Shoes off

[dcp]

Hi, My farrier thinks it may be worthwhile taking my boy's shoes off this winter. I only ride about 3 times a week and that's hacking (about a minute of road work) and in the sand school and lunge a couple of times in the sand school. I'm obviously happy to do this from the financial point of view but how will it affect our riding? Will he slip a lot more if the ground is wet? What about snow? And will I need to use anything extra like suppliment/oil/ointment to keep his feet in top condition?

Thanks :)

[Pink's lady]

Will he slip a lot more if the ground is wet? What about snow?

His grip will actually be better than with shoes. Same goes with travelling.

It might be worth a try - you can always pu them back on if it doesn't work. ;) You'd be best just having the backs off to start with (unless he's got really good feet) and giving him time to adjust.

[MelanieD]

Should slip less without shoes on most surfaces. Much better on snow as ice doesn't accumulate under the feet as it does with shoes. Usually if a horse has been in shoes for a while there's a small amount of infection around the old nail holes so you get a lot of chipping and the inner hoof wall can be thin, this can mean that the feet don't cope with much wear at first. Don't panic and go straight back to shoes at that point as with healthy feet that are just adapted to being in shoes it doesn't take too long to get past that. OTOH some horses hardly seem to notice the shoes are gone. You probably don't need supplements, there's some doubt about biotin type supplements being a good idea without shoes as they encourage the outer wall to grow and it's inner wall that's more important without shoes. Avoid hoof oil, it is evil. If you find the feet are getting too wet then Right Step is good stuff.

[dcp]

Hi thanks for the replies. Why i hoof oil bad? I've never been sure of it mind you. Is there something else I can use to keep his feet strong?

Thanks

[horsey1]

What about keratex hoof hardner? never used it myself but read about it ;)
Thats good lauren :D I think Ian is a fantastic farrier Kinleys feet have never looked so good since I got him :D I would even ask his advice on what to put on :D

[dcp]

No I must say Ian is a great farrier. He even helped one of the liveries out last night as a vet said her horse had an abcess but she wasn't sure so Ian offered to have a look.

[becs]

Re.hoof oils being "bad";
I understood that it was more that they were not as beneficial as we used to think they were - as they're daubed on the outside of a "dead" surface, the only effects are aesthetic ones (eg looks shiny, like hair conditioner for us!) - it cannot be absorbed and have effect on the structures below.
I understood the modern view was it's what comes from inside that matters eg diet / supps etc.

[Jessey]

Hoof oil also blocks the natural transfer of moisture in/out of the hoof, upsets the balance the hoof is naturally able to keep.

J x

[Yann]

His grip will actually be better than with shoes.

This will be true on roads for example, but it's not necessarily the case on mud or wet grass where a shoe may provide a bit of extra bite into the ground. That's why shod horses do more damage to the ground than unshod ones.