Lisa Ross-Williams, is a natural horse care consultant and the host of the webcast "If Your Horse Could Talk", available at www.naturalhorsetalk.com. She also has a great article about allowing your horse to be barefoot and go a la' natural. This article first touches on the "History of Shoeing" and why the metal shoe was invented. Then her article goes deeper into "Why Not Shoes". A very detailed list is given on some adverse consequences when a 
horse is shod. Some are visibly obvious like:damage by the nails and decreased traction. The non-obvious are: decreased shock absorption, metal vibration damaging tissues, decreased blood circulation, etc... The list not only tells you what the damage does, but also goes into more details on what is happening to your horse's hoof during the time he is in a metal shoe.
Lisa's article is very educational with pictures that show what a natural balanced hoof looks like versus the shod hoof. Not only removal of the metal shoe is required, but nutrition is also a key element. Improper nutrition can result in inferior hooves whether barefoot or shod, and removing a shoe is not the only step you need. Once the shoes are removed, the healing period of transition will vary from horse to horse. Of course, during this period, she recommends hoof boots to be used. Lisa doesn't give any specific information on which boot she recommends, but EasyCare has the boot you will need for your riding partner.
Why not take a look at her site, as well as read the entire article on allowing your horses to have "Healthy Hooves, the Natural Way".
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