I have read articles that barefoot is better...also I was trying to save some money...I thought because he's not outside all that much in the winter that it wouldn't matter.. I guess I was wrong.
Going barefoot is kindof trendy right now, it's like Atkins. Some people believe in it.
Some horses that have grown up barefoot and are trimmed properly can go barefoot, and some horses can go barefoot during light use if you aren't in a rocky area. We currently have one barefoot horse we bought that way, and we are gonna wait and see if she holds up. Most people have to shoe them to keep them sound.
I am of the belief that there isn't anything intrinsically better for the horse about being barefoot and natural. Wild horses didn't live like ours do, and wild horses also often go lame and die young. Natural can be very hard. It isn't a magic answer.
Saving money is always a good goal, but it might be that saving money on shoing isn't a good option for yours. A horse is nothing without feet, and he could be a year before his feet harden and become accustomed to being barefoot, if at all.
That's my two cents.... there are lots of opinions about this.
We pull the shoes on all of our horses when they aren't being ridden, with the exception of a mare who goes lame without front shoes.
I don't think you're wrong for pulling them, although I don't believe barefoot is necessarily better. It just depends on what your ground is like, how your horse is being used, where he's being ridden type stuff.
Has your horse been sick at all or out on grass? I've forgotten where you live.
I had them taken off of one of mine too. Same reasons that you did. His hoofs started cracking and chipping on the sides and I had to put them back on too.