diff --git a/caddyhttp/proxy/proxy.go b/caddyhttp/proxy/proxy.go
index 0f48a61f..c0c2bb4b 100644
--- a/caddyhttp/proxy/proxy.go
+++ b/caddyhttp/proxy/proxy.go
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ type Upstream interface {
 	// Gets how long to wait between selecting upstream
 	// hosts in the case of cascading failures.
 	GetTryInterval() time.Duration
+
+	// Gets the number of upstream hosts.
+	GetHostCount() int
 }
 
 // UpstreamHostDownFunc can be used to customize how Down behaves.
@@ -94,13 +97,26 @@ func (p Proxy) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (int, error) {
 	// outreq is the request that makes a roundtrip to the backend
 	outreq := createUpstreamRequest(r)
 
-	// record and replace outreq body
-	body, err := newBufferedBody(outreq.Body)
-	if err != nil {
-		return http.StatusBadRequest, errors.New("failed to read downstream request body")
-	}
-	if body != nil {
-		outreq.Body = body
+	// If we have more than one upstream host defined and if retrying is enabled
+	// by setting try_duration to a non-zero value, caddy will try to
+	// retry the request at a different host if the first one failed.
+	//
+	// This requires us to possibly rewind and replay the request body though,
+	// which in turn requires us to buffer the request body first.
+	//
+	// An unbuffered request is usually preferrable, because it reduces latency
+	// as well as memory usage. Furthermore it enables different kinds of
+	// HTTP streaming applications like gRPC for instance.
+	requiresBuffering := upstream.GetHostCount() > 1 && upstream.GetTryDuration() != 0
+
+	if requiresBuffering {
+		body, err := newBufferedBody(outreq.Body)
+		if err != nil {
+			return http.StatusBadRequest, errors.New("failed to read downstream request body")
+		}
+		if body != nil {
+			outreq.Body = body
+		}
 	}
 
 	// The keepRetrying function will return true if we should
@@ -173,15 +189,25 @@ func (p Proxy) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) (int, error) {
 			downHeaderUpdateFn = createRespHeaderUpdateFn(host.DownstreamHeaders, replacer)
 		}
 
-		// rewind request body to its beginning
-		if err := body.rewind(); err != nil {
-			return http.StatusInternalServerError, errors.New("unable to rewind downstream request body")
+		// Before we retry the request we have to make sure
+		// that the body is rewound to it's beginning.
+		if bb, ok := outreq.Body.(*bufferedBody); ok {
+			if err := bb.rewind(); err != nil {
+				return http.StatusInternalServerError, errors.New("unable to rewind downstream request body")
+			}
 		}
 
 		// tell the proxy to serve the request
-		atomic.AddInt64(&host.Conns, 1)
-		backendErr = proxy.ServeHTTP(w, outreq, downHeaderUpdateFn)
-		atomic.AddInt64(&host.Conns, -1)
+		//
+		// NOTE:
+		//   The call to proxy.ServeHTTP can theoretically panic.
+		//   To prevent host.Conns from getting out-of-sync we thus have to
+		//   make sure that it's _always_ correctly decremented afterwards.
+		func() {
+			atomic.AddInt64(&host.Conns, 1)
+			defer atomic.AddInt64(&host.Conns, -1)
+			backendErr = proxy.ServeHTTP(w, outreq, downHeaderUpdateFn)
+		}()
 
 		// if no errors, we're done here
 		if backendErr == nil {
diff --git a/caddyhttp/proxy/upstream.go b/caddyhttp/proxy/upstream.go
index 0309e242..5742eff0 100644
--- a/caddyhttp/proxy/upstream.go
+++ b/caddyhttp/proxy/upstream.go
@@ -423,6 +423,10 @@ func (u *staticUpstream) GetTryInterval() time.Duration {
 	return u.TryInterval
 }
 
+func (u *staticUpstream) GetHostCount() int {
+	return len(u.Hosts)
+}
+
 // RegisterPolicy adds a custom policy to the proxy.
 func RegisterPolicy(name string, policy func() Policy) {
 	supportedPolicies[name] = policy