BHS anti Barefoot?

[Pale Rider]

Does anyone know anything about the BHS refusing the Saddlery Shop's offer of free hoof boots, for some reason, as they only advocate shod horses.

 

[ruth83]

Why don't you contact the BHS directly and ask them? They have an official presence on here.

Although the BHS is a welfare charity, they do not have dedicated sanctuarys like Redwings etc do, so they may not feel they could make suitable use of the boots. There may also be a financial (tax) implication. This is pure speculation on my part, I know nothing official.

When I took my Stable Managers exam 3 years ago, one of the lecture subjects was 'The working horse, barefoot or shod?', the emphasis was certainly on a blanaced argument - no huge bias either way. It was a very difficult lecture to prepare as finding balanced views, rather than fanatical opinions in one direction, was very difficult at the time.

It is no secret that The BHS is going through fairly big changes at the moment. It may be as simple as the timing being wrong.

 

[Pale Rider]

It's good to hear that the BHS is going through big changes, someone trying to drag it into the 21st Century, lol.

 

[HardySoul1]

The BHS TREC GB Championships are sponsored by Cavallo and hoof boots are given to prize winners. Doesn't sound anti to me - don't know this who these other boots were for (welfare cases? Prizes? Samples?) but perhaps it was refused to avoid clash of rival sponsors?

 

[Pale Rider]

The BHS TREC GB Championships are sponsored by Cavallo and hoof boots are given to prize winners. Doesn't sound anti to me - don't know this who these other boots were for (welfare cases? Prizes? Samples?) but perhaps it was refused to avoid clash of rival sponsors?

Yes I knew about this, made me wonder if it was just a clash of sponsers.

 

[BHS_official]

Here's the response we posted to a similar thread on Saturday. We're continuing to look into this today.

The BHS's Marketing and Communications team is not aware at this time of any refusal to run such a giveaway with The Saddlery Shop.

While we do not actively promote barefoot methods over shod, as stated by posters above, we are not 'closed off' to the use of differing methods when appropriate.

Indeed, our BHS TREC Championships are actually sponsored by Cavallo.

We are sorry that some posters above feel we are outdated and hold inflated opinions. The Society is proactively working to show members and non-members that we are a modern and forward-thinking organisation. Nothing is possible overnight but we would encourage those interested to visit our website to find out more about our policies and work.

We'd also encourage anyone with questions or feedback at any point to email enquiry@bhs.org.uk. We are ready and willing to listen.

Please bear with us while we investigate this report further and understand there may be a delay in doing so due to the bank holiday.

 

[BHS_official]

On investigation, this issue appears to have been triggered because British Horse and Rider magazines were unable to accommodate a proposed giveaway – however, this was solely because all giveaway slots for both magazines for 2013 had already been taken. There was simply not enough space to be able to include the giveaway and the nature of the prize was of no relevance.

The British Horse Society would like to make it unequivocally clear that we do not recommend that all horses are shod. At no point in the Society’s 66 year history has such a policy ever existed.

Every horse must be treated as an individual; there can be no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to the very important matter of ensuring the hoof health of our horses. Some horses will need to be shod, many will thrive going barefoot. The saying ‘no foot, no horse’ may be regarded by many as being a cliché; however, as with many clichés, it’s firmly grounded in truth. To try and impose a blanket shoeing policy on Britain’s horses would be foolish and actively counter-productive to equine welfare which is, and always has been, the cornerstone on which the whole BHS is built.

Where the BHS stands firm is that barefoot horses should only have their feet trimmed and dressed by suitably qualified or experienced individuals (of course, it is illegal for anybody other than a qualified and registered farrier to shoe a horse, or to prepare a horse’s feet for shoeing). This is essential. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the equine foot will appreciate just how much long-lasting damage can be caused by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. This policy should in no way be confused with the idea that the BHS insists that all horses should be shod – we underline that we do not.

We hope this clarifies our stance on barefoot and shoeing. If anyone has further feedback or questions, we will happily do our best to answer them either on HHO, on our Facebook page or Twitter, at enquiry@bhs.org.uk or on 02476 840500.

 

[tallyho!]

Just a musing, BHS Official, who do you include in the "qualified or experienced individuals"?

Obviously farriers registered with the FRC. But who else? What about UKNHCP or EPAUK? Do you have any guidelines if people don't have very experienced farriers that trim barefoot hooves? As we know, trimming as if shoeing a horse but then going barefoot is not the ideal trim for a barefoot horse. The foot has to be balanced differently.

It's ok if you can find a farrier that also does barefoot trims, but they are hard to find.

So I guess my question is do you recognise, as an organisation, the other trimming qualifications that have been approved by LANTRA?

 

[Clava]

Just a musing, BHS Official, who do you include in the "qualified or experienced individuals"?

Obviously farriers registered with the FRC. But who else? What about UKNHCP or EPAUK? Do you have any guidelines if people don't have very experienced farriers that trim barefoot hooves? As we know, trimming as if shoeing a horse but then going barefoot is not the ideal trim for a barefoot horse. The foot has to be balanced differently.

It's ok if you can find a farrier that also does barefoot trims, but they are hard to find.

So I guess my question is do you recognise, as an organisation, the other trimming qualifications that have been approved by LANTRA?

Good musing.

I'll add to that, where does the BHS stand on horses self trimming and not requiring " their feet trimmed and dressed by suitably qualified or experienced individuals"...?

 

[BHS_official]

The BHS is fully in support of the work done by Lantra to devise national occupational standards as well as training and qualifications for barefoot trimmers. Indeed, we were fully engaged throughout the consultation process. Where a training programme and/or qualification are approved by LANTRA then we would endorse them. We are really pleased that the work done by Lantra has taken place and it is a hugely positive step in ensuring the quality of barefoot trimming / trimmers.

To answer the question of 'self-trimming' then of course, if it works for that particular horse, it is no issue. There weren't many farriers or trimmers about when horses were living wild! However, the horse should be monitored carefully and it should be recognised that there are many horses for whom such a strategy simply will not work.

In all cases, we advocate doing the best thing for the horse. Without wishing to be too repetitive, the BHS in no way, shape or form advocates that all horses should be shod. Apologies for ramming the point home but we are unclear on where this unfounded rumour has come from. Even allowing for the fact we had no space to run the giveaway that this has all stemmed from, how it has been interpreted as us insisting everyone must shoe their horses is hard to fathom.

That said, it's essential that no horse owner goes into having their horse barefoot as a poorly thought-out cost-cutting exercise or because they see it as fashionable. An appropriately trained, qualified and experienced trimmer is a skilled craftsperson and therefore they won't be cheap (albeit less expensive than shoeing of course) - good foot care will cost no matter who does it! Whatever route any of us choose to go down with our horses, we should research it fully, get the best care possible and be prepared to change our plans if it doesn't work for that particular animal (this last bit by no means just applies to the question of shod or barefoot).

 

[Oberon]

Thank you for your considered response, BHS .

I agree, and I don't think anyone can argue, that we should look at the individual horse and what works best for him in terms of hoof care, feeding, saddling, bitting/bitless.

Barefoot Taliban indeed . We do love a good anti-establishment hysterical response to an imagined slight

[Oberon sadly wanders off to put her flaming torch and pitch fork away].

 

[tallyho!]

The BHS is fully in support of the work done by Lantra to devise national occupational standards as well as training and qualifications for barefoot trimmers. Indeed, we were fully engaged throughout the consultation process. Where a training programme and/or qualification are approved by LANTRA then we would endorse them. We are really pleased that the work done by Lantra has taken place and it is a hugely positive step in ensuring the quality of barefoot trimming / trimmers.

To answer the question of 'self-trimming' then of course, if it works for that particular horse, it is no issue. There weren't many farriers or trimmers about when horses were living wild! However, the horse should be monitored carefully and it should be recognised that there are many horses for whom such a strategy simply will not work.

In all cases, we advocate doing the best thing for the horse. Without wishing to be too repetitive, the BHS in no way, shape or form advocates that all horses should be shod. Apologies for ramming the point home but we are unclear on where this unfounded rumour has come from. Even allowing for the fact we had no space to run the giveaway that this has all stemmed from, how it has been interpreted as us insisting everyone must shoe their horses is hard to fathom.

That said, it's essential that no horse owner goes into having their horse barefoot as a poorly thought-out cost-cutting exercise or because they see it as fashionable. An appropriately trained, qualified and experienced trimmer is a skilled craftsperson and therefore they won't be cheap (albeit less expensive than shoeing of course) - good foot care will cost no matter who does it! Whatever route any of us choose to go down with our horses, we should research it fully, get the best care possible and be prepared to change our plans if it doesn't work for that particular animal (this last bit by no means just applies to the question of shod or barefoot).

Thanks for your response

Good to know I think the trimming courses that are approved by LANTRA are really good and have been tempted into a change of career myself! The hoof is a fascinating thing!!!

I also agree that it is definitely NOT a cost-cutting exercise and do not begrudge the cost of a performance trim... I sometimes still reel at how much people are prepared to pay for a rug/matchymatchy gubbins (£££) so easily and yet moan about hoofcare and how much farriery costs these days! Sorry - personal bugbear there.

About the advocate for shoeing... I know how self-fulfilling these prophecies can be as I have heard it numerous times at shows, even local ones AND, get this, you can get a refund of your entry fee if your horse loses a shoe! So it's not hard to *imagine* it's a BHS thing whether it's true or not.

Good to have it here in writing. Hoorah!

 

[tallyho!]

Thank you for your considered response, BHS .

I agree, and I don't think anyone can argue, that we should look at the individual horse and what works best for him in terms of hoof care, feeding, saddling, bitting/bitless.

Barefoot Taliban indeed . We do love a good anti-establishment hysterical response to an imagined slight

[Oberon sadly wanders off to put her flaming torch and pitch fork away].

 

[Pale Rider]

An appropriately trained, qualified and experienced trimmer is a skilled craftsperson QUOTE]


This is good to see!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

It doesn't always save money being barefoot anyway, my UKNHCP trimmer costs more for a trim than the farrier charged to trim, but the results are different (and in our case) much better as its a barefoot trim not a pasture trim. So I know I didn't do it to save money )) I suspect most barefoot peeps don't save money once they (we) have bought their lime green Renegade performance hoofboots and powdered volcanic rock Feed supplement etc :-DDD