To Shoe or Not To Shoe - That is the Question

Like so many modern fads, the issue of whether to maintain a natural hoof or a shod hoof, is not only not new, but it is not an 'issue' at all. This is not to say that the question is not important but rather that treating the idea of maintaining a natural unshod hoof as if it were some great new position in horse care is silly. Talk about an abuse of 'horse sense'; the issue of when and why to leave a horse's hooves in their natural and unshod condition is nothing mmore than traditional common sense.

If a horse has a solid healthy wall that stands up in the most extreme conditions under which he is being used, then why would anyone want to shoe it? It would be a waste of money and a less healthy and natural situation than simply maintaining it as needed, i.e. trimming as needed. When hooves 'give' under the uses they are being put to, then shoes become an aid to keeping feet healthy. Splits, cracks and chips in the wall can be avoided by shoeing. Sore feet resulting from soles too close to the ground can be remedied with shoes and pads. And a host of other foot problems can be remedied by proper shoeing. But shy of these reasons there is no need to shoe when shoes are not helping anything. Its much more desirable to have a hoof that is healthy in its natural state.

If I'm not mistaken in generalizing it appears that the front feet carry most of a horses weight and take the most abuse. For this reason they show the most wear and problems. It is not uncommon for front feet to need shoes when the rear feet stand up well. I have often been asked to just shoe the front feet of a horse. (I initially thought it was because the owner wasn't comfortable working on the rear end of his horse, and therefore acted as if the rear end was naturally OK. But I think I was wrong in this, although it may have had some influence on the owner's lack of attention to caring for the rear end.)

Essentially a naturally healthy hoof will have a distance of about a quarter of an inch between the bottom of the wall and the surface of the sole. This will put the major impact, the concussion, on the tough wall and the minor pressure on the sole which needs pressure on it in order to function as a pump for the blood. These dimensions should be kept in mind when trimming and shoeing. When I would trim without shoeing, I would normally allow a quarter of an inch of wall to extend beyond the sole. With a shoe ( which is roughly a quarter inch)I would trim the wall down to less than an eighth of an inch extension beyond the sole.

Well, this has been a very summary view of the question of 'natural' vs 'shod' foot maintenance. As I said, it is once again a matter of common sense, in the world of Horse Sense.