barefoot question

[Sparklie]

When I bought Twig in November he was shod. I wanted to go down the barefoot route so I had his shoes taken off a week or two after buying him and he had his feet trimmed with a normal pasture trim. He was a little sore on concrete for about 5 days after this although he was fine on a soft surface and after the initial ouchy feet was 100% on concrete too.

Now since this first trim I haven't had his feet done again!! They seem to be waring down themselves. We hack out a couple of times a week which includes a tiny bit of roadwork but mostly ride in the school or the fields. Is my horse normal?

He hooves seem to be quite strong and they haven't cracked or chipped at all, they're getting a little ragged around the edges now but it looks like they just need tidying up rather than trimming back. Should I get the farrier to have a look when he's next at the yard?

Oh and another quick question...heard a friend's farrier talking to her the other day and he stated that you're not supposed to hunt horses without shoes...is he just talking rubbish?

[Yann]

It's quite possible the feet are self trimming satisfactorily (wear = growth) but it would be worth getting the feet looked at just to check balance is still OK and have a tidy up. Make it clear that's all you're after though:)

There are several people on the EE barefoot forum who hunt unshod horses, so I don't think the farrier is right:D Having said that many hunt meets would probably be pretty hard on an unshod horse without very good feet, so he does also have a point.

[Bay Mare]

Oh and another quick question...heard a friend's farrier talking to her the other day and he stated that you're not supposed to hunt horses without shoes...is he just talking rubbish?

Yes, he is. There are barefoot horses doing endurance, BHS Trec, hunting, eventing, showjumping, dressage .... If you have a look at the EE (Enlightened Equitation) barefoot forums you'll see a wide variety of horses doing a wide variety of things :)

My horse is worked in the school, she is hacked out for a couple of hours at a time AND has been put over some of the xc fences. She is more than up for a gallop and so far has been incredibly sure footed, when the turbo kicks in you REALLY feel it :)

From my own experience I would advise that you have the feet checked out at least every 4-6 weeks initially to ensure that they are correctly balanced in all planes. Personally I would use a barefoot trimmer as they can also help you to transition. They will also keep an eye on how the foot changes throughout the transition and will trim and give advice appropriately :)

Saff recently hurt her shoulder looning about in the field. Our student EP noticed that her hoof was completely out of balance at the next trim, one heel was noticeably higher than the other. This hasn't happened before and hasn't happened since! We could only assume that because she was compensating for her hurty shoulder (she was still turned out as she does more damage piaffing around her stable) which led to an imbalance in the hoof growth!

This barefoot lark is VERY interesting :)

[Sparklie]

it is interesting yes...i'd love to find a barefoot trimmer in my area but i don't know where to start looking!
most people on my yard shoe their horses and the barefoot horses are pasture trimmed by our usual farrier.
I'll get him to give Twig a once over when he next comes to do some of the others and maybe smarten his feet up. I'm impressed at how quickly he addapted to having no shoes, as far as I know he'd been shod for quite a few years before I got him.

[PaulaqhMax]

Try www.barefoothorses.co.uk

[beccylovespurpl]

My mare is the same. Her feet just don't seem to grow much, even if she does hardly any road work. The farrier looks her over when he comes to do our others but she is only trimmed 3-4 times a year as and when needed. Her feet are just really tough, they never crack or split or chip or anything. I wouldn't worry about it but it is a good idea to get them checked over even if nothing needs doing.

[1 morejump]

Lance is barefoot and we deffinatly don't trim every 6-8 weeks. He wears them down himself but we do have the ferrier out for clean-up work if they get a little raggity. I don't see why you couldn't jump without shoes. My horse jumps all kinds of things in his pasture (on his own :rolleyes: )and he doesn't have shoes, what he does have is beautiful feet.

The hoof has a perfect design, able to take large amounts of stress, it is a powerful shock absorber, and has to last them their whole lives. People keep trying to improve on it but I have found that you don't have too. My horses have all been barefoot basicly because it was cheaper. Then I started to realize all the benifits to it and how much healthier it is. I don't think they will ever be shod.