page_title: Natural hoof care
section_title: Impact of horseshoes
hierarchical_section_title: Natural hoof care / Impact of horseshoes
caption_attribution_description: English: An Easyboot Horse Boot, used as a substitute for a horseshoe
context_page_description: Natural hoof care is the practice of keeping horses so that their hooves are worn down naturally and so do not suffer overgrowth, splitting and other disorders. Horseshoes are not used, but domesticated horses may still require trimming, exercise and other measures to maintain a natural shape and degree of wear.
  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 horseshoes. The hooves of barefoot horses are trimmed with special consideration to a barefoot lifestyle. 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.
context_section_description: Removable iron horseshoes known as "hipposandals" may have been invented by the Roman legions. Nailed-on shoes were certainly used in Europe by the Middle Ages.
  Horses were shod with nailed-on horseshoes from the Middle Ages to the present, though well-trained farriers also performed barefoot trimming for horses that did not require the additional protection of shoes. It has become standard practice to shoe most horses in active competition or work. However, there is a growing movement to eliminate shoes on working horses. Advocates of barefooting point out many benefits to keeping horses barefoot and present studies showing that improper shoeing can cause or exacerbate certain hoof ailments in the horse.
  Damage from improperly fitted and applied horseshoes can be seen in a gradual distortion of hoof shape, along with other ailments. Hoof soles are often sensitive when going barefoot after a long period of having been shod (because they are not thick enough through callusing). It can take weeks, months, a year, or more, depending on the horse's prior condition, before a horse is sound and usable on bare feet. During this transition period, the horse can be fitted with hoof boots which protect the soles of the feet until the horse has time to heal and build up callouses, though these boots, especially when not properly fitted and used, can cause hoof damage as well.
caption: A hoof boot may help protect the horse's hooves during the transition period.
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