Competitive equestrian sport increasingly includes barefoot horses, with evidence accumulating about welfare outcomes, injury rates, and performance in elite competition.
Barefoot competition welfare depends heavily on individual horse assessment, appropriate conditioning, and terrain matching. A barefoot horse on appropriate terrain with well-maintained hooves may have welfare advantages through improved proprioception and hoof mechanism function. A barefoot horse on inappropriate terrain without adequate conditioning may experience significant discomfort and injury risk. The welfare question is not whether barefoot competition is better or worse than shod competition in the abstract, but whether individual horses are appropriately prepared and managed for their specific competitive demands.