I keep hearing people say infection, white line, etc can come in through
nail holes. We've had 2 outbreaks of white line in our neighborhood. Every
time the barefoot horses have gotten it, *not one* of my shod horses has.
That included 4 ponies that had never had shoes and 3 horses that had
been shod at some time but were barefoot at that time. 3 that were
shod never got it.
Angie
*Hi Angie,
Again, there is "barefoot" and barefoot....people who
have barefoot horses and do no hoof care....everyone sees this stuff all the
time; ski-tip feet with the ends all cracked and split and the horses can
barely walk....no care at all....of course the white line can split also and
separate....so I don't know that's a fair comparison.
I have used shoes for years and years....but prior to
that, living in an area with less rocky trails, I had my riding horse barefoot
for 7 years and rode her all over the hills. Had trims every 4 months or
so. She was an Appy. This was well before any special type of
barefoot trim or research, it was just what I call a "common sense"
trim....
It also depends on terrain they are living in. I
would not expect barefoot horses in soft pasture to do well at all, unless
they had regular trims....
