Oh I just can't help but to comment on this... I am not doing so to 'be picky', but to get you to further consider & question the hows & whys, the details of your opinions...
Mother nature has thought of every single thing to work as intended on the horse, and horses are made to be barefoot originally. When someone asks me to shoe or not to shoe, I always think of those wild mustangs roaming around, at all terrain, mud, dirt, sand, wood chips, plants, water, snow, deep mud, slippery grass, gravel and all the other stuff.
And those fellows don't get sore feet and stuff, they don't even need trimming.
I am very much an advocate of shoeless(as in conventional metal rim shoes), as well as barefoot *when possible*. IMHO there are many negative effects of this type of shoeing(innate to shoeing, not just badly applied), and there are 'cons' as well as 'pros' to other forms of 'hoof protection' too, that absolutely need to be better understood & considered. BUT there are also 'cons' to barefoot, and assumptions about ideals of 'wild' horses which are not accurate.
When you're talking 'wild horses', it very much depends on the environment they're in as to how wonderful or otherwise their feet are. I've seen some terribly 'ski footed' foundered ones, from soft/wet, cushy environments for eg, who would be very lame if made to walk on hard ground. Very many of 'those fellows' do indeed get sore & overgrown feet. Just that when they do in the wild, they don't tend to last very long, esp where there are big predators.
'Environment' of hard ground, many miles per day exercise & conditioning, from birth, and good diet will indeed promote strong, healthy hooves. But while horses CAN run on really rough ground, they tend to stick to slower paces on it, unless running in fear, when adrenaline takes over. And even tough footed feral horses can indeed become foot sore or injured running on rough ground.
And regardless of how ideal their lifestyle & environment may be, we also expect of/subject our horses to more than nature does. Not only do we want them to run on hard terrain, but to do it regularly, sustain it for long periods. We want them to be athletic to boot.
Even if our horses are later given a really healthy lifestyle & environ(of which most of us can only manage greatly compromised versions), if they have not had this 'hoof conditioning' since they were young, to build strong feet in the first place or if their hooves are already badly damaged long term before they've been given this ideal, should we even assume they're *able* to ever become a 'rock cruncher', at whatever pace??
By all means, I believe our horses have a LOT to gain from us learning about *healthy & strong* wild horses. Not discounting that at all. But it's not correct to assume that those horses are perfect, never suffering, able to leap tall buildings... or that in following a 'wild horse model' our domestics can naturally accomplish Superhorse status too.
Plus the fact remains: a hoof serves the function of pumping blood thru the whole horse when he steps on the ground and lifts the foot. And just thinking of an idea of nailing metal into live tissue doesn't really bring me or my horse good thoughts
On the first, the '5 hearts theory' of the hooves being an aid to circulation is not right. It has been shown, in *healthy, robust hooves* that blood leaves the foot at a reduced pressure, as it is forced through bazillions of tiny capilliaries in the back of the foot, which acts as a very effective 'shock absorber'. Blood flow around the hoof is of course vital though, and can indeed be restricted by conventional shoeing. You might like to study Dr Bowker's work(heavy but very worth it!), to better understand all that.
It is incorrect that shoes are nailed into live tissue(except accidentally, which shouldn't happen with a good, experienced farrier), and I believe the nails are one of the least problematic effects of conventional shoeing.
himself, and gets absolutelly super-healthy he needs some protection. As normal nail-in or glue-on shoes only cause damage, properly fitted hoof boots actually hep.
P.S. A horse needs extra protection of his hooves when he goes on rough terrains with a rider on him too, because a rider is unnatural.
Glad you appreciate that first bit - unfortunately some don't & fanatically force their horse to go bare regardless, in the name of barefoot idealogy. I'd just caution you against believing it's necessarily quite so 'rosy' a picture as that he WILL grow super healthy feet at all, be able to do all you want of him without protection, especially putting a time frame on it. Of course, he COULD, but it depends on so many factors.
As mentioned above, I do agree that conventional(as in rim shoes) do create too many problems. Whether nailed, glued or otherwise. Peripheral loading - forcing the walls into primary weightbearing function is the major issue. It is such an issue, IMO & E, that I think they're best avoided in all but rare situations. But to say they only cause problems is not correct - there are absolutely many 'pros' to shoes too, and some of which are worth the 'side effects'. Particularly if you understand those side effects & can minimise them. Eg. only working a (peripherally) shod horse on yielding footing, ensuring the horse is trimmed/reset frequently & well, to prevent excess length & distortion due to added mechanical strain.
It's also important to understand the 'cons' of hoof boots too, for eg. that they(and even a bare hoof) can indeed be as 'peripherally loading' & unsupportive of good hoof function as a rim shoe, depending on the situation/footing. There are also quite a few other options out there these days, nailed on or otherwise, which negate many/most of the 'side effects' of conventional rims. Such as Easyshoes or Eponas. The new Megasus Horse Runners look very interesting...
Harold wrote
And one more note on shoes. They have gotten a worse reputation than they should have as most of the hoof problems from shod feet are from improper shoeing and improper trimming. Improper barefoot trimming can also cause almost as many problems as improper shoeing.
Absolutely very important consideration, but due to the unavoidable excess peripheral loading and added jarring of metal against a hard surface, I fully believe that *conventional rims* do have innate damaging effects that aren't just due to improper trimming/application.
