Lucas Magnelli - Barefoot Rehabilitation Europe
Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes, we’ve moved too far away from what nature intended - both for humans and for our animals. My horses are now all barefoot and I am convinced of the benefits to the horse. However, I am no expert on the matter and so I posed a few questions to an experienced Barefoot trimmer, Lucas Magnelli based in southern Spain. I hope you will find these questions pertinent if you are considering taking the shoes off your horse, or simply to highlight that this is an option worth thinking about. I hope you will find this article informative. Lisa x
Lucas Magnelli is a barefoot trimmer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Half Irish-half Italian, Lucas has lived in Boston and Amsterdam and is now based in the south of Spain, Casares, Málaga, near Marbella. His work takes him to many different places and countries as far as Morocco and the rest of Europe when required. Surrounded by animals all his life, he recently bought a Main Coon cat with whom he is totally in love.
As a trimmer of 15 years, did you previously shoe horses with iron?
Yes, all my horses were shoed with the exception of the young horses and the horses that I had in the countryside of Argentina where I am from.
Why did you make the change to Barefoot, and did you have to return to study in order to do so?
I started with barefoot about 15 years ago because I had a problem with a young dressage horse that I got in Germany. His hooves were becoming more and more deformed with very high, narrow and encapsulated heels.
I was told that my blacksmith was one of the best in Spain, and so I questioned him (not to question him but just for me to learn), and he told me that basically the horse “is” like this. After talking with him I remembered how the hooves of the horses in the plains of Argentina were and I thought “something is not ok here…”. Why do I see so many horses with strange looking hooves (deformed I would say today) and why is it that when they are almost wild in the plains, they look so different? The tradition in Argentina with the sport horses is to pull the shoes off and send them to the countryside for the horses’ hooves and mind to rest in summer.
The deformities and the high heels that I saw were with the Andalusian horses, warm bloods and many others breeds. It was not about being in Spain or just this particular blacksmith. I honestly don’t blame them, they do a fantastic job following a very long tradition.
I said to myself, I bought a horse in Germany and his hooves look like those of a donkey. In “my experience” every time that I asked why the hoof was like this or like that, after a complex and lengthy explanation the answer was to blame the horse and to tell me that “the horse IS like that”.
The day after talking with my blacksmith and having absolutely no clue how to use the tools or what I was doing, I decided to pull the shoes off! I didn’t know how I was going to carry on but I thought that in the worst case scenario I would just ask the blacksmith to shoe him again, this was not a castration.
I question everything, every book and especially myself. I want to understand thing and try to improve whatever I do, do the best I can.
What are the optimal benefits to a horse being barefoot?
The list is long, and it’s not a matter of opinions or beliefs, everything is backed up with science, facts, and studies. I will mention just a few briefly because I can talk for hours about it.
The hoof that is barefoot is usually about 5Cº degrees warmer
The blood circulation is increased and improved
The capacity to absorb the impact increases
The back of the hoof has the ability to expand to its full capacity
The hoof has the ability to bend medio laterally which will releases the pressure in the joint, allowing the hoof to distort, flex and twist on uneven terrain and on turns.
The hoof, limb and rest of the horse will have less stress and will prevent injuries as you increase the dissipation of energy and shock absorption.
I would recommend that people read Dr Robert Bowker about his Theory of Haemodynamic.
When the hoof is barefoot, the weight distribution is more even around the whole surface of the hoof and does not concentrate in the perimeter where the shoe is located. The frog plays a vital role in contact with the ground and when shoed you just basically lift the sole off the ground and most of the weight is transferred to the wall which it is not designed for.
You also increase the ability to heal better and quicker. When the hoof eventually cracks (actually when the horses are barefoot you will rarely get a crack due to better balance and weight distribution) it will heal faster and when the hoof is barefoot it will allow the horse to better perceive the landscape where it’s moving. The hoof, when it is barefoot and well managed, will recover its natural conformation and health. The hoof will grow stronger, but it’s not just about t the hoof, the horse’s overall health improves, that’s why we see horses jumping in the last Olympic Games going barefoot.
Basically, we are taking the full benefit of this bioengineering product of over 55 million years of evolution.
Can Barefoot be considered for horses in any discipline (dressage, jumping, western etc)?
I don’t want to give my personal opinion I just want to highlight the facts. You will see barefoot horses at a high level in every discipline. People, little by little, are trusting and taking the risk of leaving a long-term custom behind and are becoming more open to exploring new roads.
What issues must we consider when transitioning to barefoot?
Who is going to do the work, how committed the owner is, the facilities and conditions that you have and the current health of the hoof, must be considered to plan a successful road plan. Honestly, it’s not a big deal.
How long, on average does it take to transition to barefoot and do you recommend the use of plastic shoes as part of that process?
Sometimes you just pull the shoes off and the horse right after almost flies showing great movements never seen before. Some horses will be fine in the arena but for them to cope on hard terrain they will need some time and the help of boots. If you want to achieve the maxim strength of the hoof in the hardest terrain you will have to pay attention to all the pillars of barefoot; trimming, lifestyle, nutrition, movement and eventually a Paddock Paradise.
How big a factor is diet and exercise in relation to the health of the hoof?
Absolutely vital… it’s related to the health of the whole horse no matter if it’s barefoot or not.
What ongoing care is required, how often is trimming required on average?
If the horse has restricted movement 23 hours a day (like most horses unfortunately), in order to do a good job you will have to trim them every 4 to 5 weeks. When horses have the benefit of great movement each day, depending on the conformation of the horse the season and the terrain I would say that you should trim them every 6 to 8 weeks. A good balanced diet is necessary, and you must disinfect the hoof regularly, especially for those horses that spend 23 hours a day in the stable or in very muddy terrain.
Is there any reason not to transition to Barefoot? For example, a horse is too old, the breed too highly bred or the terrain to dry/wet/rocky?
When people question going barefoot, I remind them that the mothers of all our horses were barefoot and most of the time spent 24/7 outside. Every horse can go barefoot, but eventually a few will need the support of a boot in the transition. I want to add something, for example, in the case of show jumping horses jumping at a high level on grass, I would recommend for them to be shoed with studs just few days before the competition and then to pull the shoes off a soon as they are back home. Normally there are just very few events a year that are on grass.
Do you recommend the use of hoof boots? Some people may say that if they need hoof boots then they would be better to be shoed.
Boots yes, but it depends… normally you don’t always need them, normally not for ever. I personally work mostly with dressage and jumping horses working in the arena, in my 15 years of experience I had 3 horses with boots for a few months. The difference between a boot versus an iron shoe is that you get all the benefits of the barefoot hoof with the boot.
One more than one occasion, after a trim my horses have been very foot sensitive to the point that I have not ridden. Is it true that a change of season, worming and wet weather can make their hooves softer and therefore more sensitive?
If the horse became more sensitive, it was probably trimmed too much. Sometimes you have to make some adjustments that can leave the horse a bit more sensitive, we try not to but sometimes we have to do some corrections, however with the support of the boot we can avoid it. The idea is to never leave a hoof sensitive. Different seasons, terrain and many other conditions affect the hooves and shape them. The aim is to grow a healthy and strong hoof to cope with all of this as they do in nature.
Do you see an increasing number of owners open to the benefits of allowing their horses to become Barefoot?
Yes, definitely, but we still have a long road to go. For example, there are many disciplines where the transition is much easier and shorter. They will probably never have to use boots like every horse ridden in the arena that still has shoes. This is like wearing your mountain boots to go to the beach.
How do we find a recommended Barefoot farrier?
It depends on the country… difficult to say.
What would you recommend horse owners to read to educate themselves on this matter?
Read Dr Bowker, Pete Ramey, KC La Pierre, Jaime Jackson, there are many more very good authors as well. I have an Instagram account with pictures where you can easily see and understand the benefits and things that you can do with barefoot #barefoot_lucas_magnelli.
Do you recommend that owners learn to trim their horses' hooves themselves? If yes, what courses would you recommend? Is this something you also do?
I can help them with that, but one thing is to maintain a healthy hoof with the advice of someone doing a follow up and check that everything is ok and another thing is to grow a new healthy hoof, to work on the deformities that most of the horses have and this is the most amazing part of barefoot, the capacity to rehabilitate the hoof.
If anyone would like further information or advice on their horse(s), would you be able to assist?
Yes. I can be contacted via WhatsApp for questions and/or advice in either English or Spanish. People can also see my work and contact me via my Instagram account.
Lucas Magnelli, January 2022
Barefoot for Dressage & Jumping
Spain & Europe
T: +34 628 621 724
Comments