It is taken for granted that shoes protect a horses feet. This book challenges the notion that shoeing is essential; instead it demonstrates that horses'
hooves are capable of high levels of performance on all surfaces without shoes.
This ground-breaking work explores the belief that horses need shoes and examines in a balanced way the choices available to owners and the potential benefits of working horses barefoot. The book also looks in detail at ways of improving hoof health in shod and barefoot horses.
Practical, measured and research-based, the book discusses how diet, environment, exercise and trimming affect the hooves and shows that going barefoot can often improve hoof performance dramatically.
It offers sensible, hands-on advice on achieving barefoot performance in a variety of disciplines - from
eventing and hunting to endurance - focussing on the essential elements for healthy hooves. In addition, the book has step-by-step advice on rehabilitating problem hooves, with case studies of horse presenting a range of issues, from navicular, hoof cracks, and under-run heels to metabolic disorders like laminitis and insulin resistance.
The authors have successfully ridden and competed their own horses barefoot for many years and have helped many hundreds of their clients horse to work successfully without shoes. Their research and findings are both impressive and surprising and are supported by high profile farriers and equine vets.
This book will appeal to anyone who wishes to improve the performance of their horse's hooves, as well as to professionals involved in equine hoofcare.
