Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 February 2010 16:58 Written by Kim Cassidy, Ruth Hamilton and Rick Burten

I've been inspired to write an article about the BUA or BUAtista's which stands for Barefoot Uber Alles.  I've asked Rick Burten, CJF to add his thoughts to this article as I first heard the term from him in 2006, when he had the audacity to call me one.  Kim, you are a BUA.  What the heck is it that and why did it make me so angry?  I found the term highly offensive and hated being called that.  I remember telling Rick to stop calling me BUA and that I was not one of those fanatical people, who believed in barefoot above all else.  I prided myself on being open minded, it was just that I knew so much better than the farriers and if those idiots would just put the right trim on the horse it would be sound and barefoot.   Rick than proceeded to ask me a series of questions about "Are shoes ever necessary, would I recommend shoes to a client, etc..  I think I answered yes just to get him off my back, but in reality I thought shoes were evil and nails were the devil incarnate - yes I was BUA.  I honestly thought all farriers were idiots and couldn't shoe their way out of a box.  I thought all farriers were in love with hammering (well that one I still do believe) and that they just wanted to keep all horses in shoes.  I also thought my knowledge of anatomy and mechanics was far superior to those silly hammerheads.  DAMN!  eating crow gets real old after awhile.

I've been on a very steep learning curve in the past 9 months and the more I learn the more I realized not all horses can be barefoot.  I also refuse to promote an ideal over what is best for the horse.  I love barefoot, it is easier for me to make more money doing it and for many horses it is the healthiest option.  For the owner it is easier, less money, no lost shoes, no worries of hind shod hooves kicking and harming other horses in turnout.  But pay attention, I said barefoot is healthiest for horses that it is healthiest for.  Not all horses benefit from being barefoot.

Let me tell you shoeing horses doesn't make me richer than keeping them bare!  I can make way more money trimming than I can shoeing.  My refusal to embrace the Barefoot Religion has and is causing me no end of grief.  I've been kicked off of the barefoot only groups for the audacity of questioning if barefoot WAS the best thing.  I've been accused of being mean for speaking the truth, when you go against the "normal tribe", they get angry and play the victim.  If they could most would burn me at the stake, because folks, it is still a witch hunt.

So as I've said, due to recent phone calls, I feel the need to openly denounce the BUA, and if it makes you angry, then the shoe fits.

Here is Rick Burten's thoughts on the matter... 

You might want to read this treatise for additional information, 
insights. http://users.ctc.net/millwater/fads.htm

Regardless, BUA stands for Barefoot Uber Alles--barefoot above all else. 
I first heard the term from a fellow farrier, Mr. Dave Millwater, RMF. I 
liked it so much I adopted it. Those who are BUA are rather easily 
identified, as my friend and collegue Mr. George Geist notes, "Those who 
are BUA are pretty easy to identify. Basically they are a lunatic fringe 
movement of barefoot trimmers, predominently women, who will never ever 
have a horse shod at any time for any reason ever. These people have all 
the trappings of a religion and behave as brain dead cult followers.

They seem to pervade the internet mostly and spout a lot of junk science 
and lies behaving primarily as trolls attempting to derail any shoeing 
discussion they can find."

The term BUA first came into use in the mid to later half of the 1990's 
around the time a German Veterinarian, F. Dr. Hiltrud Strasser began to 
be widely noticed for her radical hoof trimming protocols that were/are 
firmly rooted in debunked theory, invasive and damaging trimming 
techniques, and on-going assault on the practices of farriery, ie: the 
proper application of shoes and other orthotic devices to horse's hooves 
that need them. She has been followed into infamy by such individuals as 
[terrible]Tommy Tesky, Martha Olivo, Jamie Jackson, Pete Seeley, Pete 
Ramey(quite probably the least offensive of the group) and a plethora of 
'lesser gods and guru's of the latest Barefoot Movement.

The only change to the term BUA has been to add "tista" to it (BUAtista, 
courtesy of Mr. Tom Stovall, CJF) to more correctly identify those 
individuals who are of the mindset of BUA and practice it to the 
exclusion of all else. It is to be noted that some members of the BUA 
movement have modified their position slightly by now conceding that the 
use of hoof boots may be warranted in some very limited instances. That 
fact not withstanding, their mind set is still BUA and they remain, in 
word, action and deed, BUAtistas.

It is important to understand that farriers, not those who only trim 
hooves, are the only full care, hoof care professionals in the equine 
world. While you will regularly hear, when appropriate and pragmatic, a 
farrier recommend the 'barefoot option', you will never hear a 
BUAtista recommend the shoeing option regardless of circumstance or need.

I would like to close with this statement, also courtesy of Mr. Dave 
Millwater, RMF:

"*Farriery isn't just nailing on shoes.
It's a Healing Art." 

 

Thanks Rick, for adding your thoughts to the article.  While I don't agree with everything Rick Burten says, I do think he has valuable points to share and deserves his say in this article.

 So on to the heart of the matter, this was written with inspiration by Jeff Foxworthy and his sketch You Might Be a Redneck if...

You call your horse a barefoot horse, yet he lives in boots in turnout 24/7, or he must be ridden in boots at all times. 

You think a "natural lifestyle" includes a muzzle, a track, a dirt lot, and hoofboots.
 
You think all vets and farriers are insane and require "therapy".
   
You think metal is "evil" and nails are the very devil himself.
 
You will use casts, superfast, boots, glue on boots, screw on clogs, but think shoes and nails are evil.

You have no problem leaving a horse in Softride Boots for 3 years straight and have it live on soft mats, because putting shoes on is evil.

You believe your horse will be sound if you just get the trim perfect, despite trying every Guru’s recipe for the past 5 years.

You hang on the words of some Guru and have given up common sense and critical thinking

You believe that all issues involving the hoof can be solved by leaving the horse barefoot.

You believe all lameness issues can only be solved at the foot.

You think thin soles will take care of themselves if you just get the diet perfect.

You believe that all that ails the horse can be resolved with a low NSC diet.

You think no horse anywhere at any time will ever require grain in his diet.
 
You think soaking boots should be a part of your horse's daily fashion statement. 

You believe that all hoof related illness comes from thrush, and daily, monthly and yearly soaks are necessary.
 
You spend more time trimming, soaking, spreading hay, walking lame horses on pea gravel than you do riding.

You spend more on pea gravel than groceries each quarter.
 
Your horse's stall goes unused while he stands in his dirt lot in flies, heat, wind, snow, rain, mud, all because you think he will "die" if he stays inside.

You think blanketing your horse will cause poor hoof form.

You think hoof form is more important than soundness.
  
You need shoes to walk across the desert, but will deny them to your horse on the same walk.

Your horse has been in a transition from shod to bare for over 6 months.  If it’s been three years than you need a whole ‘nuther designation.

You believe that impacted bars are the reason for all that ails a horses hoof.

You believe that when trimming, bloodletting is an appropriate and necessary protocol

You accept and/or promote that shoeing horses is the same as the ancient Chinese practice of foot binding. 

You learned how to provide hoof care from an on-line course/source.

You give advice all over the internet and sound like you know what you are talking about, but when your horses have been seen in person they are all extremely lame. 

And finally, you might be a BUA, BUAtista….If you take offense when someone refers to you as a BUAtista but in your heart, you know they are correct.

This is the list that Ruth Hamilton, Rick Burten and I compiled.  If anyone would like to add to it please email me.  If you would like to comment on this article whether for or against, email me and I'll put it up.  As long as it is coherently worded, with no spelling mistakes.

Thanks for reading and to all those owners out there struggling to have a bare horse and you never get to ride, contact me.  There is help :)

 Reader Input - The following will be comments sent to me via email.  Keep them coming.

Anyway… the reason I am writing is that I printed your  Barefoot Uber Alles list – as I know some of these folks, unfortunately.  In fact, they turned me off so bad I didn’t try barefoot for my own horse who really needed a change because of how these folks came at me.  Anyway – another one to add to your list.   A friend, well I guess not really a friend, refused to ride with me last week because I brought a friend with me to ride who has a horse with shoes on.  She ended up riding off by herself after she lectured us and left in a huff.

Kim Cassidy