Making things too complicated...

I saw a couple of interesting comments in the current issue of "Horse Health" the other day. The first was an article by Andrew Poynton, a well-known farrier, talking about the effects of hard ground. He says:

"When shoeing the foot to protect it we have always tried to allow it to still function naturally but this is a hard call when using steel and nails".

Now, it seems to me that there is an obvious way for a hoof to "function naturally" and protect the horse from concussion - no prizes for the right answer, I am afraid ;-) However, in this article he recommends using pads to protect the horse from hard ground, and heartbar, plastic or glue-on shoes.

A different article in the same edition notes that:

"A traditional horse shoe transfers the impact force from the whole of the sole to the hoof wall and white line. Many horses will cope with this but for those that can't, lameness results".

Another good point - but what's the suggested solution? Frog supports, pads and polymers to redistribute the load.

Is it me, or are they making things a little over-complicated...?