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Barefoot Better for the Sole/Soul?
by Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate

When it comes down to our horse's feet, one MUST remember,

"No hoof, no horse."

It cannot be stressed enough that we horseowners must take full responsibility for the health and well-being of our WHOLE horse - this includes its hooves; Especially its hooves.

Taking the whole horse into consideration ensures that all the body parts work together efficiently and healthfully. Afterall, one body part cannot be healthy if the another is not healthy. The body is put together in such a manner that the parts interelate not only physiologically, but chemically and neurologically and anatomically as well. All parts of the horse work together to keep the horse safe and alive at any given point in time.

It is common sense that what goes into the horse's body affects the growth and maintenance of the horse. The input must be sufficient for not only the physical conditioning of the horse for a specific workload, but also according to the horse's individual physical and mental needs. What affects its needs? Environment, Social activity, physical activity, age, condition, training, etc. In essence, everything. This includes the hooves! Any sort of damage or injury to any part of the horse's body will stress the immune system. A stressed immune system will not be as efficient at keeping all parts of the horse in peak condition as it become weakened if not properly replenished. Common sense, right? If a horse's hooves are stressed due to improper trimming, shodding or care, this will weaken the immune system as well as affect the tendons and ligaments of the leg. Working a horse with compromised legs, will thusly affect the respiratory system, cardiovascular system and every other system in the body. They must all work extra hard to keep up with the immune system. This strains all the systems.

White line disease, thrush, bruising, abcessing, 'navicular' - all these common maladies not only cause the horse to be lame, but stresses the entire rest of the horse's body.

Now, think about the natural environment of the wild horse. Think about their feet - they constantly move about and wear down their own hooves. They don't have routine farrier care. They don't have hoof emollients or dressings applied daily. They don't have pieces of iron nailed onto the bottoms of their hooves. They stand in mud, sand, grass, plains, heat, cold, woods - whatever the specific environment offers. They aren't enclosed in a small stall at night. They eat the way they're intended to eat - small amounts most of the day. Inheritantly, they eat what they know is best for their body requirements. They know, instinctively, if they lie down because they don't feel well, they're likely to become a meal for a predator so they keep moving as much as they can. The wild horses run and run well and fast. They travel over hard, rocky ground without lameness or ouchiness. They stand in water to drink periodically throughout the day. Their hooves expand and contract with each step which stimulates the blood flow in the hoof, itself, thus making sure the oxygen content is sufficient for health. The hooves are round and short heeled with short toes; the frogs are wide and thick, able to take the concussion which the terrain dishes out.

Looking a wild horse's feet, one can see exactly the way the hoof is meant to be for the most efficient performance of the horse. But, you say, the horses we keep in domestication are not the same. You are correct. We rasp, nip, trim, nail, slobber oils and tars on the hooves ... all in the name of "healthy" hooves. We think they are more comfortable in a stall of soft, fluffy pine shavings that dry the hooves out in a matter of minutes. We keep our horses in barns with individual compartments (stalls) where one horse cannot have access to another. Most times, one horse cannot even see another horse being caught in a stall with grates on the front and solid walls on the other 3 sides. Sometimes, horses are forced to be stalled 23 hours a day, only taken out of their stall to be undressed from the bustles, blankets, sheets, wraps, and boots to be re-dressed in sheets, pads, harnesses, boots, chains and more. Then "exercised" for a half and hour until the horses flanks are straining to breath and sweat is pouring off the chest - the horse is then undressed again, dried, re-dressed with all the stall regalia and returned to its box. 23 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If the horse does not "perform" to the exemplary degree for which we think they are capable of, then the horse is "punished" or treated in such a manner as to make the horse more "lively" for the show ring. After all - it *is* a business.

Those of us who allow the horse to be a horse - 24 hour turnout and oh my! - the horse is allowed to roll in mud and manure and eat from the ground! - well, we are abusive to the horse, aren't we?  Is nature abusive to the horse? In human terms, yes, nature can be abusive. However, the horse is more than able to adapt to perverse conditions, or, what we humans would call perverse. Otherwise the horse would not still be surviving today as a species after thousands of years!

Take a look at some of the links listed below. You'll find pages written with illustrations and writings on the natural hoof and the natural horse. You'll find opinions from those who have spent years studying the wild horse. Some of it may strike a chord with you - some may cause some serious re-evaluation as to your own horsekeeping practices. Hopefully, these pages will cause a leap in your heart that can only cry out -"YES!" ... YES for the horse! YES! for the barefooted horse that is kept outside allowed to roam its own pasture night and day. YES! for the horse that is loved and pampered enough to be allowed to BE - a horse.

Barefoot for the sole of the horse - barefoot for the soul of the man. Barefoot for the best of God's creatures.

See the latest photos of Misty's "Club" Foot before and after her Strasser trim ...

• Essential Books & Resources for Horse Owners and Equestrians

• High Performance Barefootedness

• 12 Step Trimming

• The Horse's Hoof

• Treating Founder without Horseshoes

These are just a few links to pages with quality, professional information about the Barefoot Horse. It *is* a controversial subject, especially among 'traditional' farriers. However, more and more, horseowners are finding truths from their own experiences with lamenesses in their horses. One cannot dispute what the horse tells us - horses don't lie nor do they care about pockets and "traditions" ... after all, there 'ain't no' farriers for the wild horse! *G*