Is Shoeing a Necessary Evil? By: Neel W. Glass, Ph.D.

Dr Neel Glass was a man ahead of his time.  I continue to get a kick out of this article and I'm amazed at the forward thinking of Dr Glass.  Written in the 1970's "Is shoeing a Necessary Evil" shows the progressive thinking of Glass.


Neel Glass and Easyboot Dandy.  Neel is wearing a buckle from his 1975 Tevis finish with four Easyboots. 

"Horses have been shod by nailing on iron shoes for over a thousand years.  However, shoeing can cause a variety of hoof problems, and the cliche Shoeing is a necessary evil is nearly as old as horseshoeing itself.
 
Since the introduction of Easyboot early in 1972, we have received many reactions and questions and heard many different attitudes expressed on hoof care, treatment, shoeing, and related subjects.  These attitudes have ranged all the way from positive statements that horses should always be shod; to equally flat statements that all shoeing is harmful, the horse should always be barefoot - nature intended it that way!
 
Since there seem to be so many opinions and questions on these subjects, it may be of interest to recount some facts and to describe problems that exist which led to the development of Easyboot.
 
The first use of the horse by man is lost in antiquity but it is clear that the first tribes to use the horse in battle had a tremendous advantage.  However, the eventual limitation of the horse in long hard campaigns and forced marches was the wear of their feet.  At the time of Alexander the Great, horses were not shod except occasionally with a rawhide wrap and there were instances where campaigns were slowed down, stopped, and even lost because the hooves became worn out and broken to the point where the horses could not continue on."

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