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There are lots of misunderstandings about shoes and gaited horses. I get a lot of questions, such as do they need shoes, can they go barefoot, do I have to use toe weights, all kinds of things. I’d like to take the time to dispel these myths and to explain what shoeing and barefoot trimming needs are true for gaited horses.
Horseshoe History: the True Reason for Shoeing
One of the most important aspects of shoeing is understanding why horses have been shod throughout time. Evidence of shoeing horses can be traced to before the first century in Asia. Asians recognized the need to protect horses hooves over rough, varied or unfamiliar terrain. As we all know, a horse is not serviceable if he’s lame, so Asians would sometimes make a sort of booties for their horses out of animal hides and woven plants. This would protect the horses from bruising, cuts and various other abrasions to keep their feet healthy.
Iron shoes came into play after the first century in Rome. When Attila the Hun attacked the Romans, he had a major advantage. His horses were hardy mountain animals, much like the Fjord breed of today, and they could handle the extremely rough terrain of the mountains surrounding Rome. When his armies would come down, they could easily escape and regroup by heading back up into the mountains. The Romans’ horses couldn’t follow because their feet were bare and were not accustomed to the sharp rocks. The Romans figured out that if they nailed iron plates to the bottom of the horse’s hooves, they could easily traverse the mountains and follow Attila the Hun and his men back to vanquish his army.
The Romans also developed metal and leather “hipposandals” for protection. These slipped over the horses’ hooves and attached with leather straps.
In Europe, softer, wetter ground caused hooves to soften and be more susceptible to soundness problems and being able to keep from sliding on grass and other such terrain. So in the sixth and seventh centuries, metal pieces closely resembling the modern-day horseshoes were nailed onto the horses’ feet. Shoeing became mainstream practice in Europe around 1000 AD. Hot shoeing, the process of shaping the shoe to fit the horse’s foot, began in the 16th century. A book titled No Foot, No Horse was written in England in 1751, and the methods in the book focused on the importance of proper shoeing to protect and support the horse’s hoof.
The U.S. Army developed machined mass production of shoes in 1800. Farrier academies also started and began to supplement the difficult apprenticeship process. During the Civil War, the North had a significant advantage over the South due to their horses having better foot care through mass production of shoes. The horses could travel a variety of terrains and did not come up with the kinds of soundness and lameness issues that barefoot horses did. The shoe itself was almost exactly the same in design as it is today, with the inset groove to protect the nail heads and to provide traction. Amazingly, today’s hoof products such as rubber pads, aluminum shoes, and toe clips were found to have been in use during the 19th century by the U.S. farrier associations.
The most important aspect in this brief history of shoeing is this: shoeing horses was developed to protect the horse’s hoof. It was not done to enhance the horse’s performance under saddle or to change the horse’s way of going. This is an extremely important fact, especially when dealing with gaited horses.
Shoes and the Gaited Horse
Of course, gaited horses can wear shoes just as traditional breeds can. I’m sure most of you know that shoeing is a big topic in the gaited horse world. However, the truth is that shoeing does not make the horse. The gait is natural in the horse—we don’t have to make it. What we need to do is to preserve the health of the horse’s hoof by having it be shod correct to it’s conformation. Special shoeing should only be used when a horse has conformation or medical issues where it needs help.
One of the problems I frequently run into is that a non-certified farrier will shoe a gaited horse the same way he would shoe a traditional breed. While yes, hoof structure is the same, gaited horses are physically built different than other breeds. Their bone and muscle structure is different because the gaited breeds were cultivated to encourage the smooth gaits. In order for a horse to be able to gait, it’s physical structure had to evolve to move so there is no suspension between footfalls. This changes the whole structure of how the horse is put together. So, shoeing a gaited horse like a traditional breed can change the horse’s capability to maintain that smooth ride.
The way we can avoid this is to make sure to find a farrier that understands that the shoe must be shaped to the hoof and not vice versa. Horses hooves are just as varied as our own feet. Every horse has his own shape in how his hooves naturally grow, and some horses have one foot larger than another, or their back feet are smaller than their front feet. So tacking on a shoe and filing the hoof to match the shoe (known as cold shoeing) can ruin the horse’s natural structure and can cause pain and lameness issues.
It is physically impossible for someone to be able to pound a cold shoe into shape to fit the hoof—a human being just doesn’t have the physical strength to do it. Therefore, a good farrier will be one who hot shoes the horse every time he shoes him. Hot shoeing is where the shoes are heated and then pounded into shape while they are soft. The shoes are then cooled in water and nailed on the horse’s hoof.
An important note: shoeing a horse hot the first couple of times and then shoeing it cold once the shape has been maintained doesn’t cut it. A horse’s hoof can change with the seasons (moisture, hot vs. cool weather) or with the quality of food it’s getting. So your farrier should hot shoe your horse every time.
If you use a farrier that hot shoes your horses and that is well educated in how to shoe horses in general, he won’t need to necessarily “know” gaited horses. What he should know is how to recognize the horse’s individual conformation and to shape the shoe to fit the horse’s needs.
Let’s take a look at some photos of a poor farrier job versus a proper one.
This is a photo of the front feet of my mare, Sophie. She is standing on a level, concrete surface, and these photos were taken a few years ago. This was during a time when she was owned by a friend of mine, and she was shod by a farrier who was not AFA certified. And let’s be honest: my friend was looking for a less expensive farrier than the one she was using to work on her horses.
First, take a look at the overall hooves themselves. They are obviously different shapes and heights. Now, hooves can vary in their shape—even a horses’ two front feet can vary in shape. However, the difference will never be this glaring. The front left has an obviously lower heel angle than the front right foot. Plus, take a look at the heels. The top of the heel is not in line with the bottom of the heel at a natural angle that is the same as the pastern. This is known as an “underrun” heel, and it is not properly supporting Sophie’s heel. She will collapse back on her feet if this shoeing job continues. Second, take a look at the angles of the hooves. The angle of the hoof should follow the angle of the pastern (see below photo).
The problem with this poor shoeing job is that this could put extreme stress on Sophie’s pasterns. Since her pasterns are not being supported correctly, and the pastern bones are connected to the coffin bones, and so on and so forth, (yes, you may sing the song if you’d like), then that means she is not getting correct support on up her entire leg. This can lead to muscle and joint problems over time. Poor shoeing can actually be the cause of soundness issues.
Photos of Sophie’s feet as they are now will be included on this website soon. See the next page for Sophie’s story concerning a farrier who almost ruined her. For now, here is a great photo of a horse that is trimmed at his natural angle correct to the angle of the pastern. Also note that the heel of the horse also follows that natural angle of the pastern.
Downloaded from The Natural Angle website, www.naturalangle.com
This horse is not wearing and shoe in this photo. However, all that has to be done now is the shoe must be heated, shaped to follow this quality trimming job, and then nailed on the hoof. A properly trimmed hoof will easily carry a properly shaped shoe with no damage to the hoof or problems to the horse in the long run.
Barefoot and the Gaited Horse
Never never NEVER let anyone tell you that gaited horses cannot go barefoot! There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, and thousands of gaited horses live sound, happy lives when barefoot. The keys to letting your horse be barefoot, though, are proper trimming and proper nutrition.
For any breed of horse, barefoot can be an ideal choice. It saves money on the cost of shoes and saves time for you and your farrier. However, there are lots of things to consider before taking those shoes off and heading down the trail. In order for a horse to be able to properly go barefoot—that is, without any type of hoof protection at all (no boots or shoes)—be sure to consult with your farrier and your vet to find out if your horse is healthy enough to go barefoot. Some horses can have genetic defects that prevent it from going barefoot, or a hard life of difficult riding or having been sored can lead to your gaited horse not having strong enough bone structure or hoof growth to support itself going barefoot. For some horses, this may mean just adding a regular hoof supplement to their diet. For others, it may mean that he will need to wear either boots or shoes whenever he is ridden and barefoot will not be an option.
Second, realize that if you horse has worn shoes for most of his life, it can take a lot of times for his hooves to “harden” so they are strong enough for heavy trail riding. Depending on the horse’s speed of hoof growth, it can take anywhere from 9 to 12 months for a brand new hoof to grow in that is ready for rocky and difficult trails. Therefore, you should start out in steps. Ride your horse for limited periods on flat trails, and have him wear boots (such as EasyBoots, Old Macs, Boas, or any other brand of your choice) on rocky trails. Pay close attention to how your horse is doing. Remember: the shoe was keeping his sole off the ground, so he might be “ouchy” at first. Give him time to rest between rides, and watch his hooves carefully for signs of injuries, such as abscesses.
Trimming is essential during this time for your horse. Be sure your farrier knows how to properly trim a horse to his conformation. Ask him if he thinks you need to add any hoof supplements to your horse’s feed, and let him know if you see any signs of your horse having problems. Your farrier should be able to help you determine when you horse needs to wear boots and when it doesn’t. He should also be able to tell you when your horse is ready to hit the trails with no worries about having to wear boots at all.
Proper trimming will still be important once your horse is able to go barefoot all the time. Just letting him “go natural” is not going to work for a domestic horse who lives in an enclosed area, even if it’s a pasture or turnout, for most of his life. He will not have the capability to naturally wear his hooves the way wild horses do (see my section on Natural Balance Shoeing). He will need to be well-balanced for his job, just as a horse that wears shoes should be. All horses grow their hooves at different rates, and sometimes even one hoof will grow faster than another. So it’s important that your farrier keep him trimmed every six to eight weeks so as not to cause any injury to his limbs.
Finally, your horse will need to have proper nutrition to help keep him healthy. A steady diet of plenty of grass hay (Bermuda, timothy, orchard), fresh water, and supplements that balance his vitamin and mineral intake will help your horse maintain proper hoof growth and strength. Some horses may need a hoof supplement to help their feet stay healthy. Be sure to consult with your vet and farrier to find the proper nutritional needs for your horse, taking into consideration his environment, workload, age, and general well being.
Gaited Horse Hoof Myths
Toe weights will square up a pacey horse. This is by far a major misconception that comes from the show ring. Toe weights can have the opposite effect on the foot, especially on the trail. If a horse is not conditioned to carry a shoe with a toe weight, then he will tend to drag his feet and be more apt to stumbling. A toe-weighted shoe is for the show ring only, and even then it’s not necessary. Overall, a weighted shoe should be used to enhance the horse’s gait only, not to force the gait.
If a horse is pacey, proper exercise and training is what’s needed to help teach the horse to carry himself correctly. See my page about the gaits of the Tennessee Walking Horse for more information on how to work with a pacey horse.
Gaited horses need a low heel and a long toe to gait properly. This is also a myth propagated by the show ring horses. Unfortunately, the desire for more animation in the horses’ front end and more “crouch” in the back end has lead to growing an extremely long toe (usually around 5 inches from the cornet band to the tip of the toe) and cutting off the heel. This results in the horse having to pick up his foot higher to “get past” his long toe so he can set his foot back down. It is not a necessary practice at all to achieve higher animation—it is mostly used in the non-sound horse show community.
It is probably pretty obvious why we don’t want this kind of foot on our horses. A low heel or under run heel can lead to serious problems with the horse being unable to support himself, and he can end up with severe tendon and ligament breakdown in his legs. It can also lead to contracted heels, pain in the sole of the foot, and various other serious conditions that are too numerous to name here.
A long toe will not be practical on the trail. You will find that it will constantly break, chip, or otherwise be in disrepair. Plus, it also will not hold a shoe well because a hoof is a lot like our own fingernails as they get longer—they weaken because the ends keep getting further and further away from their base support. A long toe can also lead to problems with the horse not being able to stand properly because his toe is “in the way,” so he naturally stand by leaning back slightly to be able to stand level, putting more pressure on his heel, which is not designed to carry all of the weight of a horse.
The angle of a gaited horse’s foot should be 48 to 52 degrees. Again, another myth. Yes, there are angles that are normal to a horse’s hoof, and most horses are going to fall within a range of angles. However, the angle of a horse’s hoof is based on the slope of his pastern, not what breed he is.
It’s normal for a TWH to have twisting hocks or to forge. No, it’s not. These are conformation flaws that have developed over the years of breeding for higher and higher lift in the Big Lick horses. However, this doesn’t mean that the horse can’t be ridden—it does mean that he might need some corrective shoeing to help himself balance and not develop any serious problems. See my below information on corrective shoeing.
Corrective Shoeing
There is a difference between corrective shoeing and shoeing to alter the gait. Usually, your horse’s gait will not need to be corrected by how he’s shod. The way to get a horse to gait correct to his breed is not to alter his feet—it’s to learn to teach your horse to carry himself correctly with a soft mouth and round frame. Then his gait will usually come naturally. Proper hoof care will help him out—he needs to have healthy, sound, and well-balanced hooves to gait correctly.
Corrective shoeing should only be used either when a horse has an injury or chronic condition that requires it (such as laminitis or clubbed feet) or to help him out when he has conformation flaws. Since many TWHs nowadays are breed with the idea that they may eventually be a Big Lick horse, they can tend to pace, twist their hocks behind, be toed out in the front or cow hocked in the back, or forge (where his back feet kick the underside of his front feet as he’s walking). These flaws have been encouraged because that old adage is stack ‘em and sore ‘em and it’ll square ‘em up. Click here for definitions on types of conformation flaws. Click here for an excellent article about hocks on TWHs.
While these kinds of conformation flaws aren’t uncommon, they are still flaws and can cause long-term problems. However, most horses can be sound their whole riding career with some corrective shoeing to help them balance and change those flaws. Some forms of correction are shoes with caulks or trailers (helps with the twisting hocks) or rolling or rocking the toes so the horse’s breakover is sooner (keeps the horse from forging because the front foot gets out of the way faster, before the back foot comes up). Photos of these types of shoeing are coming soon!
Overall, be sure to discuss such conformation flaws with your farrier to decide what corrective shoeing is best for him. Once again, a good farrier will understand the horse’s whole hoof and leg structure and will know how to help your horse be an incredible riding horse.
Natural Balance Shoeing
Natural Balance Shoeing is a hot topic that I run across on a fairly frequent basis. People have asked my opinion on it, so I decided to research it. I want to point out first off that I have no problem with Natural Balance shoeing and trimming—just like any farrier work, it should be done properly per the training given. More on how I feel about Natural Balance is in the conclusion of this section.
To begin my research, I went directly to the source: the Natural Balance website. I learned that this type of shoeing and trimming of a horse was developed by Gene Ovnicek, a farrier who spent time studying wild horses’ hooves over several years. He discovered that wild horses have a different way of going and are different in how the hoof carries the weight of the horse. Therefore, he modified the farrier work and horseshoe for domestic horses to match the wild horse’s hoof.
The following were the flags that went up for me as I learned more about this practice.
1. How in the heck did he look at these horse’s hooves? Okay, these are wild horses. They are not backyard pets, nor were they horses that were somewhat gentled at mustang roundups or BLM auctions. I doubt very seriously that he was just heading out into these herds and the horses were oh-so-agreeable and picking up their feet for him.
So, after doing some more research, I discovered that Ovnicek had been looking at dead horses. So these were horses that had died of natural causes. However, those causes can vary: drought, harsh winter, or even Darwin’s natural selection—the weakest of the horses in the herd is sacrificed to a predator or cannot survive because he can’t keep up. We know that a horse that suffers during extreme climate changes can have physiological changes, and these changes can affect the hoof growth and hardiness. Also, if the weakest horse is the one that was sacrificed, could it have been his hooves that made him weak?
Also, statistics tell us that mustangs don’t survive much past 10 to 12 years old in the wild. We know for a fact that hoof shape can change as the horse gets older. So how does he know how to shoe/trim horses over the age of 12?
2. Poor examples of traditionally shod horses on the Natural Balance website. All of the examples on the website of how traditional shoeing causes problems for the horse’s hoof were actually caused by improper farrier work. As far as I could tell, there was no evidence on the Natural Balance website of a proper farrier job compared to a proper Natural Balance job. He was comparing apples to oranges, which is not fair to the farrier community.
We can argue that there are too many bad farriers out there, so why not go with Natural Balance instead? Well, Natural Balance shoers also have to go through training, and if they’re not following the training they’re given, then they can mess up a horse as well. They are not immune to mistakes.
3. Wild horses and domestic horses are completely different. Domestic horses are not comparable to wild horses because they are practically different species. Let’s figure out why. First, domestic horses are bred for certain traits and are hand raised by humans. They live in controlled environments, even if it’s on 40 acres of pasture. Even if someone just tosses their mares out to be pasture bred to the stallion and are not given any extra care while pregnant, they are still in a controlled environment. Those mares are provided with feed (the pasture) and water (ponds in the area). They are not foraging for food, nor are they traversing large areas to find food.
Then we can look at domestic horses that are kept in stalls or turnouts, such as here in Arizona, where most people don’t have pasture. These animals are continually standing on hard ground or on some kind of bedding. They aren’t out on rough terrain unless they’re being ridden. The typical horse owner rides three to four times a week, an hour at a time, and many people ride less than this. So they are not continually moving. This leads to genetically softer hooves than what wild horses have.
We can also keep different breeds of domestic horses in climates different from where their ancestors lived because we have the capability to accommodate their needs. For example, a heavy-coated Icelandic horse that is built for cold weather can live just fine in a hot climate such as Arizona because we can provide shade, fans, lots of water, and even shave the horse’s coat to make him comfortable.
Wild horses, in contrast, do not stay in one area for a full season. They have to travel to find food in different seasons. In order to do this, their bodies have to be small and compact, their hooves of a different quality to handle this kind of travel. Plus, wild horses’ body conformation and digestive systems are different from climate to climate. Wild horses in the Southwest are small and can survive on less vegetation with hooves shaped more like a goat’s to be able to traverse rocky terrain. These horses do not have the full-bodied, sleeker look of the wild horses in other areas of the U.S. Just go to a BLM auction and notice where the horses came from—their bodies will match the terrain they lived in.
So, how can we expect to shoe and trim our domestic horse as if he runs wild and expect him to stay sound? I don’t know if we can.
4. How does natural balance affect a gaited horse? Gaited horses are physically built differently than traditional breeds. There are absolutely no gaited horses in the wild. At the most, you might get a herd that has strong pacing genes. We can assume, though, that the horses Ovnicek were looking at were trotters. So these horses’ hooves wore down to the conformation of a trotting horse.
The four-beat gait was bred into the gaited horse using selective breeding over many decades. It is proven that gaited horses need balanced support throughout the whole hoof to move correctly. If we were to change that balance, then the horse won’t gait correct to it’s breed. It’s the same as when we ride them—if the horse is not balanced well in his frame, then he won’t gait correctly. Therefore, if we use Natural Balance shoeing on gaited horses, which was developed off of wild horses that trot, then we’re going to completely change the horse’s way of going and he won’t be able to gait.
A friend of mine who owns various gaited breeds switched to Natural Balance several years ago. To her credit, her Natural Balance farrier is very good—he is properly educated and follows the guidelines set forth by the Natural Balance schooling. However, she has a very nice Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse mare that she was having a hard time getting to gait. All she does is pace. A gaited horse trainer that is schooled in using proper riding techniques to train gaited horses, not using gadgets and gimmicks, saw right away what the problem was: the mare had no toe, and therefore she could not gait. The Natural Balance shoeing was actually causing her to break over too soon and she couldn’t find a four-beat gait. Her feet are now being grown out to a proper length for her conformation to get her to gait properly again.
5. Why change what has worked for thousands of years? Farrier work has improved the horse as a working animal for humans through the evidence in the very history of how horseshoes were developed. Overall, I have NEVER had soundness issues with my horses because I have a farrier who knows what he’s doing. I know others who have experienced the same. Why should I change what is already working?
The more I learn about Natural Balance shoeing and trimming, the more I find that veterinarians, educated farriers, and people educated about hoof care in general don’t agree with it. For example, this article: In fact, squaring the toe has been around longer than Natural Balance shoeing—it really is nothing new. It just depends on how it’s being used.
So, overall, my thoughts about Natural Balance are as follows:
1. There is no evidence on the Natural Balance website on how it affects gaited horses. Now true, I didn’t go through every single little bit of it. However, since gaited horses are becoming more and more popular, I think it would be very important for them to address this issue directly on the homepage of the website so gaited horse owners can be more educated about Natural Balance. Plus, from what I have seen, it alters the horse’s natural gait and can be a detriment to the reason why we buy gaited horses in the first place: for a smooth ride.
2. When I have asked vets and certified farriers about it, they have not agreed with it. They said it can create the same problems any poor farrier job can create.
3. I don't see any practical reason to change the way a horse is shod. Horses have gone sound with regular farrier work for thousands of years. Why do we need to change this? What I believe that does need to be changed is that in order for farriers to be allowed to work, they should have to be licensed. We hand out a license for people to practice as a vet or an equine dentist—why not the same for a farrier? They have just as much effect on a horse’s health as any vet does. I think that movement alone would help cut down on the amount of horses with poor foot care tremendously.
Overall, I don’t have a problem with Natural Balance shoeing when done properly. Like any farrier work, it’s important for you as the owner to learn what a proper shoeing job is and to watch your horse for any signs of problems with the shoeing or trimming job. But don’t go after something just because it’s a fad. This isn’t like buying the latest color of show blanket—this is your horse’s welfare and well-being. Remember the old adage: No hoof, no horse!
Next Page: How to Find a Good Farrier and More!
PLEASE NOTE: THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE BUT AS A GUIDE ONLY TO UNDERSTANDING SHOEING AND GOING BAREFOOT FOR GAITED HORSES. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES, DISESASES, ILLNESSES, ANY HOOF PROBLEMS, OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS RESULTING FROM THE ABOVE INFORMATION. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT TO BE USED IN PLACE OF PROPER, AFA-CERTIFIED FARRIER WORK AND A VETERINARIAN’S PROFESSIONAL OPINION. |
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Shoes and the Gaited Horse |
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FRONT RIGHT |
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The long toes and short heels of a Big Lick horse |
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Excellent example of a poor farrier job causing underrun heels Downloaded from www.horseshoes.com |
