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A good trim is a good trim.  Rest assured.

I have studied the Dr. Bowker research (which I follow), the Dr. Strasser methodology (I do not follow) as well as others.  

As much as some argue that traditional farriery is misleading teaching, that is simply untrue.  Harping on negatives to sell something is misleading.  The real negative about the practice of self maintaining horses is that the horses I have personally seen spend much more time lame than sound.  It is incomplete.  Mass (more hoof) cannot be gained by continuing to trim the hoof.  Think about how many horses have been used through the generations and how hoof care developed.  Do you think horse owners have always shod working horses for the heck of it?

It is my opinion that the true benefit for the horse and hoof is breeding and solid turn out.  If we conscientiously breed for hooves like we do for other attributes, we would have a much larger percentage of useable barefoot horses.  There are certain breeds that do this and they are most excellent in overall heartiness. 

Many of my client's horses are barefoot, but almost all of the upper level competitors must wear shoes. 

One argument of the barefoot trend is that it may take a year for a sound horse to become sound again after pulling the shoes.  The plan is that this will then allow the horse to be sound years longer than with shoes.  I can think of dozens of horses over the age of 20 that work hard everyday and if you tried to convince their professional owners to remove the shoes, they would tell you that barefoot, especially in the front, is not a viable option for their working horse.  I agree, whether I like it or not.  Have you ever worked on a geriatric horse?

I would love to hear what you think.  I have a hard time not being negative about people marketing this natural hoof care as if it is the only alternative to the barbaric practice of farrier art and science.  If someone wants to trim horses and not master the profession, that is ok, but leave my friends out of it.  Quit frankly, I would love to be able to service my clients by running around in a Festiva.