The Thoughtful Horseman: Barefoot Hoof Care Basics

"All too little attention has been paid to the 'natural' foot. That's the way he was made, that's the way he should go."
J.R. Rooney, DVM
The Lame Horse ( © 1998)

The difference between what barefoot hoof care specialists do and what shoers do doesn't end with the trim and the absence of shoes. Keeping a barefoot horse 100% comfortable requires that the hoof is indeed robustly healthy. We now understand that diet, hygiene, lifestyle, and movement are paramount to a truly healthy hoof.

Much like our own fingernails, the hoof is especially vulnerable to poor diet or metabolic disturbances of any kind. The traditional equine diet, high in protein, sugars and starches, is far too rich for an animal that evolved to thrive on sparse grasses. Feeding a more appropriate diet is critical to keeping a horse sound barefoot. Click HERE to learn more about proper equine nutrition.

Unique to the design of the horse's hoof is the necessity of adequate movement. Feral horses have been tracked using GPS collars traveling an average of between 10 and 20 miles per day. It's no surprise, then, that without thousands of footsteps every day, the horse's hoof becomes weak, and the inner structures atrophy. Housing horses in stalls or small pens severely inhibits movement, and is highly detrimental to the hoof. Click HERE to learn more about creating a healthier lifestyle for your horse.

To add insult to the injury done to the hoof by confinement, small enclosures predispose the hoof to bacterial and fungal infection by making it difficult for the horse not to stand in its own manure and urine. What horsemen refer to as "thrush" is really foot rot, just like trench foot in humans, or hoof rot in cattle and sheep. The high sugar/starch diet exacerbates the problem. Click HERE to learn more about hoof hygiene and eradicating bacterial and fungal infections in the hoof.

A comment I often hear is that barefoot hoof care is not for every horse. A more accurate statement would be that barefoot hoof care is difficult in less-than-optimal horsekeeping situations. But there are creative ways to improve almost any horsekeeping situation. Dedicated owners will do what they can to make healthier choices for their horses, and there are few choices healthier than barefoot hoof care!