Technology has given us many things.  Last post I discussed the benefits of progesterone cream.  This week I am going to write about Natural Hoof Care.

A majority of people still rely on traditional farrier care and a majority of farriers haven’t yet updated their education of the horse’s hoof.

Five years ago my partner turned my world on end when he challenged me to question.

“Why I would put shoes on a perfectly good horse?”

Good question.  I’d never really thought about it that way before.

My horse’s hooves were in good shape.  Why couldn’t I use her without shoes?

As a kid I grew up riding and using my horse and never put a shoe on her.  My grandpa worked cattle and his horse wasn’t shod either.  My Uncle and my cousins roped and worked cattle daily.  Their horses rarely wore shoes.

Then, when I left home and started working in different barns I saw lots of people put shoes on their horse.  Pretty soon, so was I.

Why?

Kirk’s always been good at asking probing questions.  He thinks in large, spacious patterns and this question brought me back in touch with what I knew intuitively.  That natural is better.

This month Kirk and I have trimmed some 60 horses and it’s been interesting to compare hooves in Colorado to those we used to see in Maine.  The hooves here condition faster due to the fact that Colorado is dry.  The hooves wear more evenly too since the soil here in Colorado is not muddy but gritty and abrasive.

We’ve opened up a dialogue with our clients that is going to lead to some interesting changes in the horse industry.  But the conversation isn’t a new one.  It’s been ongoing for years. 

Jaime Jackson, a well known natural farrier raised the question and challenged the racing industry, the spanish riding school and dressage disciplines.

Pete Ramey took the conversation further by comparing today’s domestic horses with wild mustangs and proving that domestic horses can and will develope mustang-like hooves if given the proper care.

As hoof care practitioners we have the opportunity every day to see people get excited about the positive changes they see in their horses as a result of natural hoof care.  They get excited as I did when searching for an answer to Kirk’s question, I retraced my roots and once again embraced the natural practice of hoof care. 

I’ve seen a lot of changes in the horse industry over the last twenty years.  As people question tradition, they make improvements and in the coming years I think that Kirk and I are going to get to be an important part of a new revolution in the horse industry.

We are going to see trainers race horses barefoot.  We will see horses compete in dressage barefoot.  We’ll see even more endurance horses race barefoot.  Olympic jumpers will jump barefoot.

I’m excited that Kirk started the ball rolling by challenging me with that important question five years ago.  His question prompted me to re-study my philosophies and ultimately use technology to re-alter my knowledge regarding horses and to study the hoof in such a way as to realize that the hoof isn’t just a part of the horse.  It is the horse.

The hoof allows the horse to move long distances over difficult terrain.

The hoof acts as a second heart, pumping blood and detoxifying.

The hoof is nature’s perfect shock absorber.

The hoof…is nothing short of a miracle.

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