Barefoot, but it’s not the be-all, end-all

At the moment, my horses are barefoot because first of all they have good feet, and secondly it’s a lot easier on my wallet. A lot lot easier. They get their feet dusted off by a farrier every 8-10 weeks or so—no special trims or bizarre rituals. They live out 24/7, and I ride my mare (my other horse is only a yearling) 4-5 days a week, so the balance of growth/wear is even. I ride on ground with good footing, in sand rings and rubber/sand footed (? is that good syntax?) arenas, dirt roads and well groomed cross country courses. However, If I get to the point where I’m eventing regularly, and moving up to Training or even Prelim with either horse, I will put the drilled and tapped shoes back on and put the studs back in for traction. Like Tom Stovall says, it’s down to “objectively quantified biomechanical efficiency,” which for my purposes sounds like increased speed and traction. Read on:

Some Horses Need Shoeing, Some Don’t