Eventing: The Barefoot, Booted & Bitless Way!

by Rhonda Roberts

As we are preparing to enter our 2nd season of barefoot and booted eventing, I have reflected back on what it took to get us to this point, and wanted to share our journey. Many people are interested in having barefoot horses that can still be expected to perform at high levels. This interest is often squelched by the fear of having a lame horse, or not feeling confident enough to make the decision to go the barefoot route. I want to share with you the fears I had, as well as the baby steps I took, before making the decision to finally take the barefoot plunge with my competition horse. It is a commitment that cannot be taken lightly.

As a certified veterinary technician and a lifelong horse owner, I felt I had been very competent in hoof care. I was a “stickler” about how my horses were shod, and I was always evaluating the hooves of our clients’ horses at the vet hospital where I worked. I could tell at a glance which of our local farriers shod the horse we were working on. A friend of mine, who knew I was really “into” feet, mentioned that there was a Natural Hoof Care practitioner in town who was going to be giving a lecture. I signed up to attend the two hour lecture, and came away with my eyes open to a whole new concept.

Naturally, I was very skeptical—I’m not one to just jump in with both feet until I’ve investigated something fully. I’m also not one to believe anything that is approached too fanatically. I took this new idea and began researching on my own. The concept of allowing the hoof to return to the amazing structure that nature intended—while protecting from damage or “overwear” with hoof boots—was such a simple, but scary, idea. I started thinking: well, I grew up in Florida, where none of our horses were shod unless they had “hoof problems.” When I moved to Colorado, all horses had shoes—naturally, as we were in the Rocky Mountains. Now it was time to re-think that concept—wild horses used to live in Florida, and along the Atlantic coast, as well as in the Rocky Mountains...

So, after much deliberation, I had our local NHCP (Natural Hoof Care Practitioner) come out to my place to demonstrate and explain the difference in the type of trim that was performed, as well as fit my draft-cross trail gelding with boots. It seemed as though he should be my first “victim,” since I wasn’t showing him. If he had any lameness complications, it wouldn’t put us out for the season. My broodmare (with warmblood colt at her side) was already barefoot, but her feet were always chipping. I now understood that your basic “pasture trim” was not the same as a “natural trim.” So we trimmed both her and her colt’s feet, and I began my observations of the barefoot transition.

Once I became comfortable with the boot application, I did feel relieved each time we saddled up for a ride, knowing my horse wouldn’t be missing a shoe or throwing a shoe on the trail. The boots were relatively simple, and over the months, I was finding that I didn’t even need to use them for the shorter rides. My gelding’s feet were expanding, and his hoof wall was thickening. He began walking on the gravel in my driveway as if it were nothing. The occasional big stone sticking up would make him shift his weight quickly, but, overall, I was very pleased.

My broodmare’s feet had never looked better. In the past, this 7/8 thoroughbred (Appendix Quarterhorse) had thin, shelly walls that chipped, and soles that bruised easily. I had spent countless paychecks over the years on expensive hoof dressings and supplements for her. Now she was also walking well on the gravel, and no longer chipped out just days after her trim.

I was having their feet trimmed every 4 weeks which seemed, in the beginning, to be excessively often—until I started seeing the changes happening. I understood that, unless they were wearing their feet down on an abrasive surface, frequent trimming was, indeed, needed to encourage strong hoof structure and digital cushion development. It was also important to trim frequently to avoid long hoof wall edges stressing the laminar attachments, as well as chipping off chunks of hoof wall.

All the while, I was still hanging on the idea that I HAD to shoe my competition horse. So every 6 weeks, my “other” farrier would come out to shoe my competition mare, Krahe’s Tiger Eye (I call her “Crow”). He was very interested, yet respectful, of what I was doing with the other horses, all of whom he used to shoe for me.

After 1.5 years of “trying out” this new concept on my other horses, I was becoming a barefoot believer, and I really wanted to see if I could succeed in transitioning my event horse to barefoot. When the end of our competition season rolled around, I kissed my treasured traditional farrier farewell and pulled Crow’s shoes, as I normally would have for the winter. Instead of a pasture trim, I had my NHCP trim her and fit her with boots.

We spent the winter riding barefoot when we could, and using the boots the rest of the time. Crow did end up with one hoof abscess. We are unsure of the original cause, due to the fact that she hadn’t been ridden or out of her dirt dry lot in the 3 holiday weeks before it occurred. We treated the abscess by normal means, and continued to patiently wait for her to develop the strong, healthy hooves that I knew (hoped) she could have. After the winter, I continued to ride her barefoot or booted, and noticed her old toe cracks were grown over halfway down her hoof wall, and she was beginning to walk less gingerly on the gravel driveway.

We began our eventing season with a few crosscountry schooling sessions that really allowed me to test out how well the boots would perform before our competitions. I had done a lot of research and chosen Old Mac’s G2 Hoof Boots, since they seemed to possess the traction, fit and stability we needed. I was using Easyboot Epics on my other horses, and had been pleased with them for trail riding, but knew they were not designed for jumping.

The G2 boots were everything we expected! We competed in 8 events, as well as a number of local hunter/jumper shows throughout the season, and received lots of comments (some good and some bad) from other competitors and trainers. I found that by the end of the season, Crow’s feet had developed into good, strong hooves that were sound on gravel, and only needed boots for long cross-country courses, or rocky trails. We have also gained the respect of a lot of people who never would have believed in keeping a hard-working event horse barefoot.

It is important to understand the concepts of natural horse keeping, in addition to natural trimming. My horses are turned out 24/7 with shelter always available, but they are kept off the pastures when the irrigation is running. I keep some gravel in my dry lot, and my heavy gelding is kept on a low sugar/low starch diet and wears a grazing muzzle whenever he is on pasture. I do not feed concentrates to any of my horses, unless needed during the competition season, and even then, it is of the low sugar/low starch variety. I do not blanket in winter, unless a horse is clipped for training. I can definitely appreciate the differences between the ways many horses are kept, versus how they live in the wild. I try to mimic the more natural lifestyle (within reason).

Barefoot Trimming My advice for barefoot trimming of the sport horse is to find someone very competent in one of the styles of natural trimming—preferably a Certified Natural Hoof Care practitioner. Be sure to communicate with your trimmer on what to expect, and be sure they understand the discipline your horse is used in, as well as what you are hoping to gain from the barefoot approach. Sport horses must be sound, and they need to have someone who understands how to balance them and not be too aggressive with the trimming. Frequent trimming of small amounts of hoof mimics the way that a hoof wears down in nature, and prevents a dramatic change from making the horse uncomfortable.

The horse owner should be ready to make the commitment to a natural lifestyle for their horse. They will need to address footing in living areas and find ways to slowly increase the toughness of their hooves—starting out with walking on pea gravel, and moving on to crush run and other rocky surfaces over time. Keeping horses off of wet or muddy pastures will help them to develop harder, stronger hooves. Turn-out in as large an area as possible, with the forage spread out, helps encourage more activity, which in turn encourages faster hoof growth and helps keep the horse more fit. A wild horse may travel an average of 25 miles per day, eating and traveling to water.

Attention to diet is vital. All horses need forage as the main component of their diet. Keep in mind that the horses’ digestive system was designed to constantly eat small amounts, and, given the opportunity, most horses will graze an average of 18 out of 24 hours. Hay or pasture grasses should be analyzed for starch, sugar, vitamin & mineral content, and balanced with a supplement, if needed. Concentrates really should only be added on an individual basis. Pregnant and lactating mares, as well as growing foals, and horses in heavy training or competition, all have higher nutritional requirements.

Booting the Sport Horse Advice for booting your horse really depends on what you need in a boot. There are so many varieties available, and all are designed with a different type of riding in mind. If someone plans to jump or spend time riding at faster speeds over varied terrain, they will want to be sure to match the right amount of traction and safety features to their needs. A boot with a buckle on the front could be hazardous to a horse jumping a fixed jump, but may be fine if jumping obstacles that can be knocked down easily. Galloping up and down hills may not be safe in some boots that have less traction.

Most important is to understand your horses’ hoof shape, and to find a boot that is designed to fit that type of hoof. Some boots are more appropriate for an oval hoof, while others fit a rounder shape. A good hoof care practitioner will be knowledgeable in the different boot styles, and should be able to come to your place, trim your horse, and then fit a boot to the freshly trimmed hoof. If they don’t carry the boot you need, they can still measure for boots, and usually even order them for you.

Some people may find the boots expensive, but when you look at the big picture, you see that they are only being used when needed. Unlike shoes, they will not be wearing out on days when your horse is not being ridden. Most people will find that a pair of boots will last a few seasons, and most horses only need them on their front feet. A horse carries 60-70% of their body weight on the front feet, and may only need rear boots if they spend a lot of time on asphalt or really sharp rocks. Not to mention the health benefits of avoiding nailing metal on the hoof, constricting it’s natural expansion and contraction, as well as adding immeasurable amounts of concussion to the horse’s joints.

The Bitless Bridle Along the lines of alternative ideas, I also compete and train my mare in a Dr. Cook Bitless Bridle. This concept uses reins that attach to the headstall where it crosses under the horse’s jaw and pushes their head around, instead of pulling. For control it works on poll, jaw, bridge of nose and chin pressure. It gives as soon as you do. For more information you can visit bitlessbridle.com.

I began using the bitless bridle on Crow during our first summer jumping. She developed a horrible head-shaking habit. We researched medical causes or tack fit issues leading to her sudden violent episodes and could not pinpoint anything. She would only do it when we were jumping, and not on trails or in the dressage arena. I tried jumping her in her dressage bridle and nothing changed. I decided it was her way of relieving tension or anxiety, and really tried to concentrate on jump training her in a way that she could learn in little steps, and become more confident in herself. Nothing changed.

Once again, I had a friend with a new concept for me—she had a bitless bridle, because she felt that bits were not comfortable for horses. She’s a bit of a fanatic, but I read all the research, and felt that it could be a great tool for a lot of horses— so I borrowed it, and found the headshaking habit disappeared. I also had plenty of control, which surprised me. I bought one for myself, and tried it on my other horses. My broodmare responded very nicely in it, but my gelding did not—he is much happier in a traditional style bridle. I have found it to be wonderful if you want to allow your horse to graze or drink comfortably on trail rides, as well. So I became a believer in the bitless bridle as a training aid for some horses, and I now get to explain what it is to people who ask about it at events and local shows.

Over the last two and a half years, I have gained a lot of information and training in natural trimming, and have been trimming all of my own horse’s feet. I still have a professional trim them every 3rd month, to make sure everything is as it should be. I know it’s not for everyone, but the sense of satisfaction I get from trimming them myself, as well as the confidence of knowing what is going on with their feet, has been so empowering. I do truly believe that most horses will benefit from a more natural lifestyle, and from natural hoof care. I do not believe that ALL shoes are evil or that EVERY horse must be barefoot. I think every case is an individual situation, and must be treated as such—with a more natural approach being the ultimate goal.

About the author: Rhonda Roberts is a Certified Veterinary Technician living in Carbondale, CO. She grew up in Florida where she showed hunters & jumpers & after moving to Colorado in 1990, worked on dude ranches & "rodeoed" for a few years. Rhonda started eventing in 2005 when Crow was 7 years old.