Marring by Metal - or, the harm caused to hooves by shoes

By lifting the hoof off the ground all the weight is transferred to the wall, causing PERIPHERAL LOADING.  The sole and frog no longer contact with the ground and will contort more easily.  Bars become trapped and deform, bending to the point where they can cause movement of internal structures.

Despite people always saying to the contrary a shod horse has LESS TRACTION OR GRIP than a barefoot horse. If you have the opportunity to ride a barefoot horse and then a shod horse over the same terrain you can experience for yourself how much more sure footed the former is over tarmac, concrete, snow, wet grass and even ice.

A shod horse has LESS PROPRIOCEPTION, or tactile sense, so is unable to make wise choices as to where to place his hooves - this also increases the possibility of injuries.

NAIL HOLES cause dryness to hoof horn, weakening the walls and equip fungus and bacteria with an entrance.
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The actual NAILS act as a conduit for environmental temperatures to penetrate deep ​into the hoof.  This can be clearly seen on thermographic images

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BINDING OF THE HOOF leaves them more prone to injury due to greatly decreased circulation.  Impairing the natural flexibility, which is necessary for optimal hoof mechanism, also reduces speed of growth due to lack of nutrients and oxygen reaching the tissues.

The lateral cartilages of the hoof enable the two sides to move up and down independently.  DECREASED LATERAL FLEXIBILITY increases the risk of inflammation, wear to the joints and therefore injury.  Removing this lateral movement, which protects the hinge joints on uneven or irregular footing, leaves these cartilages unable to perform their job.

Raised from the ground this DECREASES SHOCK ABSORPTION properties of the hoof.  The cartilages and digital cushion are in the back half of the hoof, and unable to function without contact to the ground.

Metal shoes are ADDITIONAL WEIGHT to the extremities.  The artificial change of movement will always have a negative impact to internal structures and tissues over time, but when you then consider some of the shoes used to exaggerate gaits, even more biomechanics are negatively altered.

Research at the University of Zurich showed that metal shoes generate a VIBRATION FREQUENCY of 800 HZ.  A frequency that is harmful to live tissue and can cause arthritis. 

DAMAGE WHEN FORGING OR STRIKING, or kicking another horse, is obvious.  A bare hoof can cause sufficient damage, but that caused by a shod hoof can be lethal.

Growing at approximately 1 cm per month, a healthy hoof also wears away what it does not need.  MAINTENANCE INTERVALS of the shod horse are often not regular enough and, unable to wear their hooves naturally, a change in posture between shoeing is common.  Over time the hooves slowly deform, leading to various problems, like contraction and migrated heels.  The natural symmetry of the front hooves changes to an elongated narrower foot.