WELCOME TO NATURAL HOOF CARE!

This site is intended as a resource for horse owners who are riding, or considering riding barefoot. Many people have turned to natural hoof care to heal lameness after traditional veterinary treatments and remedial farriery have failed. But with an increasing interest in natural horse keeping and riding, natural hoof care is also of growing interest for owners of sound horses. I hope this site will; 

• Give a basic introduction to natural hoof care.
• Give you the background knowledge needed to assess the health of your horses feet.
• Help you to decide if natural hoof care is the best option for you and your horse.

WHAT IS NATURAL HOOF CARE?                                          

Natural hoof care developed from studies of feral horses living in the dry, rocky and sparsely vegetated American West. These horses are fit, healthy and have awesomely strong and sound hooves without human care. Natural hoof care is a holistic approach, emulating as closely as possible the elements that forge these wild hooves, so that the domestic horse may benefit from the same level of soundness and health.

                                   

                                 

For the domestic horse living in the UK, terrain, climate, diet and lifestyle are all very different to that enjoyed by the feral horses in the US. This creates challanges when managing the domestic barefoot horse, but the advantages in health, soundness, performance and longevity are worth the effort.  The pictures above show feral horses galloping happily over rocky ground without metal shoes protecting their feet. Feral horses living in the optimal environment don't suffer from laminitis, navicular or the host of common lamenesses that affect domestic horses and are the perfect model of soundness and health. Why wouldn't we want our horses to be the same? Do you accept lameness and illness as an unavoidable part of domestication, or would you prefer your horse to enjoy a healthy, pain free life? This site will show that domestic horses can grow strong, sound "wild horse" hooves. 

WILD HORSE HOOVES.

  

Photos courtesy of Cindy Sullivan www.tribeequus.com

The photos above show preserved specimens of feral horse feet. They look very different to the feet of domestic horses, even those of healthy barefoot horses. This is because feral horses travel around 15 - 20 miles each day, right from the day they are born. This shapes their hooves into the optimum form. Few domestic horses travel the same milage, and most importantly not from birth, so they never develop optimum hooves as they grow. When their feet are further weakened by shoes problems can develop.