Most of us had a childhood that involved childrens’ horse books and the wonderful, romantic images they conjured: A magnificent horse–most likely a black stallion–galloping free, au natural. Nostrils flaring, legs charging, mane blowing, tail flowing. It’s hard to set aside that dreamy fantasy, and as adults, particularly in this era of "natural is better," we might be tempted to make our horses as natural as possible, too, by letting them run barefoot, surely as Nature intended.

The problem is, horses aren’t quite the originals that Mother Nature developed, not since man began breeding for select traits and inadvertently introduced a few undesirable traits, too–some of which include conformational faults and feet that cannot tolerate barefootedness. Plus, the natural horse didn’t spend time carrying a rider around a schooling ring, over jumper courses, on trails, or any number of other mounted or driving activities that can cause excessive hoof wear.

Barefoot? Yes, But…

For sure, in a well-conformed, well-built horse, the barefoot state is the most natural situation and possibly the healthiest, depending upon the work the horse is asked to do. Says Debora Ash, American Farrier’s Association (AFA) certified farrier, BHS assistant instructor, and co-author and publisher of Study Guides (to aid farriers for AFA national certification examinations), "The greatest advantage is to hoof health. By leaving a horse barefoot, one allows the hoof’s natural functions of shock absorption, traction, and biomechanics to perform at their optimum. Shoes inhibit natural function and the horse’s natural way of going, and limb interference with shoes can cause injury