To Shoe Or Not To Shoe That Is The Question

[shirley]

We have three horses. My cob has all feet shod, but since we do very little road work I will be taking his back shoes off this November, when the ground is softer, and at present just giving farriers formula to help condition of hoof along. If all goes well then may talk to farrier about taking off front shoes. My daughters highland/welsh/tb is 6 and has never been shod. Farrier tells us her feet are as hard as iron. Other pony is rising 4 and has not yet been shod, should she need it then we will only put front ones on as she starts to do more road work, which will probably not be until next year.
I agree about trying to keep foot moist and not letting it dry out. We also ensure ours are shod every 6 - 7 weeks, even if they only need a small trim. I also keep my cob in for the day he has been shod to ensure that horn around nails is back to normal as possible, helps to keep them on.
If you feel you have poor hoof horn then talk to the feed companies or look at various supplements. One I am using is recommended my Laminitis Trust.

Something said to me by a farrier was what he was taught at college is that troubles start when shoes are put on horses!!! Something to think about!!!

[Tina&Dale]

My horse was a racer and so he came to me with shoes on. I did try at one time to have his shoes taken off and while his feet were initially very strong, because half of the year is so wet where we live his feet got so soft he became incredibly lame. I promptly put them back on and since then have had all four of his feet shod perpetually to prevent this from happening again. It's no fun for horse or owner when your horse can do nothing but hobble around in pain!

I agree with that farrier, but I think maybe the issues aren't so much with the shoes themselves but with the people having them put on and the people that put them on! Many horse owners place little emphasis on the regularity and appropriateness of the intervals between farrier appointments. Even worse I've found is the skills of the farriers themselves! I've tried so many and most have been completely incapable even though they're supposedly "qualified"!

[Bay Mare]

This is something that I am looking at right now as I am looking to buy my first horse.

Most people that I know these days who don't do much or any road riding either keep their horses unshod or just shoe the front feet.

There's a conversation going on at the moment on the 'General' part of Enlightened Equitation Forums (http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/members/forums/index.php) which would be good to check out.

I'm desperately trying to find a link to an article that I saw which goes through how the true function of the foot (expanding and contracting) helps with bone, ligament etc strengthening (the percussive effects of moving over harder ground). It makes complete sense BUT then so does an article that says that this may be all well and good but in the wild horses don't have the added weight of a human on board!!! HELP!

I'm still tending towards shoeless, definitely on the hind, as I won't be riding on roads very much (if at all) but look forward to other thoughts and comments. Like anything horsey there are so many opinions and many of them, though contradictory, read as valid!

[flowergirl]

Hi

i have just gone barefoot and have spent the last few weeks getting as much information as possible.

These websites are helpful about going barefoot

www.barefoothorse.com
www.barehoof.com
www.hopeforsoundness.com
www.ibem.org.uk
www.naturalhorsetrim.com

there are many trimming styles some more invasive than others and the method I have chosen (after much much research and questions ) is K C La Pierre. the website for this is www.equinepodiatry.net

Suggested reading

The chosen road K C La pierre
The hoof owners guide to natrual living Jamie Jackson
Books by Pete Ramey

The first book is excellent and is the best method for UK horses - it is only avaible from the UK administater so if you want it give me a shout and I will pass on her email to you.

It is important to condition the feet to the terrian you will be working on, please be aware there is a transition period and if you go with KC you are given work on certain surfaces to build up the struture of the foot (ie, inner hoof wall which acts as the shock absorber and so needs to be built up). However as long s you still do the condidioning work you can use hoof boots to ride thought out the transition period.

Its not a desision to be entered into lightly as it requires commitmment from the owner howevr I do believe that I am doing the best for my horse now which the information I have found.

I am very happy to pass on anything I have found if you want extra info

nic

[Bebe]

Bebe hasn't worn hind shoes all year and has done the same work she did when she was shod on all 4 hooves.

This weekend I had her front shoes removed and her hooves trimmed by a KC La Pierre Equine Podiatrist (not a farrier, it's an american based qualification solely for barefoot trimming). The basic trim is the same trim that our farriers ought to do but sadly don't seem to put into practice. I had Bebe's shoes removed for 2 reasons:

1. I don't believe she really does need them, at least not all year. Hoof boots make up for shoes when she does need them, e.g. for ridden work.

2. Thanks for poor trimming from farriers Bebe now has underrun heels so bad that she constantly trips yet has no toe to be too long, her hooves are too far out in front of her legs. Farrier hasn't been able to correct them with or without shoes so I had to go down a different road.

So far so good. Bebe is 100% in the field, about 80% on the horribly gravelly stony path that leads from the yard to the field and 95% on the concrete yard. She seems pretty happy, the only difference is she has shortened her stride a little but this seems to get better by the day (today is day 5 since shoes coming off). I have to handwalk her on concrete for 10 mins per day, this is because hard ground will put pressure on her heels and hopefully help them to wear back to where they should be. Once she's 100% comfy doing this I'm to introduce handwalking in our outdoor school aswell. If she's comfortable in hoof boots I can do her normal work using those, though I've already decided to give her at least this one week off. She's far more comfortable this time around since her shoes have come off than she was last winter when the farrier pulled them & trimmed her, so I'm really hopeful.

[flowergirl]

bebe - this sounds exactly the same as my horse !!! what hoof boots did you get? ive ordered boa

[Bebe]

I've got Marquis ones, haven't tried them out properly yet but they're pretty easy to put on and Bebe isn't bothered by them.

I thought about getting the Boa boots but found the Marquis 2nd hand so saved some money. Would try the Boa's next though if mine don't work out.