Wild Horses Don't Wear Shoes
why should yours?

When I bought my mare, Krickett, she was barefoot and had been for some time, as she had been a pasture broodmare. It never occurred to me to shoe her; we went out for rides and she was perfectly sound. We rode for eight hours on hardpack dirt and gravel and she was never tender. A few people suggested that I needed to "get some shoes on that horse," but I simply saw no reason for shoes when she was perfectly fine without them! I hadn't yet looked into the health benefits of barefootedness; I just knew Krickett was happy and comfortable without shoes.

The horse's hoof was a mystery to me, as for many horse owners. I knew nothing about what constituted a healthy foot or what one even looked like, though I could tell when one was really messed up. The secrets of the hoof were for farriers and vets - the experts, or so I thought. The last time a farrier trimmed Krickett, I was informed that her "white line was stretching" and she would probably need shoes pretty soon. What, I asked, causes the white line to stretch? (At the time, I didn't even know what the white line was.) Well, the farrier danced around the question, and never did give me an answer. Over the weeks, I asked three other farriers, and none of them answered me, either. I was hardly pleased with this lack of information, but didn't know where to start looking for answers.

Then Debbie, a regular customer at my health food store, stopped by. We shared an interest in treating our horses naturally, and it dawned on me that she might have some suggestions. Debbie had just begun to trim her own horse, and "put the bug in my ear" that shoeing is detrimental to the horse's well being. When I expressed doubt that I could do it, she emphatically countered that I could. She pointed me to Marjorie Smith's website (see Resources), and that day a whole new world opened for me. Marjorie was very encouraging that most horse owners are capable of caring for their horses' feet, and she laid out very clear directions for trimming. I studied the website, emailed her a few questions, and prepared to trim my own horses.

The day before I planned to trim my horses, I just about panicked. What if I did something wrong? What if I hurt them? What if they were sore? Permanently lame? What if I didn't get their feet balanced right? Ahhhh! I nearly talked myself out of trimming. I tried to find a barefoot trimmer to guide me through the process, but I couldn't even find one within a couple states/provinces of home! I didn't want to embark on this alone but that was reality, and it intimidated me.

And then my best friend, Rick, made one simple comment. "At least you're not putting shoes on them."

Suddenly I had a much better perspective. Horses are very forgiving. Many tolerate poor farriery for quite some time before coming up lame. The chances of me doing damage like that by simply trimming were relatively small. This is not to belittle the fact that this is serious business. But though my trim would not be perfect and I would certainly need to improve, my horses' feet were forgiving enough to let me learn on them.

My horses seemed happy with the outcome. It took quite a while to do the trim, but they were sound and comfortable afterward. And Leo, Krickett's colt, was much happier than after his one farrier trim! Both of us were almost traumatized by that experience - the farrier wasn't abusive, but was very rough with this youngster who couldn't balance on three legs yet. Now, I understand that farriers have schedules, but that rush job didn't help Leo to like farriers. When I trimmed his feet, I was not on a schedule, so I could give him frequent breaks so he could learn to balance. I could also spend time figuring out where to position his leg so he could balance easiest - and that was, most definitely, not in the farrier's position.

I loved trimming my two horses. It has incredibly strengthened our connection. The whole process gave me an unexpected sense of accomplishment, and it felt so good to know that I could take care of them in this way. The hoof still held mysteries (as I suspect to some degree it always will), but it was beginning to make some sense.

I was simultaneously transitioning through a major change in life; I had been in the health food industry for 13 years, and needed a change. I was also moving from Washington State to British Columbia. I had known for a while that my career path was going to shift, but in what direction, I had no idea.

And then one day, as I was rereading Jaime Jackson's The Natural Horse the thought struck me...I could be a barefoot trimmer. It made sense: I love horses, I love trimming, and I feel strongly enough about barefootedness that I could devote a significant chunk of my life to furthering the cause. I fired off an application to the American Association of Natural Hoof Care Practitioners - and thus begun the next phase of my barefoot journey.

Since then, I completed the AANHCP Certification Program, and have been trimming full time for several years. I am currently an instructor with the Equine Sciences Academy, and look forward to blending more teaching in with my trimming work.

And, yes, I still make time to ride my own horses!