Do Barefoot advocates wear shoes?

Arabelle said:
Crocs! I'd rather have metal shoes nailed to my feet :p:D
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In my previous job, Crocs were banned (which is spectacularly unfair as they are a brand, not just a style) and my new boss decided to flex his muscles and demanded I stop using them.

I refused and he threatened to discipline me.

I said fine, lodged a grievance and demanded a referal to Occy Health.

In the end I had a boss (and his boss) who didn't like me, collegues who called me a troublemaker and never a possibilty of promotion.

But I got to keep my Crocs:)
 
My horses are all barefoot but I like to wear pretty shoes on my feet :D I cant say that horse shoes ever look pretty! At least hoof boots look funky AND serve a purpose :D There's a vain answer for you lol!

I would love to go around barefoot (apart from for a nightout on the town) but can you imagine the comments you would get and justifying you would have to do because its not traditional in this country?! Just like with horses....its an argument that will never die out!

Look at 3rd world countries for humans living barefoot, all those miles they walk :)
 
irish_only said:
Gait:
Shoes have altered the natural gait of human movement. Rather than landing on the forefoot or midfoot, shoes create the tendency to heel strike. When the heel takes the main force of walking or running the shock is absorbed by the joints and can cause ankle, knee and back problems. Minimal footwear supports a natural forefoot or midfoot landing where the muscles absorb the shock.
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Thanks for posting, for some reason I fine anything other than heel first hard to get my head around being correct :confused:

Nudibranch said:
I have foot problems - I'm in the 11th out of 12 weeks off work after an op - and I can honestly say I have always been much more comfortable without shoes. I was supposed to wear a "stiff, supportive trainer" from when I got up to when I went to bed after getting rid of the podiatric shoe. I didn't, and my foot has healed very quickly, comfortably and correctly. My x-rays are perfect. I thought that was an interesting parallel with barefoot equine recovery actually.....
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Similar experience to me. I had Plantar fascitis, treated with orthotics which helped but didnt cure, also helped by crocs and MBTs. The PF only went when I was forced off my feet with a broken leg (don't wear MBTs in ice!). Since being fixed I started wearing memory foam insoles and ditched the orthotics, as my arches seemed to have dropped again and it was uncomfortable to wear then - and I started to think more and more that as with horses, I was forming a functional foot if left alone. I blame development of my PF on a pair of sensible clarks comfort shoes :eek: and am comfortable in a wider fitting hotter shoe or crocs - again, they are wide. I do think I have gone up half a shoe size since breaking my leg... :confused:

soloequestrian said:
I'd love to give it a go, but my feet get SO COLD without shoes - is there anything out there that can be worn to give the same sort of effect as barefootedness but would keep my feet warm?
This aside, I've often wondered if shoes could be designed that had a socially acceptable upper but a 'barefoot' style sole??
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I would love a pair like this too :)

irish_only said:
Now now, no squabbling about horsey feet. My question was do barefoot advocates wear shoes.

Reading articles on the biomechanics of the human foot and the detrimental effect of shoes, I just want to know how many of you carry the interest of your horses foot balance over to yourselves. If humans wearing shoes is so bad, then it obviously affects the whole body, and given that I think we all want to be the perfect rider, shoes are going to affect the way we sit, and how our muscles and skeletal frame works, which is a potential for an unbalanced or restrictive position when sat on a horse.
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I think the question of safety would normally keep me in protective and supportive boots when around horses.


I tootle around the house and garden barefoot. If it were more socially acceptable I would go out barefoot a lot more. Mind you a good enough compromise for me is wearing flip flops for half the year ;)
 
soloequestrian said:
I'd love to give it a go, but my feet get SO COLD without shoes - is there anything out there that can be worn to give the same sort of effect as barefootedness but would keep my feet warm?
This aside, I've often wondered if shoes could be designed that had a socially acceptable upper but a 'barefoot' style sole??
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There's lots of 'barefoot running' trainers about.

One of the heirs to the Clarks fortune started the Terra Plana line.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1355357/Are-shoes-killing-Modern-footwear-harm-health.html

I'd love some authentic Moccasins with a double leather sole rather than a rubber one, but they're pricey and no good in wet weather.
 
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