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Myofascial Release Therapy & Natural Performance Barefoot Trim |
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BAREFOOT
    
Why Barefoot? Equine hooves are perfectly designed to function without any artificial support. They have a built-in shock absorber, traction support and effective propulsion. They can adapt and withstand varied terrain. The hooves of expectant and barefoot wild mares have no trouble carrying the extra weight of a pregnancy at high speed. The horses of the Mongolian nomads wear no shoes, neither did most of the horses belonging to the Native Americans. Most of the Houston Police Dept. horses have now been successfully converted to barefoot and the department is planning on having all horses converted within the near future. John Lyons has not shod any of his horses for over ten years. Numerous horses with supposedly genetically weak hooves successfully convert to barefoot and even produce offspring with rather healthy and normal hooves. The list goes on and the barefoot movement is now growing by leaps and bounds. So where did shoes even come from and why? Unfortunately , historical evidence is sketchy (not much has been recorded on the subject), but horse shoes were most likely the result of warfare. A shod horse could do a lot more damage to an enemy than a bare horse could
In addition, at the same time (middle ages) horses were also subjected to a more artificial lifestyle that included stabling with probably much less turnout and a more "convenient" diet of mainly oats, since it was an energy rich to feed and much easier to store than hay. In about the tenth century, the non-strangulating horse collar was developed. The horse collar distributed a heavy load around the animal's chest and shoulders, allowing it to pull much more weight than it could with a traditional harness. At about the same time, the nailed iron horseshoe was adopted. Horseshoes enhanced traction while protecting the horse's hooves. The cultivation of oats became more important, since oats made up the bulk of the horses’ diet. Full article Hygiene was rather lacking during the middle age and a diet high in simple starches/sugars (non-structural carbs) has a weakening affect on hooves. In other words, the horses most likely lived in rather filthy conditions and also developed weak hooves thanks to a diet that was now high in oats. Not surprisingly did it appear that iron shoes also helped to hold hooves together and keep horses sound. No-one ever realized that the diet and unhealthy stabling conditions were most likely the root cause of creating weak hooves . Unfortunately the erroneous assumption that horses need shoes to perform has endured to this day. Metal horse shoes simply make no sense to me anymore from a logical perspective. If they were such a good idea, I would fully expect humans to walk around on shoes that have metal plates as soles. Instead humans use shoes that have superior shock absorbing abilities and we use anti fatigue mats to protect our legs from standing on hard concrete, yet we expect horses to be top athletic performers with metal nailed onto their hooves. I can see synthetic horse shoes being a viable alternative, but they still typically need to be nailed on. Horse Shoe Side Effects Increase concussion &
create instability on smooth ground: (Videos courtesy of Natur Hov) Create more traction and torque on soft ground Compromise the hoof wall via nails and allow pathogens to enter the hoofwall more easily Reduce shock absorption by interfering with the hooves' natural flexion and expansion that also creates suspension (and imagine you could never take your shoes off unless you got new ones) Have a numbing effect on hooves and interfere with natural circulation Interfere with natural ground stimulation that encourages the growth of correct hoof form and that forges healthy and resilient hooves Create peripheral hoof wall loading (stresses the laminae connections more) Interfere with the hooves proprioception ( feeling sensors of the hooves) Increase the risk of developing musculo-skeletal problems (ringbone, spavins, tendon, back and other joint issues )
Schools tend to teach what to think but not how to think. This is also the problem when it comes to horse shoes. People then just took it as a given fact without ever questioning the logic behind using metal shoes. If they did, they would most likely reach a different conclusion - that metal horse shoe use has more cons than pros. Horseshoes are mainly used for convenience reasons and to support the use of horses in extreme sports on surfaces that are really not appropriate for such events, like jumping on grass for example. And this carries the risk of premature limb breakdown, which can be seen by the high prevalence of limb ailments in many shod horses. Related Articles
Breaking Traditions: A
Veterinary Medical and Ethical Perspective On the
Modern Day Use of Horseshoes - Dr.Teskey,
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