I don't get them shod unless I'm going to be riding on a lot of gravel/rocks or for very long periods of time with little breaks. My Haflinger is barefoot, he spent most of his life shod on the fronts but when I got him I had them pulled and we began toughening up his hooves. He is actually doing pretty well barefoot, not much trouble except that he likes to stand in his poop all day so he gets a little thrushy. (I've ordered about 5 bottles of thrush buster that I keep on hand and use once a week or more if needed.) I pick out his feet daily, it is an ongoing battle with fatty mc standinmysh*t.
I will NOT put shoes on Nutmeg unless I find that she really does need them, her back left has a small crack but hasn't progressed any more. Her feet have good concavity and my farrier said they were as close to perfect as she'd seen in quite a while. I'm hoping this will keep her from needing shoes. I'm cheap, and they're expensive. But if she needs them I can have it done. I'd just rather not.
However, I do agree that there will always be horses that are in need of being shod, but I think if there was the option to not do it and keep the horse comfortable and sound I'd avoid shoes.