Is it possible?

[Saz89]

Hello all Im new to this part of the forum. I am considering getting a horse on loan. He is shoe-less and he has been for six months.
My question is would I be able to hunt him? With boots on of course or am I a nutter?? Any suggestions very much appreciated.
Saz x

[piebaled_prince]

even without boots, as long as his feet have hardened after his shoes have been removed he should be fine! the feet are the natural shock absorbers, and their as they are for a reason! ask you farrier/EP what they think, boots or not.
My EP is super, and as long as the feet of the horse are in good condition & have hardened up nicely, they should be worked as normal. It's important when shoes come off to spend a month or so doing 10 mins a day & then building up on hard ground, and over less even ground if that's what you'll be encoutering when you ride out. the more work you do (obviously not straight away, building the work up) the harder the feet will become (as far as I belive it)
As I understand, there are many eventers & even racing horses who now compete barefoot!

The best thing to do is ask you trimmer their opinion as to whether they think he'll need to wear boots! each horse is different !

[MelanieD]

Possible but depends on the feet. I'm not entirely convinced hunting in boots would be a good plan, maybe totally bare would be better but depends on the kind of ground you're going over. There are people on http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/ hunting barefoot.

[Saz89]

Thanks for the replies, I will let you know how things go :)