Hoof care is fundamental to equine welfare. Poor hoof health causes chronic pain and lameness that significantly reduces quality of life for horses in work and leisure.
Equine hoof welfare requires consistent, skilled farriery and veterinary attention as well as good management practices. The hoof is a complex living structure that, when unbalanced or diseased, causes pain that horses frequently mask through behavioral changes rather than obvious lameness. Research using pressure plates and nerve blocks reveals that many horses considered sound are actually experiencing pain during work. Laminitis, which can be triggered by dietary carbohydrate excess, endocrine disease (PPID, EMS), or systemic illness, causes severe acute and chronic pain and is a leading cause of equine euthanasia. The welfare implications of working lame horses — inadvertently or deliberately — are serious and represent one of the most common welfare failures in equine sport. Regular hoof care combined with early lameness recognition and investigation prevents cumulative suffering.