is it legal?????

[pineapple]

at the moment my 20 yer old pony has lost 2 shoes, one front one behind. she isnt lame and has been barefoot for 2 years being ridden for up to 4 hours a day on roads. in fact i ave had her 9years and she hasnt ever been lame.
i dont know if i should get the farrier to take them two shoes off or just wait for them to fall off like the others. also is it legal for a person to take shoes off horses as long as they dont trim or re shoe them.....

[Bebe]

It's perfectly legal for an owner to take off their horses shoes if necessary, though it's not always easy. If you've never done it before it'd probably be easier to ask your farrier to come out and do it (presumably she's due a trim anyway if she's already lost two shoes?).

[pineapple]

but when she goes barefoot... well the last time her shoes were taken off and not put back on the farrier said not to trim them i do alot of road work.... and she wasnt trimmed for like 18months or so.... but farrier said her feet weregreat when he came back to do her for pleasure rides... wasnt sure she could do them with out shoes.... prob could though:)

[molly34]

I'm a bit confused what you're asking - how can your mare have been barefoot for 2 years if she's had a full set of shoes on? And if she was ok barefoot, why did you get her shod?

As she is at the moment your mare is going to be very unbalanced, so you need to get the odd shoes pulled asap. Is there a reason you can't use your usual farrier? If you want to keep her barefoot its worth consulting an EP rather than a farrier.

As far as I know there's no issues legally - anyone can shoe, unshoe or trim a horse's feet.... wether or not you'd want them to is a different matter!

[Ginger Thing]

As far as I know there's no issues legally - anyone can shoe, unshoe or trim a horse's feet.... wether or not you'd want them to is a different matter!

It is illegal for anyone who is not a qualified farrier to shoe a horse or prepare a hoof for shoeing - anyone can trim a barefoot hoof, or take shoes off, but not put them on.

[pineapple]

:)she had shoes off, then i put them back on for her to do 12-20km rides, im not sure if she needed them though. now shes lost 2 shoes so im gonna leave her go barefoot again. and if its not illegal, then my friend will take them off. i was just checking thats all.... thanx

[laurenefb]

I'd say get someone to take them off rather than letting them fall off. A horse can get injured if a loose shoe twists round and digs in, as well as bits of grit getting stuck between the loose shoe and the hoof and making it sore.

[Wally]

Take them off, it might take agers for them to drop off meanwhile the hoof will grown awry and might make her lame.