We assume that asphalt is much harder on hooves than it actually is. I've done lots of riding barefoot on blacktop, and found that it's very easy on my horses feet.

Trimming clinician Pete Ramey's wife, Ivy Ramey, has experience with barefoot driving horses and said their performance barefoot is awesome. There are pictures of Ivy's draft horse in Pete's book. The pictures on this page are of a clients Hafflingers. These horses do almost all of their conditioning on paved roads, barefoot.

Why would we need boots on asphalt?

The only real long-term reason is to protect a tender sole from gravel and for special needs horses such as police patrol horses. For most peoples needs, boots are only necesssary to protect transitioning feet or to help absorb concussion.

HOOF WEAR

I've heard people worry about hoof wear with driving and parade horses, and the analogy I made was to running shoe wear. I've run hundreds of miles on pavement, and occasionally qualify for "Clydesdale class" in marathons and even with my extra weight, it takes at least a month of serious running to wear a significant amount of sole off on my shoes, and the shoes *still* last 3 to 5 months before the tread is destroyed.

I'm a big, clumsy runner, and I understand that horses are larger, but hooves are tougher than rubber, and they grow. Most driving horses jog or walk on level surfaces, and they seldom do it for 8 to 10 hours a day, so the wear isn't significant after the feet have gotten in condition for it.

The horse in these pictures always needs a trim at 5 weeks, no matter how much road work they've done.

TRACTION

Barefoot traction on asphalt is excellent compared to shoes with cleats, and boots can improve that traction.

SHOCK ABSORPTION

The hoof absorbs concussion so well on asphalt that it amazes me... Gavilan has always been sensitive to concussion, and he'd like to canter on asphalt. When I was running, I found that asphalt transmitted less concussion than many hard packed dirt trails that appeared soft, and sometimes "runs" softer than packed sand tracks. I was running 30 to 50 miles a week on trails, so I was hypersensitive to footing.

The horse in these pictures does lots of milage on asphalt and if it stressed her, it would show up as swelling and heat in the pastern and fetlock, as well as in "road founder" rings in the wall. This owners horses have perfect walls, tight legs and super feet.

And if concussion is a concern, hoof boots provide excellent shoch absorbtion, much netter than anything available in a metal or synthetic shoe.

HEAT

The amount of heat transferred from asphalt to a live hoof is insignificant when compared to the amount of heat transferred by metal shoes, so heat alone isn't a good reason to avoid barefoot.

Booting can be used for sole sensitivity and to insulate the foot from hot asphalt..