After life long experience with both shod and unshod horses, and after much reading, research and experimenting, I believe that most horses are healthier without shoes. If you ask your farrier, he/she will probably tell you that it's best for your horse to go barefoot several months a year. Why would that be? Simple. Shoes restrict the hoof and in particular the natural expansion that takes place in the rear half of the hoof. Many if not most shod horses develop contracted and/or underrun heels, which can contribute to thrush as well as other problems, and only a great deal of time (not just a couple of months) will enable their heels to return to their natural state. If you would like to learn more about horses and shoes and the current controversies surrounding the subject, I suggest you join the barefootedhorses mailing list on yahoo.com. If your mailbox is too full, simply joining and signing up for "no mail" will enable you to read the messages on the web, and you'll find lots of food for thought.

By keeping a horse barefoot, other problems such as cracks and chips due to the constant nailing into the walls will be reduced. The addition of a good biotin supplement to the diet also will help. Over time, the hooves will naturally toughen from going barefoot. However, when carrying a rider and in particular if carrying a rider over hard ground (such as roads or hard desert or mountain trails) or especially over rocky ground, the horse may need protection. This does not mean the horse needs be shod. Horse boots made for riding can be used instead, and then removed when you take the saddle off.

Old Mac's are ideal for this type of use. Unlike some other horse boots, they are easy to put on and take off, do not require elaborate taping and wrapping of the hooves before being put on, drain readily if the horse is ridden through water, are not sucked off in mud, come in NINE different sizes, and can even adjust to individual hoof changes between trimmings.

Generally, Old Mac's are only needed on the front hooves, since horses carry the majority of the weight in the front, and also since hind hooves are usually more concave than the fores. However, if a horse has problems with the hind hooves or is being campaigned hard, a pair can be fitted for them as well. Old Mac's last many months longer than shoes, since they are only used when the horse is ridden. In most instances, they are just as affordable as shoes, with the added benefit of the horse being barefoot most of its life. Have your farrier keep your horse properly trimmed and Old Mac's may be the only "shoes" your horse will ever need. I recommend these boots myself, as I am a proponent of barefoot horses, and have tried other, less satisfactory, boots.

Diana Linkous
ERNet Equine Heroes