The Barefoot Vs. Shod Debate

07/26/22 • 53 min

1 Listener

We’re taking on a spicy topic this week! (But why is this such a heated debate? We’ll get to that, too!)

If horses are born without shoes, why do they need them? Are we disrupting their natural gait/growth/biology by putting shoes on them, or are we actually helping them cope with their lifestyle and demands by nailing some steel on their feet?

Rich Affonso is a seasoned farrier and Equestrian Masterclass instructor who has worked for decades on horses of all disciplines, from working ranch horses, to fancy dressage horses, and everything in between. You name it, he’s probably seen it. He’s also done his own research into why barefoot

With host Caroline Culbertson, Rich dives into:

Why do folks like to argue about this topic so much?
What is barefoot trimming versus regular trimming?
If you’re going to try going barefoot, what do you need to know about the transition?
What supplements/hoof topicals are useful?
Will we see more unshod horses after Peder Fredericsen’s performance with All In at Tokyo Olympics last summer?
What about shod up front, barefoot behind?
And more...

We’re taking on a spicy topic this week! (But why is this such a heated debate? We’ll get to that, too!)

With host Caroline Culbertson, Rich dives into:

Why do folks like to argue about this topic so much?
What is barefoot trimming versus regular trimming?
If you’re going to try going barefoot, what do you need to know about the transition?
What supplements/hoof topicals are useful?
Will we see more unshod horses after Peder Fredericsen’s performance with All In at Tokyo Olympics last summer?
What about shod up front, barefoot behind?
And more...

Previous Episode

Bringing a Scientist's Approach to Your Horse

Are you an expert on your horse? Do you see your peers or even your trainer “winging it” when it comes to structuring rides, or figuring out why that rail fell down, or why your horse seemed tired in today’s ride? We’re learning about ways to use science and data to drastically improve the performance of ourselves and our horses – and it’s exciting.

On this episode of Equestrian Voices, Dr. Tim Worden and Nicole Lakin from the Equine High Performance Sports Group join us to discuss how we can use what we’ve learned in recent decades from human sport, and use it to our benefit in horse sport.

This can sound a little intimidating at first, but there are simple practices to bring a “scientist’s approach” to your horse’s care and training. In fact, you probably use a data-focused approach in your horse’s training and management in small ways without even realizing it.

Along with your host, Caroline Culbertson, Nicole and Tim dive into:

Why and how horse sport is behind in using science and data to improve athlete performance (that is, we mostly think of it to fix problems or injuries that have already happened)
Why data and intuition can coexist - because the horseman’s intuition is also a powerful thing!
Small, easy ways that you can start to “log data” about your horse and how that can help you
Rethinking how we use video to determine where our horses’ weaknesses are (hint: it’s more than just having your friend video your round at a horse show!)

Next Episode

Buying and Selling Horses Under $40K

What if you don't have $100k to spend on buying a horse? Join the club - there's a whole lot of us!

It's time to give this portion of the horse market some air time.

What's the buying or selling experience like in the, say, $40,000USD and under range? How do we find good quality horses in budget? Where do we look? What's a PPE like in that price range? How are those horses valued?

Today on the podcast I have the lovely Pippa Moon to walk us through this. Pippa has described selling horse under 40k as the “bread and butter” of her business. While she is originally known as a top level eventer having competed up through the (old) CCI4* level, her business now is heavily focused on sales in the hunter/jumper, eq, dressage, and eventing disciplines. Her home base is in Aiken, SC where she sells roughly 30 horses a year, although this year she’s set to far exceed that number.

In addition to the questions above, Pippa and I chat about: