This year has been interesting for the barefoot horse discussion – we have seen more and more performance riders explore barefoot as an option for their horses, including 2 of the gold medal showjumpers in the Olympics. Of course, none of this is stated without caveats, so I set out to chat with some of the people involved in this avenue of competition to see if I could learn more about the approach they take in keeping a performance horse successfully sound barefoot.
Through my exploration of the topic, I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with Dr. Stephen O’Grady at a clinic in August. He presented on the positive changes he saw when transitioning horses to barefoot, as well as hoof casting applications he utilized to help along the way. We were able to do some hands-on casting ourselves, and I liked the approach so much I’ve incorporated it into my hoofcare business.
I reached out to Dr. O’Grady after the clinic to see if he would chat with me about his casting method, and the horses he has helped transition to barefoot.
