Alan Smith DAEP BEng
Equine Podiatrist
Performance Footcare Without Shoes

To shoe or not to shoe?

It has long been recognised by some farriers that shoeing is detrimental to the health of equine feet, although many modern farriers do not accept this. The following is an excerpt from the book "Scientific Horse Shoeing" written in the late 1800s by Prof. William Russell:

'There is no use in mincing matters, for the more one knows about shoeing, the more he knows that the common mode of doing 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 proportional to the length of time he has worn shoes.'

Numerous attempts have been made in the last century to overcome this problem, including hinged shoes and thinning of the sole to increase flexion, but nobody has yet found a viable way of making a metal shoe that does not have a detrimental effect.

A century ago when most horses led short lives of walking on hard abrasive surfaces in towns & cities for many hours a day, shoeing was a very sensible thing to do. However, even then, some working farm horses were never shod, and did very well. Now that horses are largely used for leisure activities and work in a completely different way, it is appropriate to re-assess how we look after their feet. I am not against shoes, but think that they are a tool that is often overused, and that most horses would be better off without them.

When an owner decides to remove their horse's shoes they are taking on a significant responsibility. With shoeing, it is regarded as normal to employ the farrier to take responsibility, and to assume that everything will be fine until the next visit. With AEP it is important for the owner to commit to what is required and take responsibility for their horse's feet. The transition from being shod (or unshod on soft pasture) can sometimes be time consuming and expensive. However, it is often quite straightforward, and in the long term it may be cheaper and easier than shoeing. It is important for the horse's welfare that the owner follow the advice of their EP to make sure that the transition is as painless as possible. In my opinion the results are well worth the effort. Your horse will probably move better, you will learn a lot and become closer to your horse.

It is important to realise that it is not just horses with good feet that can go shoeless. It is usually bad feet that benefit the most. Even thoroughbreds with their notoriously poor foot conformation can do very well.

Some good reasons for removing your horse's shoes:

• You want the best possible health for your horse's feet.
• Your horse's feet are deteriorating with shoes on.
• Your horse suffers from recurring lameness in his feet.
• Flared or cracked hoof walls.
• Contracted heels and shrunken frog.
• Shoes keep on falling off because the hoof wall has become too thin.
• Hoof wall is deformed.
• Feet are out of balance.
• Tripping or stiff looking movement.
• Recurrent abscesses.

Reasons for using Applied Equine Podiatry for keeping a horse shoeless:

• You want to understand and take responsibility for your horse's health.
• You like the idea of letting nature look after itself as much as possible.
• Your horse is shoeless but is out of balance or uncomfortable.
• You would like your horse to have the healthiest feet possible.

Advantages of being shoeless:

• Good grip on tarmac, drain covers, concrete & soft ground.
• Reduced concussion because feet are naturally very good shock absorbers.
• Good resistance to infection, and no hidden places or nail holes for it to develop in.
• Healthy feet are more resistant to cracking, flare and internal injury.
• Beautiful looking feet.

Some reasons for keeping shoes on your horse:

• You wish to get higher performance from their horse's feet than can be realistically achieved shoeless, for example standardbred racing on hard abrasive surfaces. In this instance I would recommend that you remove shoes between racing seasons to help maintain health.
• When the foot has suffered some sort of injury that needs a shoe to hold it together.
• When the horse is very old and is doing well with shoes on.
• You want an instantly usable horse without having to spend time considering his feet.
• You wish to delegate care of your horse's feet to somebody else, and do not want to take any responsibility yourself.
• You are looking for a cheap option. AEP may be cheaper in the long term, but this is not a good reason for removing shoes.