Stopping barefoot?

[ringtor]

I have a 7yr old pony that has never been shod. She has good feet but this year I want to do more with her. I have to trot on roads and stoney tracks and this winter she has found this difficult. She has boots on front but is more cautious in them than when her feet were hard last summer and I left them off. I am beginning to think that I need to shoe her to get enough work done to get her fit. I think it is the wet ground that has softened her feet so that even just in the field the walls are very worn. Any advice?

[shandy84]

Others will disagree but I'm a firm believer that barefoot is not for every pony the same as shoeing isn't. If you feel your horse is saying she needs shoeing then that's what i would do

[xloopylozzax]

exactly i agree with shandy84- if she needs shoes she needs shoes no questions about it
just do what you think is right not what is the "in thing" because it isnt right for everybody
go with your instincts ;)

[lachlanandmarcu]

You might be able to shoe her in winter and not shoe but maybe boot in summer....

agree tho - I have one shod and one unshod and dont plan to change that: horses for courses, if its not working after persevering, change!

[Yann]

You need to do whatever's right for you and your horse, but a horse that's footsore even in boots would worry me, something is wrong and there's no guarantee that shoeing would make it any better.

There are several things that could be causing the problem, infection and diet would be top of my list to look at if you haven't already. If you put boots on an OK bare foot then they will storm over stuff in them that even shod horses would struggle with in my experience.

[shandy84]

That's a good point Yann, maybe it would be worth having her checked out first and get advice on how to proceed with her.

[Yann]

I've had a first hand taste of it this week, Tess has been absolutely stomping in boots for 18 months but was short in trot in them on a hard surface on Sunday, and dog lame with an abcess on Monday:rolleyes:

[Snowyboy]

i'd get her feet checked first

one of the pony's on our yard has had to go back into shoes - his owner is devestated :(

If anyone could have made it work, it was her - but the pony just can't be barefoot

He has a permanent problem with one leg that would have occured when he was very very young - it can only be corrected by corrective shoeing. They've tried everything, and for over a year - a couple of weeks ago they had to put the shoes back on

As I say, the owner is unconsolable as she really really hates him being in shoes.

Some horses/pony's just can't go barefoot

But they only took the decision after several months investigation by the Vet, bone scans, x-rays etc

[MelanieD]

Agree with figuring out why exactly she's sore. Being cautious even in boots is a bit worrying, unless there's something about the boots themselves that's uncomfortable (one of mine was worse in Boas than with nothing, but because they rubbed her pasterns as she walked not because of her feet). Or maybe the back feet are feeling it as well and booting just the fronts isn't enough and that's slowing her down.

Are her feet too short now? Maybe try a hoof supplement to see if you can get a bit more growth.

Can you bring in overnight or for a few hours a day to dry off?

But if it is just too much wear and you can't do anything about it, or its more faff than its worth shoeing isn't a disaster as long as its done well :)

[ringtor]

The update is that we are going well in boots again. My trimmer suggested that maybe she was reacting to the grass which is still growing in the south. So after four days on two hours grazing she seems back to her normal soundness. Her feet are short so I am keeping her in boots. Thanks for all the advice.

[Yann]

Frightening how much the slightest bit of the wrong sort of grass can affect some horses:eek: