“injuries to its Coronet band, and multiple wounds from being canter on concrete without shoes.”
Lack of shoes does not cause such an injury. Were that the case every feral horse on the hard desert floor would have this.
Shoes protect the wearing of the hoof. Steel does little to limit concussive injury. You can road founder a horse nearly as easily with shoes as without. Of course they are not speaking of road founder here.
“It aint the ‘unting on the ‘eath (’eavy ‘auling) that ‘urts the ‘orses ‘ooves, its the ‘ammer, ‘ammer, ‘ammer on the ‘ard ‘igh road.”