Barefoot or Shoes on a horse...yet another opinion!

I have been trimming my own horses (at the height of the season last year, 16-18 head) for probably about 23 years now.  I have done some schooling for hoof trimming and shoeing some years ago.  I do a trim from the front style, of trimming, that takes very little off the bottom of the feet.  If I had horses in rocky conditions, I would shoe or boot to protect the hoof.  In Florida it is mostly sand and mud and relatively easier on the bare hoof.  I had 3 horses in shoes for hunt season in the 2012-2013 season, due to overly wet conditions in South Florida.  My horses including my TB (the breed is know for a thin wall, under-run heels, shelly, chipped-up, and thin soled bad feet),  foxhunt, barrel race, and trail ride, barefoot in addition to lessons.  I keep them barefoot when I can and if I have to, due to stone bruising or abcesses, they get shoes.  I transition them back to barefoot after hunt season is over.  I prefer barefoot if possible, as when a shoe gets sucked off in mud, it makes the horse virtually unusable and they have to walk in.  Last year all the shoes stayed on.  This is because I had Brian Street do my shoes last year, and they stayed on wonderfully.  If I was applying the shoes, they would only last 3 weeks. :)

This foot belonged to the Peruvian Paso that was at our barn.  Not perfect and I am sure you could pick it apart but I like the shape and the concavity of the sole.  This horse was always sound and never stone bruised or abcessed the entire time he was at my barn.