The evidence base for barefoot horse keeping and trimming approaches and their welfare implications compared to traditional shoeing.
The debate around barefoot horse keeping touches on fundamental questions about how domestication has altered welfare needs. The natural hoof is a sophisticated structure whose full function may be compromised by permanent metal shoeing. At the same time, individual variation in hoof quality, diet, management, and work demands means that blanket approaches to either shoeing or barefoot keeping can fail individual horses. The welfare priority is optimizing hoof health and preventing pain through whatever combination of management approaches works for each individual horse. Ideological attachment to either approach at the expense of evidence-based individual assessment is the greatest welfare risk.