Eventing barefoot

One of the concerns most commonly raised about riding a horse without shoes is jumping - specifically, jumping on grass and how on earth do horses cope without studs?

There are lots of issues with studs, not least that their effects are unresearched and they can cause severe injury (some interesting points are raised in this article: "The use and effect of studs") but today I just want to point to Mango, a little orange horse who last week flew round the Badminton grass roots course fast, clear, under the time, without slipping and without shoes.

I've known this horse and his incredibly dedicated owner for several years and they have gone from strength to strength all through their own hard work. It was a huge privilege to watch them storm round the course more confidently and more fluently than many of the shod combinations.

You can read the whole story, with some fantastic photos, on their own blog I've Been Mangoed and there is some short slow motion footage here as well: https://vimeo.com/215960345.

Just goes to show that a well-balanced, well-schooled, healthy horse does better on his own 4 feet.