What is Natural hoofcare?

Natural hoof care, also known as barefoot trimming, is keeping and working horses without shoes.
Natural hoof care aims at restoring the hooves to the natural state of health than enables wild horses to travel up to 20 miles per day on any terrain without shoes.
Keeping horses barefoot has many advantages: it is cheaper that shoeing, you never miss a ride because of a lost shoe, but most importantly, barefoot horses are healthier and happier. 
However, it is important to realise that natural hoof care is not just a matter of taking the shoes off!
Jaime Jackson, an American farrier and one of the founders of the Association for the advancement of natural horse care practices (AANHCP) conducted extensive research on wild mustangs, that shows that these horses travel an average of 15 miles / day, often on difficult terrain. Yet, their feet are so perfectly healthy that he used them as a model to design his own barefoot trimming technique.
Because our domestic horses rarely travel 15 miles every day on rough ground, their hooves must be trimmed, at least once a month. To quote P. Ramey: “You can make any mistake in your trimming, but don't make the mistake of not trimming”. Without trimming and with insufficient natural wear, your horses' hooves would grow too long and distorted, and the hoof horn would not grow strong enough for the horse to be comfortable of hard, uneven ground.
Regular trimming is essential for healthy hooves.

The Association of Natural Horse care practitioners in Ireland encourages horse owners to do at least some of their own trimming, but trimming hooves is a skill that has to be learn. Some of our members are running weekend training courses. See the training courses section of this site for more information. There are also a few trimming groups in Ireland (currently in Co Mayo and Co Clare).
You will also find on this site links to some Natural hoof care practionners in Ireland, who can assist you in taking your horse barefoot.