by Susan Kauffmann and Christina Cline

More and more horse owners are choosing to maintain their horses without shoes these days, for various reasons. Some are attracted by the fact that it is less expensive, others are comforted knowing they will never lose another shoe, and some feel safer with the increased surefootedness of a barefoot horse. But for most, the main reason to “go bare” is that they believe there are substantial health benefits, not just for the hooves, but for the entire horse.

Many experts agree about “going bare”…. Even Dr. Stephen O’Grady, a leading equine podiatrist who in the past was not seen as being particularly “barefoot friendly,” has actually published an article in the American Farrier’s Journal in which he states, “The equine foot with healthy structures is superior in its natural or barefoot state as opposed to the shod state with regards to accepting the weight of the horse, shock absorption and dissipating the energy of impact.”

There is still a perception among many in the horse world that barefoot only works if you don’t actually do much with your horse. Nothing could be further from the truth, as witnessed by the continually growing number of riders in disciplines ranging from endurance to eventing, from Western performance to dressage, at levels from pleasure riders to Olympic competitors, who are discovering that not only can their horses do what they do barefoot, they can do it better, and they are sounder than ever.

Read more: Do You Dare to Go Bare?

by Jen Roytz

Microchipping is quickly becoming the global industry standard for equine identification, especially those being used for competition purposes. The FEI (the International Equestrian Federation–the international governing body of equestrian sports) began integrating microchips into the registration and identification process of horses competing internationally in 2013, and countries such as Australia, Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland and New Zealand have been using microchips in Thoroughbreds for years. This past year the U. S. Equestrian Federation and U. S. Hunter Jumper Association began requiring horses be microchipped in order to compete in sanctioned competitions beginning Dec. 1, 2018.

It was in 2017 that The Jockey Club began requiring microchipping and digital registration of Thoroughbreds in the U. S., and that crop will begin racing later this year. Following suit, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) announced this past December that in 2020 any Thoroughbred making its first lifetime start will require a digital tattoo in order to race as traditional lip tattoos are phased out.

The digital tattoo is a digital certification of a horse’s identity that is accessible through The Jockey Club. To receive a digital tattoo, a horse will have its microchip scanned by a TRPB technician, who will authenticate the horse’s identity through comparing the foal photos and markings on file to a visual inspection. Once the horse’s identity is confirmed, the technician will take and upload updated photos of the horse to the breed registry.

Read more: Horse Health: Microchipping a Superior Form of Identification