By ANNIKA KORTLANG
You may have noticed over the past several years that an increasing number of horses at the pinnacle of the showjumping sport are competing barefoot. This includes highly successful horses such as King Edward, United Touch S, Donatello 141, and more. At the 2024 FEI World Cup Finals, the top three finishers were all barefoot. The 2025 winner, Julien Epaillard, keeps all his horses barefoot. Riders and grooms of these elite barefoot horses have indicated in interviews that they believe their horses benefit from being barefoot.
What might these benefits be?
While I don’t show at the 5* Grand Prix level, I do compete my barefoot horses in the junior hunters and equitation divisions at A shows up and down the West Coast. My horses did not come to us barefoot, and I have been involved in transitioning all four of our horses from shod to barefoot. In the process, I have learned how to seek out science-based information about hoofcare, what transitioning horses to barefoot entails, and how transitioning to barefoot can help some horses.
Benefits of Barefoot
The equine foot is a marvel of engineering. We usually see just the tough keratin exterior, but encapsulated in the hoof is a complex apparatus of bones, tendons, ligaments, vasculature, cartilage, and other soft tissues that are designed to absorb shock and return energy to the horse. Metal horseshoes, which have changed little in over a thousand years, provide obvious protection to the perimeter of the underside of the hoof. They do so, however, at some cost to hoof function and internal balance.
As explained by Dr Stephen O’Grady and Dr Hilary Clayton, two widely published equine veterinarians and researchers, “The equine foot has evolved as the interface between the limb and the ground. Its functions include accepting the weight of the horse, providing shock absorption, dissipating the energy of impact, and providing traction. A structurally healthy foot in its natural or barefoot state outperforms the shod foot in these functions. Furthermore, the structures of the foot have an inherent ability to change shape, strengthen and improve over time through the process of adaptation” (O’Grady, Stephen and Clayton, Hilary (2024) “Barefoot methodology as a viable farriery option.” Equine Veterinary Education Vol 36(8)). Open-heeled metal shoes concentrate load on the perimeter of the hoof, prevent the heels from expanding and flexing independently, and refer shock back up the leg.
If you are an 18th-century cavalryman riding long distances over rocky ground, the benefits of the protection offered by metal shoes clearly outweigh the costs. If you are like me, and mainly ride on manicured footing, the cost-benefit analysis of metal shoes is different.
In addition to allowing natural hoof function, going barefoot can be useful in treating horses with common hoof distortions such as underrun, contracted, or sheared heels. Going barefoot as therapy is frequently referenced in equine podiatry literature and practice. The unshod hoof is able to interact with the ground as it evolved to, and structures in the hoof that are especially vulnerable to the potential negative effects of metal shoes–such as the digital cushion, frog, and heels–can regain integrity when a horse goes barefoot.
Transitioning to barefoot to remediate distorted feet was transformative for one of our horses. We purchased Biscotti, a then 6-year-old Belgian Warmblood, from a respected trainer in Wellington, where he was competing in the 3’6” Green Hunters. He came to us shod in metal shoes with wedge rim pads (wedged pads in the same shape as a shoe), and he had badly underrun heels. In retrospect, it is surprising that Biscotti passed the vet check with no red flags, but as we have subsequently learned, some hoof distortions are common enough that they are normalized. Horses with underrun heels can stay sound for a while. Farriers often turn to wedge pads, which improve bony column alignment, but wedge pads are more of a band-aid than a cure.
For the best chance of long-term soundness, horses with underrun heels need to strengthen weak structures in the back of the hoof. Not addressing the underlying weakness makes horses susceptible to eventual lameness and, in particular, to developing caudal heel pain. (In anatomy, caudal means rear portion. Caudal heel pain is an updated and more comprehensive term for navicular syndrome.)
About a year after we purchased Biscotti, an MRI confirmed that he was at the early stages of developing caudal hoof problems. We decided that to give him the best chance of long-term soundness, we should pull his shoes and help him grow better feet from the inside out. We changed his diet to promote hoof health, changed his living situation so he was out of a stall and able to move at will, and implemented frequent, small trims to gradually reshape his feet. Now, a year and a half into being barefoot, Biscotti is sound and comfortable, and his feet are much healthier. As an added bonus, Biscotti’s gaits are more correct. He has a longer, sweepier stride–higher placings in the hack to prove it–and his tendency to wing has largely disappeared.
The photos below show Biscotti’s feet shortly after we bought him, compared to 9 months after pulling his shoes. In the first photo, Biscotti’s heels were so underrun that they were growing almost parallel with the ground. His frogs had prolapsed between the heels of his shoes. Without wedge pads, he had poor bony column alignment. In the second photo, Biscotti’s caudal structures are stronger, his dorsal (front) and heel wall angles have improved significantly, and he is no longer reliant on wedges for proper alignment.
Ok, I’m Interested in Learning More About Barefoot. What Next?
If you’re considering barefoot for your horse, start by getting educated about horse feet. A great place to begin is The Essential Hoof Book: The Complete Modern Guide to Horse Feet – Anatomy, Care and Health, Disease Diagnosis and Treatment by Susan Kauffmann and Christina Cline. This book should be essential reading for all horse owners. It empowered us to understand our horses’ hoof health and what we could do to help them have better feet. We found an article by Dr. Robert Bowker, former director of the Equine Foot Lab at Michigan State, called “Bowker: Navicular Issues Begin Earlier than We Think,” published in The Horse magazine, to be pivotal in shaping our approach to Bisccoti’s hoof care. If you’re exploring the barefoot route, consulting the works of experts is an important first step. For a more extensive list of resources, see the bottom of this article.
A barefoot trim differs somewhat from a standard trim for a shod horse, and traditionally trained farriers may not be well-versed in barefoot trimming, though some are skilled in both modalities. For guidance, we turned to Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners (PHCP), an organization dedicated to educating and supporting hoofcare practitioners and horse owners interested in science-based hoofcare. PHCP maintains a directory of certified practitioners who have completed their education requirements. PHCP also offers clinics and ongoing education.
At the time we transitioned our horses, we weren’t able to find a local certified trimmer, so my mother and I opted to train with PHCP, and we now trim our own horses with ongoing support from PHCP mentors. If you’re considering taking your horse barefoot, it is a good idea to find a trimmer certified by PHCP or by other organizations with similar rigor. A professional barefoot trimmer can help assess whether barefoot is a good fit for your horse and outline the transition process. And if you’re interested, it is possible for owners to learn some trimming basics. Many barefoot trimmers are happy to educate owners in this way. Small touch-ups like rasping back the toe a bit between professional visits can make a difference in maintaining healthy hooves.
If you decide to transition your horse to barefoot, there are a few additional factors to keep in mind. Effective hoof care involves an intersection of both trimming and dietary factors. Hooves are a direct reflection of your horse’s dietary health, and nutritional imbalances or metabolic issues can lead to weak, unhealthy feet that are difficult to rehabilitate. Prior to improving Biscotti’s diet, his hoof walls were paper-thin and offered little support for proper growth. Once his nutrition was balanced, however, he developed tough soles and strong walls that could comfortably traverse rough terrain. If you’re considering barefoot, feeding for hoof health several months before removing shoes can give your horse a stronger foundation for a successful transition.
As we discovered with our four horses, the time it takes to transition to barefoot can vary from horse to horse. Our retired Dutch Warmblood pony and hardy Connemara, who live on eight acres with varied footing, required virtually no transition period. We pulled their shoes, and they adapted with no observed signs of discomfort. Our other two horses–Biscotti and my junior hunter mare, Willow–live at a training facility with less diverse footing, and they had weaker soles and walls to begin with. Their transition took a bit more time, as they had to gradually adjust to working on a variety of surfaces.
If your horse needs support during transition, or as-needed for rough terrain, hoof boots are a valuable tool in keeping horses comfortable while still offering more flexibility and better shock absorption than metal shoes. Biscotti wore Scoot Boots for several months as he transitioned to barefoot, while Willow did best in rubber-soled Equine Fusion boots. These boots allowed our horses to stay active throughout the transition period. If your horse primarily lives and works on soft footing, they probably won’t develop rock-crunching feet, and hoof boots will be your best friend on trail rides or gravel pathways. There is a growing variety of hoof boot models on the market, including low-profile designs suitable for arena use. Hoof care practitioners who work regularly with barefoot horses can often assist with fitting boots and determining the best model for your horse’s needs.
Willow schooling in her Equine Fusions shortly after we pulled her shoes:
If you’re intrigued by the potential benefits of keeping your horse barefoot, but the transition or ongoing management doesn’t seem feasible, composite shoes can provide a middle ground between barefoot and conventional shoeing. As with hoof boots, there has been a lot of innovation in composite shoes in recent years. Composite shoes offer the protection of traditional metal shoes, but are designed to more closely mimic barefoot conditions, and typically offer better shock absorption, frog support, and flexibility than metal shoes.
This article isn’t intended to argue that being barefoot is best or practical for all horses. The cost-benefit analysis varies by each horse, owner, and management situation. For the four horses we transitioned to barefoot, the benefits have prevailed, as they appear to for an increasing number of horses competing at the highest levels of showjumping competition. Thanks to the work done by equine podiatry experts, our understanding of hoof biomechanics has evolved significantly. We owe it to our horses to consider new information and hoofcare options, and make choices that will help keep our horses as healthy and sound as possible, for as long as possible.
Valuable sources of science-based information about hoof care:
● “The Essential Hoof Book: The Complete Modern Guide to Horse Feet – Anatomy, Care and Health, Disease Diagnosis and Treatment” by Susan Kauffmann (Author), Christina Cline (Author), Gene Ovnicek (Foreword)
● The Equine Documentalist website: https://theequinedocumentalist.com
● Progressive Hoofcare Practitioners website: https://progressivehoofcare.org
● The Humble Hoof website and podcasts: https://thehumblehoof.com. This resource is particularly helpful if your horse has been diagnosed with caudal hoof pain, aka navicular syndrome.
● Daisy Bicking’s website: https://daisyhavenfarm.com
● Pete Ramey’s website and books: https://hoofrehab.com
● Articles and videos by Dr Robert Bowker, former Director of the Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State University
