Natural hoof care: Difference between revisions

'''Natural hoof care''' is the practice of keeping [[horse]]s so that their [[hoof|hooves]] are worn down naturally, andor trimmed to emulate natural wear, so they do not suffer overgrowth, splitting and other disorders.<ref>{{citation|title=The unfettered foot: A paradigm change for equine podiatry|journal=Journal of Equine Veterinary Science|volume=25|issue=2|pages=77–83|author=T.Teskey|doi=10.1016/j.jevs.2005.01.011|year=2005}}</ref> [[Horseshoe]]s are not used, but domesticated horses may still require trimming, exercise and other measures to maintain a natural shape and degree of wear.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rural/sa/content/2006/s1985777.htm|title=A load of horses' hooves|author=Drew Radford|date=23 July 2007|publisher=ABC}}</ref>

Within the natural hoof care philosophy, the term '''barefoot horses''' refers to horses which are kept barefoot full-time, as opposed to horses who are fitted with [[horseshoe]]s or hoof boots. The hooves of barefoot horses are trimmed with special consideration to a barefoot lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://horse-canada.com/magazine/hoof-care/why-go-barefoot/|title=Why Go Barefoot?}}</ref> The '''barefoot horse movement''' advocates a generalized use of barefoot horses, both in non-competitive and competitive riding, often coupled with a more natural approach to [[horse care]]. Horses are kept barefoot in many parts of the world, including [[South America]], [[Mongolia]] and other industrialized and non-industrialized cultures.

While horsesHorses have been used without shoes throughout history, the benefits of keeping horses barefoot has recently{{when|date=November 2019}} enjoyed increased popularity. Not only does the horse benefit with a healthier hoof in some cases, it can be less expensive to keep a horse barefoot, and many owners have learned to trim their horses' hooves themselves. As the health and movement benefits of barefooting have become more apparent in horses that have completed transition, horses are being competed barefoot in various sports (including [[dressage]], [[show jumping]], [[flat racing]], [[Steeplechase (horse racing)|steeplechase]] racing, [[trail riding]] and [[endurance riding]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lamenessprevention.org/site_page.cfm?pk_association_webpage_menu=6601&pk_association_webpage=13311|title=Equine Lameness Prevention Organization, Inc. - Powered by AMO|website=www.lamenessprevention.org|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>

The barefoot trim aims to emulate the way in which hooves are maintained naturally in healthy wild horse herds, like [[feral horse]] herds such as the American [[mustang (horse)|Mustang]] or the Australian [[Brumby]], as well as wild [[zebra]]s and other [[wild horse|wild equine]] populations. Wild horses have been observed by Gene Ovnicek as having a hoof that tends to make contact with the ground on four points, and the hoof wall does not contact the ground at all.<ref name="ecis">[http://www.ecis.com/%7Ehplove/clo/heum9801.html#1 Summary Notes: 1998 Heumphreus Memorial Lecture<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> But the wild horse studies and measurements gathered by Jaime Jackson, a farrier at the time and working in unison with farrier Leslie Emery (author, ''Horseshoeing Theory & Practice'') from 1982 to 1986 dispute Ovnicek's findings (The Natural Horse: Lessons from the Wild, 1992/1988 American Farriers Association annual conference). The trim guidelines he created for the AANHCP require the hoof wall to be on the ground as the most distal structure - with the sole, frogs and bars also acting as support structures when the horse is on uneven terrain. This is said to be another difference between the barefoot trim and the pasture trim, where the hoof wall was left long and in contact with the ground. Like wild horse populations, barefoot domestic horses can develop callouses on the soles of the hooves, allowing them to travel over all types of terrain without discomfort.

Diet & nutrition is very important too, as changes in feed can directly affect hoof health, most notably seen in cases of [[laminitis]]. Even some lots of hay/grass may be high enough in sugar to cause laminitis. A healthy diet for horses currently with or prone to laminitis is based on free access to hay that has been tested for carbohydrate content and found to be less than 10% WSC + starch, someappropriate mineral supplementation, and no grain. Feeds and forage with high levels of sugar (carbohydrates) correlate with higher risk of clinical or subclinical laminitis and with other hoof ailments.<ref>[http://www.safergrass.org/articles/index.html Safergrass.org Articles on grass carbohydrates and laminitis<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=10256 The Horse: Laminitis: New Study on Sugar and Starch as a Cause<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Natural hoof supplements can be used as a boost to the immune systems of horses when concerned with laminitis or other hoof ailments. D-Biotin supplements, often including the sulfur-containing amino acid dl-Methionine, are commonly known natural supplements that aremay be effectivehelpful for managing hoof health if they're deficient/imbalanced in the diet.<ref>{{citation|url=http://ka-hi.com/biotin-1085-with-methionine.html|title=Biotin Hoof Supplement Promotes Improved Hoof Health|author=Kauffman's Animal Health|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.e3liveforhorses.com/ |title= The Perfect Horse }} Sunday, 25 April 2021 </ref>