Barefoot - a fad or the future?

A growing number of top showjumpers are seeing the benefits of taking shoes off their horses, but can it provide the winning edge?

- Eleanor Jones

2023 SHOWJUMPING SPECIAL

MENTION the term “barefoot” and it’s sure to spark heated debate among riders. It was not too long ago that the unshod horse would be the one turned out and roughed off, but now world champion and Olympic team gold medallist King Edward and the two-time Olympic individual silver medallist H&M All-In are just two of the elite showjumpers winning at the top of the sport without a shoe between them.

World champion Henrik von Eckermann says taking King Edward’s shoes off was the game-changer that took the superstar where he is; Germany’s Christian Kukuk says his European team silver medal-winning ride Mumbai is faster and lighter barefoot. A recent study on the way horses move found movement in the barefoot hoof is “freer and larger” (see box).

“He’s lighter, his stride is bigger, the whole horse feels lighter without shoes,” Christian says of Mumbai. “The gait is different, he moves differently; but the best thing is that he feels lighter off the ground.”

You could be forgiven for thinking perhaps that shoe-free is the answer; take off your horse’s shoes and away you go, plus save money on your farriery bill. But, as always with horses, it’s not that simple.

Peder Fredricson, partner of the incredible unshod All In, has ridden some horses without shoes for a couple of years. But he stresses that it is just one tool in the rider’s box.

“The horses more comfortable with shoes have them and the ones more comfortable without are barefoot,” he says. “It doesn’t matter whether barefoot or shod, the more we know about how the hoof works, the better we understand the horse. This is valuable for me but also vets and farriers; knowledge is key.”