Thinking of going barefoot...advice please...

[joey_olop]

Im thinking of taking Blackies shoes off. His feet are solid & always been very good & just think its unnecessary(sp??!!) & wasting my money.

Could someone tell me how long it takes for the nail holes to grow out?? Im just a bit concerned that once the shoes come off these will cause the feet to crack??

Also what about competing, We compete quite regular(SJ), will it have any effect on our way of going(I dont mean in an advantagous sort of way I mean will it make him slip on certain surfaces)

Thanks :)

[Yann]

It's quite difficult to say how easy or successful it's likely to be until the shoes are actually off. Some horses don't miss a step, others that were pretty sound in shoes may take years to develop feet that can do anything a shod foot can without any protection. It's not just about hoof wall quality, though that helps, the state of the frog and especially the internal structures of the hoof are just as important, if not more so. Shoeing often changes the shape and height of feet, and that needs to be addressed as well.

The other thing to consider is that many horses can be sensitive to too much sugar and starch in the diet and this can make them more sensitive on difficult surfaces, especially in spring and autumn during grass flushes. I would guess a lot of horses that 'can't cope' have this going on to some extent.

Nail holes take about 6 weeks to grow out and you do get a bit of horrid chipping generally but it's superficial and rarely seems to bother the horse. It's worth doing a bit of soaking and scrubbing with something like hibiscrub, milton or borax too early on as there may be some grot lurking under the shoes in the white line and frog.

You're unlikely to save any money unless you're very lucky and your horse is one of those that just carries on regardless. Getting a horse working successfully without shoes, especially one that's previously been shod for any length of time involves far more than simply taking them off and hoping for the best. Lots of people seem to try that and end up disapointed.

Lots of people jump their horses barefoot, or even in boots, successfully.

[redcomet]

From the coronet band, the hoof wall takes up to 12 months to fully grow down, so I would expect that for any signs of the nail holes to be gone it would take about 3 - 6 months.
My dartmoor came with fronts on and she was fine on her feet from the moment they were taken off although a friends pony was footy for weeks on end!
The best bet is to have this discussion with your farrier as he should know your horses feet inside and out!

[Yann]

An unshod horse doing plenty of work can actually grow a new foot from coronet to floor in as little as 4-5 months, 6 weeks isn't unrealistic depending on how high the nail holes were.

A farrier's expertise is usually geared towards shoeing horses, not keeping them working successfully without them, they often take the view that 'if it copes, fine, if it doesn't, shoe it'. If things don't go very well with a farrier then a good barefoot trimmer could make all the difference, but they're generally more expensive and you won't save much money.

[joey_olop]

Thanks both of you, got farrier out in 2 weeks so will talk to him about it then.

Just out of interest, can any farrier trim a barefoot horse or do you need one with an expertise in barefoot trimming??

[Yann]

Just out of interest, can any farrier trim a barefoot horse or do you need one with an expertise in barefoot trimming??

All farriers can trim, they obviously need to to prepare the foot for shoeing, and most seem to be supportive of the idea of a horse managing without shoes. How they trim and unshod foot can vary though as they sometimes have different ideas about what is needed and what isn't, I've seen great trims and not so great ones. The proof is in the pudding with how comfortable your horse ends up and how their feet develop :)

[joey_olop]

Cheers for that Yann, Im really interested in all things feet at the moment, you have been a great help thank you :)

[Roofio]

if you have a look at some of my posts in this section there are loads of pics of how his feet have changed since going barefoot in august.

J has painfully slow hoof growth and his nail holes were gone in around 2 months. photobucket is being a pain so can't show you now, will try later.

a bit of cracking and chipping is only really a problem cosmetically - real problems come when like J, he'd torn away most of the hoof fetching the shoes off by himself :rolleyes:

[MelanieD]

Fatty's nail holes were gone in under 2 months and she had nails put in quite high. There may be some cracking and chipping around the nail holes but anything that chips off easily is weak enough anyway that it won't be missed, just looks untidy for a while.

I've found we have better grip without shoes, but fatty was pretty good at staying upright even in shoes without studs. Depends on the horse really.

Some farriers do a brilliant job of trimming barefoot horses, others do a cr*p trim and then when the horse doesn't cope perfectly straight away or wears unevenly decides it needs shoes. Depends on the farrier.