Jaime: "The biology of Equus Caballus, the result of 60 million years years of natural selection that culminated more than one million years ago, demands that we work with its nature — not against it. The equine species is genuinely adapted to go barefoot. It is only through human ignorance of the horse's natural state that led us to the incorrect, and harmful, conclusion that shoes are necessary -- or useful. They aren’t, and, moreover, contribute significantly to the lameness we see everywhere around the world."

Louise: "The shoe was invented because poorly conceived boarding conditions made the horses sore-footed and the hooves deteriorate -- becoming brittle and weak. It is important to understand that most hoof problems that we see stems from bad boarding conditions (too much confinement, unnatural feeding, too little movement etc.) and not from genetic failure. Anything you nail or glue to the hoof will impede the hoof mechanism and thereby weaken the hooves and the horse's health in general."

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Steve: "It is healthier for the horse, enhances performance and is economically more feasible for the horse owner."

Sherry: "Nature created a perfect creation -- beauty in motion -- and most notably, born without steel nailed to his feet. Man uses shoes because he does not understand."

2. How does a correct barefoot look like? How does it need to be trimmed? What are the differences to traditional hoof care?

Jaime: "The 'correct' look, or, more accurately, the structure of the naturally shaped hoof follows directly from the wild horse “model”. In other words, the adaptation of Equus Caballus. Wild horses of the U.S. Great Basin demonstrate exactly what this means through their life style. Natural Hoof Care (NHC) practitioners mimic the wear patterns of their feet, which, in turn, stimulate natural growth patterns. These patterns are what create the “naturally shaped hoof” — which is never “forced” on any horse as it must be cultivated according to individual conformation and temperament. Habitat is also factored.

"The AANHCP has created a training program and related educational materials to systemize this trim method and related natural boarding recommendations. Of extreme importance is that NHC, in contrast to “other” barefoot trim methods, does not cause harm, respects the healing powers of nature, and always follows the wild horse model."

Luca: "To know exactly how a correct barefoot looks, it is necessary to look to the horses that still lives in the wild -- in such environments as the Great Basin and it should be trimmed according to this model. The differences with traditional hoof care is a reflection of the differences between the domestic horse kept in an unnatural boarded situation, and the true natural horse that lives by using his hooves as nature intends. A traditional trim is flat with sharp edges and with a natural trim, everything is round, smooth, hard, small, short. There is no more or no less hoof than is necessary."

Nick: "First you must ask yourself what is normal and natural for the equine species and why the equine hoof has developed the way it has. Once you have the answer to these questions, you can trim as nature intended. Traditional hoof care depends very much on individual interpretation rather than what is naturally correct for the equine."

Louise: "A 'correct' barefoot hoof is a balanced foot. We use the wild mustangs of the Great Basin as our model because they live without human intervention in an environment that seems to be optimal for the species given their extreme health. We mimic the wear pattern of the wild mustang, because it works for the mustangs and it works for domestic horses."

Sherry: "A (healthy and natural) bare foot is a smooth, rounded hard, short hoof. well defined frogs, large well developed waterlines, usually shows concavity, very short and flat bulbs, that sit on the ground. Trimming a barefoot horse depends on how much movement that horse has. As a rule of thumb, you remove what shouldn't be there and leave alone what needs to be grown, or is already worn. This part of a Natural Hoof Care Practitioner's job takes years of practice and observation and study to develop. Most traditional pasture trims appear to be set-up trims for shoeing, with too much hoof pared away, heels too high or no heel left, too much toe left, too much sole removed, frogs trimmed back too far, and heel bulbs too high off the ground."

Steve: "The model we depict is the one displayed by all horses that live as intended -- moving , foraging and untouched by human ideals. It has a short toe -- ideally less than 3 1/2 inches and has no edges . The hoof is rounded on the outer rim (the mustang roll). Traditional hoofcare leaves the foot with edges that can chip and crack and prohibits the necessary activity that encourages health in the hoof capsule."

3. How should a horse's foot land? Flat or from heel to toe?

Jaime: "The descent of Equus Caballus through natural selection, and as observed in its natural state, has provided us with incontrovertible evidence that there is great variation of support and flight patterns. These are based, once more, on the individual peculiarities of terrain, conformation and temperament."

Luca: "Neither! It naturally lands heel-first in some conditions, flat in some and toe-first in others."

Louise: "Like humans, all horses are different. We must not try to make all horses move the same way. We balance the foot, and the horse decides how he wants to land on his feet, and this varies greatly."

Nick: "Simple, as the equine body dictates the hooves to carry it over any environment or ground."

Sherry: "Horses moving freely on naturally trimmed hooves will land all ways, breaking over in no specific area. The motion is determined by the terrain as well as confirmation and personality."

4. What parts are weight bearing and why? (wall,sole, bars?)

Jaime: "The weight-bearing structures of the naturally shaped hoof are surprisingly different then what we see in deformed, shod, and unnatural trimmed feet. In the natural state of Equus Caballus, the hoof wall (including the bars) endures the primary weight bearing responsibility of supporting the hoof, followed by the sole and frog, respectively. What is strikingly different is that the heel-bulbs, stimulated by behavior driven movement, descend to aid in the weight-bearing mechanism. Among domestic horses, this is closely approximated through NHC trimming and natural boarding."

Luca: "All parts are weight bearing, but with different times and modalities."

Louise: "The wild model shows us that both the hoofwall, the sole and the frog are meant to bear weight. They all take their part in the way the hoofmechanism works. Everything needs to be used and worn, in order to become strong and healthy. If we put on a horseshoe, and lift the sole and frog off the ground, we get a weak hoofwall, thin sensitive soles and often small frogs with thrush."

Sherry: "The entire hoof and all its parts take its turn in weight bearing as the horse moves. The hoof is not a rigid structure, but is alive and flexible, expanding and contracting in turn."

Nick: "All parts are used as and when needed by the hoof mechanism."

Steve: "All parts of the hoof are weight bearing . The wall makes primary contact followed by the bars, frog and then sole. The hoof is designed this way to absorb concussion in flight over uneven terrain."

5. Is the wild horse model applicable to all breeds and riding disciplines?

Jaime: "It is important to understand, above all, that the wild horse and all domestic horses everywhere are all, in fact, Equus Caballus. What applies in the wild, applies among horses in human care."

Luca: "Absolutely to all breeds, disciplines, with no restrictions. This is the shape that Nature intended for horses."

Louise: "Yes, the wild horse model applies to all breeds and disciplines. All horses have the same genetic setup, and will respond positively to the wild horse model and balanced hooves."

Sherry: "Absolutely this is the form that nature intended for the horse. If you are asking whether all horses can go barefoot? I would answer that barefoot is for all horses, but, unfortunately, is not for all people. The "restrictions" apply to human-created or enhanced competitions, such as reining, where a horse without sliding plates cannot perform the same spectacular slide, on command, as one with the help of such special shoes. Another area is that of pathology where the use of shoes can extend the career of an animal, but may shorten his life. I believe there is a moral issue that we must face here."

Nick: "You have to remember that the equine species will always try to revert back to its original adaptation no matter what the domestic situation."

6. What if horses live on wet grounds all the time?

Jaime: "Equus Caballus descended successfully through natural selection in arid, high desert type biomes similar to the Great Basin. Related species became extinct in other, less arid environments. This is an important message to horse owners — keeping horses in wet lands clashes with the very biology of the horse and should be minimized to avoid its pernicious effects. Natural boarding concepts, such as those discussed in “Paddock Paradise” provide alternatives through its unique tracking system."

Luca: "Bring the horse on dry ground! Imagine if a man lives all the time in the water -- what would be the condition of his feet? Nevertheless, horses are better than us. If they march all the day on a wet ground, still they will have hooves hard like stones. The crucial aspect is the movement, not the ground."

Louise: "Wild horses go through long winters with lots of moist and mud, without it having an effect on their hooves. With domestic horses, it is important to provide them with a dry spot to go to at least some of the time. The mud and moist in itself is not the problem, but standing still in mud and moist all day is not natural and might create some problems."

Sherry: "It is important that horses have dry areas to escape the wet. If horses are forced to consistenly endure wet conditions, expect pathology."

Nick: "Constant wet conditions are probably best for fish or amphibians."

7. What should horse owners consider regarding their horses' hooves?

Jaime: "Always to mimic the natural life style of the horse, which includes his feet. NHC provides a holistic care regimen for producing optimally healthy and durable hooves, within a context of natural boarding. This means also making hard decisions about whether or not to continue shoeing, keeping horses in close confinement, using dangerous drugs and feeds that upset his digestive system — which are directly responsible for colic and laminitis, and riding/training horses in ways that are harmful because they violate his natural gaits. NHC is a direct corridor into a healthy way to relate and care for horses."

Luca: All hooves -- even the worst -- are able to repair themselves from almost everything if you feed them naturally and give them natural boarding conditions.

Louise: "The most important thing for horseowners to understand is that they must try to give their horses the most natural environment that they can. Lots of freedom movement (ideally 24/7 when not being ridden), a natural diet consisting of fibres -- not sugar and starch -- and natural hoofcare to keep the hooves balanced. You should not focus just on the hooves, you have to consider the whole animal."

Sherry: "One should stop cutting the horses into sections, and addressing these sections as though they exist by themselves... The horse and all his parts function as one. Just feed him properly, give him lots of movement through natural boarding and get a AANHCP practioner to help you!"

Nick: "Look to nature. It has lessons to teach everyone.

Thanks to Jaime Jackson, Louise Bach-Holler (CP-Denmark), Sherry Eucher (CP-Ohio), Dr. Luca Gandini (CP-Italy), Steve Johnson (CP-Kentucky) and Nick Hill (CP-Scotland) for contributing answers to the various questions.