The decision of whether to shoe your horse or not, and when, depends on the individual horse involved and the owner's goals for that horse. If it is a young, growing horse, a broodmare, or a stallion, shoeing might not be required. If it is a horse that will be involved in a discipline that requires serious conditioning or a particular gait is involved, then shoeing will likely be the approach of choice.

Whatever the decision, the key is to try to do what is best for the horse, whether that is leaving a good-footed horse as natural or putting protection in the form of boots, glue-ons, or shoes on a horse that needs it.