pennyturner
Well-Known Member
Traditional logic has that domesticated horses doing more work and carrying unnatural loads, led to the development of the metal shoe. Further that the cold, wet climate of northern Europe makes horses working in soft ground prone to hoof weakening. A number of things make me think this isn't the whole story.
- endurance horses, with appropriate management, do huge miles on bare feet.
- IME driven ponies 'pull' perfectly well barefoot, with less slippage than if shod, and no damage (I know some drivers dispute this)
- experience with my own ponies, kept on water meadow, is that their hooves wear no more in wet than in dry, even if they are visibly 'soft' at the coronet.
A couple of thoughts:
Stable-kept horses are often standing in soft urine-soaked beds. Might this weaken the hoof?
Working horses on a traditional diet are the ones who seem to 'need' shoes - how much was the diet, rather than the work?
Horses in nature are moving about all the time. I think we underestimate the role that this plays in circulation and hoof health.
Has anyone done any study on this? What are the lessons for the modern equestrian?
- endurance horses, with appropriate management, do huge miles on bare feet.
- IME driven ponies 'pull' perfectly well barefoot, with less slippage than if shod, and no damage (I know some drivers dispute this)
- experience with my own ponies, kept on water meadow, is that their hooves wear no more in wet than in dry, even if they are visibly 'soft' at the coronet.
A couple of thoughts:
Stable-kept horses are often standing in soft urine-soaked beds. Might this weaken the hoof?
Working horses on a traditional diet are the ones who seem to 'need' shoes - how much was the diet, rather than the work?
Horses in nature are moving about all the time. I think we underestimate the role that this plays in circulation and hoof health.
Has anyone done any study on this? What are the lessons for the modern equestrian?