse & Rider, "Is Barefoot Better?"
"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."

Debora Ash AFA Farrier, BHS Instructor, Co-Author

"The greatest advantage is to hoof health. By leaving a horse barefoot, one allows the hoof's natural functions of shock absorption, traction, and biomechanics to perform at their optimum. Shoes inhibit natural function and the horse's natural way of going, and limb interference with shoes can cause injury."

I.C. Gross Royal Veterinary School of Stuttgart

"The question of whether shoeing is the means by which to keep hooves sound, is answered in the negative."

Emil Carre AFA President & Farrier

"The foot was designed to be unshod. Anything that you add to the foot, like a horseshoe that is nailed on, is going to interfere with the foot's natural process. Most horseshoes have six to eight nails, possibly one to three clips, all of which constrict the foot's ability to expand and contract. Add pads, packing, any number of alternatives to the shoe, and you create a gait alteration. It all interferes with the natural process of the mechanism. Ideally, for the foot to work the way it's been designed through evolution to work, you'd rather do less than more to the foot. But that may or may not be a realistic wish."

K.C. LaPierre Hoof Care Instructor; Author, The Chosen Road

"The horse in its natural state needs no shoes to survive." ... "it became apparent that the traditional farrier sciences are fixated on following a road that can only lead to further dependency on that which is unnatural." ... "Instead of constantly trying to manage the hoof from the outside with shoes of every description, pads, acrylics and molds, it has become apparent that we can improve the hoof, performance in the horse, and the long-term welfare of the horse by observing and implementing theory and method dictated by nature and common sense." ... "Nature provides the answers if you are willing to learn. Today, many factors cloud our ability to make the right decisions." ... "Once proper neurological and biomechanical function is achieved in the distorted or diseased hoof, many lame horses return to soundness, both physically and mentally. Not by design, but rather by nature, the traditional horseshoe cannot work to aid in this rehabilitation." ... "The shoe becomes a permanent environmental influence on the hoof. One that is proving to be less than ideal."

Prof. William Russell Scientific Horse Shoeing

"There is no use in mincing matters, for the more one knows about shoeing, the more he knows that the common mode of doing the work is so frequently destructive, that we seldom meet with a horse whose feet have not in some degree lost their natural form, and this deviation from their original shape is generally proportioned to the length of time he has worn shoes."

American Farriers Journal Nov. 2002, v.26 #6, p.5

“Of the 122 million equines found around the world, no more than 10 percent are clinically sound. Some ten percent (12.2 million) are clinically, completely and unusably lame. The remaining 80 percent (97.6 million) are some what lame... and could not pass a soundness evaluation test."

Steve Dick Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association

“A horse that is sound only in shoes, is not a sound horse."

W.E. Webb 1872

“I should have liked to draw the attention of the whole learned fraternity of blacksmiths, who mutilate horses, the world over. The hoofs were as solid and as sound as ivory, without a crack or wrong growth of any sort. It is noticeable that the equine race, in its wild state, has none of the ills of the species domesticated. The sorrows of horse-flesh are the fruits of civilization. By the study and imitation of Nature's methods, we could greatly increase the usefulness of these valuable servants, and remove temptation from the paths of many men who lead blameless lives, except in the single matter of horse-trades."

Paul Chapman Farrier/Instructor

"Horse shoes by design will dramatically reduce the blood circulation in the hoof, unbalance the limb, and increase the shock on the leg..."
"There is no condition that a horse's hoof can suffer that a shoe cannot make worse."
"Some farriers are going to tell you that you need to shoe your horse for the good health of your horse. If you were to ask your horse instead of the farrier, I would expect the answer to come back more like, 'Could you please shoe them darn flies'."

Tim Quinn, Certified Journeyman Farrier Richard Duggan, owner of Minn. School of Horseshoeing

TheHorse.com
"Quinn and Duggan do agree on one thing: Shoeing is essentially a necessary evil, but if you have a chance to pull your horse's footwear for the winter, they encourage it. In fact, Duggan says, 'It's imperative that people take shoes off their horses'." ..."Shoeing he explains, 'restricts physiological movement of the hooves. It restricts normal changes in the form that occur in the horse's hooves. Circulation is altered and biomechanical forces become abnormal'."..."Conversely, going barefoot allows natural physiological movement. 'That means good circulation, which means good nutrition (to the hoof), which produces strong healthy horn.' says Duggan."

Peter Laidely The Natural Hoofman

"We may choose to have a professional do some, or all, of our hoofcare, we may choose to do some, or all, of it our self, but as owners we should be responsible to make sure that our horses' feet are kept as healthy and sound as possible. In my opinion, that means, not nailing metal shoes onto a living creature but rather trimming the hoofs to keep the best, most functional shape, and looking to see the hoof respond by becoming strong and healthy enough to allow the horse to perform at the required level, without any extra protection. Unfortunately, many horse owners, farriers and traditional veterinarians still persist in using metal horseshoes or trimming techniques that do not conform to the best treatment for our domestic horses."

Carolyn Myre AANHCP PT Practitioner

"Firstly, shoeing a horse removes his natural weight bearing hoof mechanism. This happens because the shoe removes the sole, frogs and bars from weight bearing and places all the horses weight on just the hoof walls leaving no support underneath the sole and frogs either. Secondly, when a shoe is applied to the hoof, it is applied when the hoof is in its non-loading or non weight-bearing state." ... "Eventually the internal tissues will be damaged and later die off. You will then begin to see hoof pathologies such as abscessing, navicular changes, pedal osteitis, even founder. Other weaknesses also result from shoeing such as thin and weak soles, frogs and bars not to mention thin, brittle hoof walls. These things contribute to sole bruising, pedal osteitis, toe first landing etc. All hoof pathologies are direct results from broken down hoof mechanism due to one or a combination of any of un-natural shoeing, un-natural diet and un-natural riding practices."

Father & Sons Enterprises, LLC

"I only know that what I have seen and learned since my traditional training works better than the old way. It is a higher, more certain, more efficacious, more sustainable form of hoof care than fixing metal or plastic bands on horse’s feet. Consequently I cannot, in good conscience, put another shoe on a horse."

Marjorie Smith

"A rough estimate is that a medium-sized, barefoot horse pumps a gallon (4 liters) through its four feet in about 20 strides." ... "Horsehoes are nailed onto the foot when it is in the closed, off-the-ground position. With a shoe on, the hoof can't flex, so the pump doesn't work; not enough blood and nutrients are pulled into the foot to build and maintain strong tissues." ... "In the tough yet elastic barefoot hoof, the flexing of the weighted hoof can absorb as much as 2,000 lbs. of concussion. But the horseshoe holds the foot inflexible, cancelling out 75% of its ability to absorb shock. Instead, the concussion goes on up the leg and damages joints and tendons that were not designed to take so much shock."

Gwenyth Santagate Penzance Equine Solutions

"It's not about the horse not being able to be barefoot REGARDLESS of discipline; it's about the human and his or her choices. Any horse CAN be barefoot and is healthier for it. But ... if someone is consulting w/me about whether or not to remove the shoes on the horse and that person is giving me alot of "cant's" or "wont's" then I generally say, "I'm sorry. I can't help you, then. But here's the number for so and so who may be able to better serve your needs." I won't pull the shoes on a horse where the owner is not dedicated to what the HORSE needs - it's not fair to the horse."

Donn Egidio PT, AANHCP

"Have you ever noticed that many people don't have their horses' rear hoofs shod? Isn't it strange how you rarely hear about the rear hoofs having problems? No founder starting on the rears, no navicular, sole bruises, or abscesses. Could it be because the rear hoofs are left unshod, and that's the way nature intended for them to be? Tough, solid, hard hoofs. The sole in constant contact with the ground, the walls hardly ever chipping or cracking."

Linnie Brister Natural Barefoot Trimming

"I had pulled those shoes so I could better monitor what was going on, I had no intention of going barefoot for life or becoming a barefoot “tree hugger”… But that IS the beauty of barefoot – the hoof can respond and you can better monitor what is going on… I felt like it was a good idea at first “to figure things out” – but it did not take me long to realize, that is exactly WHY barefoot is better." ... "To me, an unsound horse, with shoes thrown on top, who is now seemingly sounder, is STILL an unsound horse. All that has happened is things have gotten more confusing, not necessarily better. It may seem like a great fix at the time – but when you go on this roller coaster year after year, horse after horse, you learn it is not a fix at all. And worst of all, often when you continue on this roller coaster, the REAL problem with the horse’s feet is not being addressed – and often the horse is only getting more damage to his feet which will take away from his future level of soundness."

Anne Riddell AANHCP

"Horses are not born with steel nailed to their feet. They have lived for millions of years without the interference of man. Why would we ever even think of tampering with the mechanics of the Bumble Bee?" ... "All our horses Race Barefoot and compete Hunter/Jumper barefoot on any terrain. Yours Can Too!!"

Cheryl Henderson ABC Hoofcare, Oregon School of Natural Hoof Care

"The heart of the horse is too small to pump the blood throughout. Each hoof is a biomechanical pump that supports circulation. The hoof will charge and disperse 1/4 cup of blood with each step, removing toxins and supporting the health of the hoof and the horse." ... "The hoof is a shock absorber and disperses energy throughout the hoof and up the leg. The fores are round shaped for concussion. The hinds are spade shaped for impulsion." ... "[When Domesticated] Horses lose their ability to maintain their hooves, diet and teeth. Monthly hoof trimming annual dental care and their balanced diet is now your responsibility."

Paul Chapman Farrier/Clinician

"Horses have existed in the wild for millions of years without wearing steel shoes or rugs. They have not been fed two meals a day or been isolated in a stall. We can learn so much by returning out horses to the living conditions provided by Mother Nature that have served the wild horse so well. Wild horses generally live to be 40 years of age or more, much longer than the average domestic horse. So Why? when other domestic animals live longer."

Lord Byron

“With flowing tail, and flying mane,
Wide nostrils never stretched by pain,
Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein,
And feet that iron never shod,
And flanks unscarred by spur or rod,
A thousand horse, the wild, the free,
Like waves that follow o'er the sea."

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The information on this site is not meant to diagnose or prescribe for you. This information is not intended to be used as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Cheryl McNamee-Sutor is a certified mentor hoof groom, wholistic bare hoof specialist, horse trainer, reiki practitioner, and an educator and distributor of therapeutic-grade essential oils; NOT a licensed doctor or veterinarian. If you are sick, injured or otherwise unhealthy, please consult with a licensed doctor.
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