how to start

[Vicki&Milo]

I was in a rush this morning and without thinking tacked milo up before I'd picked his feet out. When I sent to do it he's lost a hind shoe. By this point we were both ready to go and my friend was waiting so I decided to give it a shot and see how he was for the first 2 minutes and make a descision then. We stayed off tarmac as much as possible, although its not easy round here and he was absolutely fine (trying to canter along roads so can't have hurt that much) and it made me wonder about going barefoot with him.

The farrier is due on Thursday and was planning to ask what he thought of his feet in general, but how do I go about it and any advice generally for a newbie?

[wildponies]

Why not try him with just fronts on? :) See how he goes, if his feet seem to cope then you can try taking the fronts off too?

My first pony was barefoot and we used to do a lot of roadwork and she coped fine, no supplements or anything. But she was welsh mountain pony and hardy was her middle name. What are his feet like in general? You can feed all kinds of supplements to strengthen the feet, Clay has biotin added to his feed as reccomended by my farrier but i'm not sure i'd be brave enough to try him barefoot. I would definately try *just* fronts though and see how he got on. Think of all that ££ you'd be saving too :)

[Vicki&Milo]

well this is my thought, the £££s could definitely be better spent elsewhere if he is able to go barefoot happily. I like the idea of just fronts to try, it was something I mentioned today

We are moving in April, but when I have sussed out the terrain around there I might have abetter idea, but I think its mainly good off road.

That said, I am hoping to do some WHP, Hunter trials and le trec this year, is this likely to be a problem.

I honestly wouldn't know how 'good' his feet are now, I don't know enough about it, but he's a 5 year old NF so you'd hope he's stand a good chance (ie young and off the forest)

[Yann]

Lots of horses manage OK just shod in front, back feet are almost always in better shape than fronts and the main thing you'd need to keep an eye on is wear, especially in the initial period after they come off. If he's not comfortable behind, or becomes less comfortable with seasonal changes then it might be that there's something dietary going on. It's not uncommon for some horses, especially natives, to be fine in winter and then get footy on spring and summer grass even if they don't have any history of laminitis proper.

Whilst going even part time without hinds will save you some money, that's not often the case if you want to go the whole hog and take the fronts off as well.

[Vicki&Milo]

well obviously, that would just be too simple :p :D adn cost efficient! I don't mind shoeing or likewise having to pay extra for trimming/supplements as long as it is the bext option long term for him.

[Joyscarer]

viki&milo can you clear some of your PM's please so I can reply to you :D

[SO1]

I took the backs of my 5 yr NF he's very boisterous in the field so it is safer for his field friends and also cheaper for me. Been 5 months and no problem so far, back hooves not worn away or chipped at all.

[lauraandharvey]

harvey was first shod at 2.5 years
abit young i thort
but i didnt own him then
the farrier tried nailin the shoes in and they bent the nails
his feet are solid :D
he doesnt trip on the stony paths and ive never had any trouble with his feet
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