stabled barefoot

Question
I have been reading about barefoot, I like the idea very much, it sounds like it could be beneficial for the horse, however, for the present time (I hope in the future this will change) I keep my part TB in a stable. I am thinking of trying barefoot, she has had some fungus from the damp bedding etc and i spent all winter treating her rear hoof which had aeten away modst of the frog... it has now regrown and is looking nice. Would keeping her bareoot in a stall mean she is less protected and more in contact with the damp therefore worsen the situation? I do hope to be able to keep her at pasture next year, which I feel is the ideal situation. I look forward to your comments. all the best, Rosa, Italy

Answer
Hello Rosa,
thanks for the question!
Shoes are not protecting the hoof from exposure to urine, moisture or other things present in bedding since the hoof is not that far off the ground in shoes.
Yes, keeping your horse outside will be the best thing for her but whether not having shoes is the best thing for her and you may require a bit more consideration. Transitioning a horse from shoes to barefoot requires commitment by the owner and possibly some time for the horse to adjust. If you are interested in learning more about the pros and cons about barefoot, you may want to look over some of the questions I have answered for others on this forum since this question comes up quite frequently. There are also some excellent websites to consult on this topic. Let me know if you can't find them and I will send you some links.

Hope this is useful and feel free to write back with more questions about this topic!

Christine