Horse Shoes; Pros & Cons - Rick Gore Horsemanship

Posted by Rick Gore
Category: General

Too little land to support horse herds; Too many wild horses; No place for wild herds; BLM to euthanize  over 30,000 Wild Mustangs; and many other head lines about how there is not enough land to support wild herds, yet the herds keep growing…  How can this be?  There are no stalls in the wild, no blankets, no worming schedules, no shots, no fresh Alfalfa and worst of all NO horse shoes!  So how do all these horses keep living and reproducing so abundantly?  How in the world can all these horses continue to survive and thrive without the help of humans?  (Read my Horse History page for more information about the history of horses) http://www.thinklikeahorse.org/

I have just added an "Amazing Horse Hoof" page to my web site with lots of hoof information:

 www.thinklikeahorse.org/index-28.html

I have a photo on this page that shows a thermograph image of a horse with only one horse shoe on. It is very easy to see the lack of blood flow to the shod hoof and very easy to see the good blood flow to the three unshod hooves. Study after study keeps confirming that metal shoes nailed into the hoof causes pain, impaction damage, stress fractures and prevents the hoof from operating like it should.

Horses have been around for countless years.  Somehow, they continue to grow in numbers, even with the shrinking supply of open lands.  The reason is simple; they are a perfect example of “survival of the fittest.” Natural thinning of the herd by many factors, including man and an exceptional ability to adapt to different environments, enables them to flourish both in the wild and in domestication.  A couple of things you do not see in the wild are horseshoes and Farriers.  Over the thousands and millions of years, horses have never been shod in the wild.  Yet somehow, they continue to thrive, grow and succeed.

Yes, horseshoes have been around for a number of years and were developed, designed and promoted for the benefit of man. Let me say this again, nailing metal shoes to horse’s hoof was designed to help man, NOT the horse.  Horseshoes are used to keep horses in unnatural environments, such as stalled and on stoned floors where the horse was never meant to be kept for long periods of time.  In these man-made conditions, the horse’s hoof deteriorates from the lack of exercise and blood flow, the urine and feces soaked floors destroy the hoof’s reliability, create bacteria pools, the shavings and arena footings strip the moisture from the hoof making it brittle and frail and the many unnatural footing does not facilitate chipping or natural hoof sculpting.  However, these conditions do make it easier for the rider to catch their horse, easier to keep their horse clean, easier to keep the horse free of natural scarps and cuts from horse play and herd behavior and easier to ride their horse without concern for the footing or ground conditions, but it does nothing for the benefit of the horse.  Other ways man have been able to weaken the horse’s foot is by over breeding, inner breeding and close bloodline breeding, all of which have contributed to weakening the hoof wall of the horse.  Racing Thoroughbreds are a perfect example of this and the Quarter Horse breed is rapidly following the same path.  In simple terms, domestication of the horse and man’s interference as led to a weaker and genetically flawed hoof for the horse.

Horse shoes are more convenient, makes it easier on the rider, may prevent some soft sole bruising, will allow for longer work hours on the horse and will make the hoof temporarily stronger since it is metal, non-bendable and non-flexible.  Shoes normally only have to be replaced every six to eight weeks and will allow the rider to run and trot over rocks and uneven terrain with less chance of stone bruising.  In some rare occasions, the horseshoe can be used to help a cracked hoof or injured hoof to aid in healing and support.  Horseshoes can also be used for gait management or to improve other movements of the horse.  In most all cases, horseshoes are for the benefit of the human, not for the horse.

So what are some of the cons to horse shoes?  A shoe is made of metal or other hard non-flexible material or impact intensifying substance.  This creates extreme shock and transfers much more stress on the hoof, bones and tendons. A shod hoof receives 10 to 33 times more "impact force" than a hoof this is not shod.  Shoes have to be nailed onto the hoof, in most cases.  These nails puncture the hoof wall, which compromises the structural integrity and strength of that wall.  It also allows for foreign material to now access to the internal hoof where infection can set in and cause real problems.  If the nail is only an 1/8^th of inch off it can puncture the sensitive laminae, damage the soft tissue, penetrate the hoof capsule or puncture the digital cushion.  All of which can cause infection, swelling, bleeding, lameness and extreme pain to the horse.  (Another name for this is called a “Hot Nail” or “Quicking”)  Not to mention that the number one cause of lameness, in shod horses, is bad or incorrect shoeing.  The shock from metal shoes transformed up the hoof and leg can cause chronic lameness, damage to the hoof wall and arthritis in later years.

I have lots of videos on Youtube that talk about this: 

 www.youtube.com/user/horseawareness

Other disadvantages to horseshoes are they cause horses to slip on paved roads and rocks and cause loss of footing on hills and uneven ground. A barefoot horse has better footing than a shod horse. Horseshoes can spark when hitting or sliding on rocks, which causes fires that burn pastures, fences, kill livestock and our horses.  Horseshoes prevent the hoof from flexing and avert the self-adapting qualities of the hoof.  Horses can injury themselves when the rear shoe clips or over-steps onto the rear of the front hooves, causing bruising, cuts and lameness.  A kick from a shod horse will break a leg bone of another horse and do much more damage than an unshod hoof, causing the euthanasia of many horses.  When a shoe falls off or is stepped on and pulled off, the horse is forced to walk around off balance, which creates pain and possible injury to other parts of the horse.  When shoes are thrown or come off in pasture, the rusty and unsanitary nails of these shoes stick up and puncture the sole or other horses creating lameness, infection and injury.  Not to beat a dead horse, so to speak, but I think I covered enough negatives on shoes, but I am sure there are still many others.

On my hoof page of my website, there is an excellent example of a working barefoot hoof flexing.  (A shoe prevents this flexing from happening)

http://www.thinklikeahorse.org/index-28.html

The benefits of barefoot are many and very achievable if more people would get the facts, do their own research and be open to an alternative, to nailing shoes on a horse.  Keeping your horse barefoot takes more caution on your part.  You may have to get off and walk your horse over large rocks for his comfort and to remove your additional weight while walking on rocky terrain.  This is a small price to pay for the many disadvantages of having shoes.  People who ride shod horses think that shoes prevent rocks from bruising the hoof sole.  This is a not true, anyone can look at a horse shoe and see that it will only prevent rocks from hitting the horse shoe part of the hoof, the entire center sole and frog area are still exposed and susceptible stone bruising and punctures.  Shod horses have much softer soles since they never get tough, since they are protected by the shoe.  Barefoot hooves are allowed to flex and function more naturally.  This naturally flexing, increases blood flow, which increases growth and strength of the hoof.  The longer a horse is barefoot the stronger the hoof becomes.  An unshod hoof gets stronger and tougher and the need for shoeing becomes less and less.  Footing is enhanced with a natural hoof as opposed to a shod hoof.  Nails around the barn, in the pasture and in the hoof - almost vanish.  Shoeing expenses are decreased and natural barefoot trimming is replaced.  In non-shod horses, the horse is spared the nails, the metal weight, shock and stress transfer, the chance of a hot nail, poor fitting shoes, uneven shoeing and many other negatives that come with shoeing.

Most Farriers agree that barefoot is better and a more healthy option for most horses.  However, if the client wants shoes, most will not try to convince them not to have them.  I have put some reference links at the bottom of this article and hope that people will take the time to educate themselves so they have a better understanding of horseshoes and barefoot horses and maybe be equipped to make a better informed decision.  I have a collection of many hoof and other anatomy pictures at this link:

www.thinklikeahorse.org/index-5.html

My horses are barefoot.  I like keeping my horses as natural as I can.  Am I bias about horseshoes?  You bet I am and the reason is; “If I was a horse, I would not want nails or shoes on my feet”  I am always bias to do what is better for the horse.

Happy Trials,

Rick

Additional References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_horse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_hoof

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe