Barefoot question for those who don't want to try it.

[Bay Mare]

Yes, I've got too much time on my hands or more specifically I'm trying to distract myself from being unemployed after Friday!

So ... the question is in the title really.

If your horse isn't barefoot and you have absolutely no intention of even considering it why not? This is not meant to slag you off or anything I'm just interested in the reasons (and misconceptions) out there :)

I know that the whole Strasser thing has been a blow to the barefoot movement but the other forms are as far away from Strasser as I am to being married with 2 kids (ie a LOOOOONNNNG way off ).

So ... go on, tell me why you think it's a bad idea :)

[Guest]

I think most people are convinced that their horse would be hopping lame and it just wouldn't work.

I must admit I probably wouldn't have taken Grady's shoes off as he had big dinner plate TB feet.

I think what some people don't realise is the advanaces in barefoot 'technology', the boots you can get these days are brilliant and some of them can be worn practically all the time ie: for turnout and riding (obviously with breathing time in between) so in theory your horses shouldn't have prolonged periods of lameness.

[Peanut]

Bay Mare, I really like the idea of a horse going barefoot and if you could sort out my misconceptions then I would be interested to hear.

My 4 yr old only has shoes on the front and the farrier and I both agree that we will leave them off the back for as long as she is comfortable (she does minimal roadwork because of her age). Her unshod hooves have been fine until the last couple of weeks when they have got very frayed probably because of the weather. She has daily biotin.

When we are hacking, the shod horses walk right down the middle of the tracks seemingly oblivious to the ground, whereas my mare never walks in a straight line but picks her way to left or right wherever the softer ground is - therefore she is already telling me that her feet are very sensitive despite those front shoes.

The reason I don't let her go entirely barefoot is purely because I would worry about her comfort.

Now it's your turn! ;)

[Mehitabel]

1 - i don't have time and can't see myself having the time to do decent conditioning work.
2 - i ride at weekends only at the minute (see above) and she needs to be able to go on all surfaces at all times.
3 - i know the only barefoot practitioner in my area and no thankyou.

if my situation was different - if i lived nearby, had the time to do the beginning work, was there daily, there was another trimmer available, then i'd love to give it a go. but i can't see that happening in the near future certainly - as and when it does happen, i'd try it, certainly.
but as things stand it is hard work and takes time that i haven't got to devote to it.

[MelanieD]

Before turning into a total hoof anorak I used to regularly say my horse couldn't go barefoot :D, so here's what I thought back then..

My horse couldn't go barefoot because she had a really bad quarter crack that needed the support of a shoe. How much of a muppet do I feel for the number of times I said that now that she is barefoot and the crack from h*ll grew out immediately and never came back? :o :D Also had flat thin soles that meant she 'needed shoes', that wasn't permanent, she has nice soles now and have discovered that hoof boots are better protection anyway. Also evidence that my horse couldn't go barefoot was that her feet chipped a lot when she lost a shoe, only because they were too long and trying to self-trim.

I also said something along the lines of "my horse doesn't have WLD my farrier is very good and would have told me" to all the mentions of WLD under shoes I was seeing from barefooters back then. Guess what we found under the shoes? Stinky nasty case of WLD :eek:, which turned out to be the cause of the crack being so bad.

[katieB]

If it aint broke dont fix it. Milly has good feet now I have a decent farrier and im scared of taking the shoes off and ruining them because I dont know enough about caring for her feet without shoes on :o I have seen the state of some horses feet while they are going through the transition to barefoot and that is whats put me off. What if Millys feet ended up like that because I didnt know how to care for them properly, I would feel so guilty.
TBH I dont know enough about going barefoot either so my decision is mainly down to not knowing enough. The trouble is the few times I have tried to do some research I just end up feeling rightly peed off about being told im a bad horseowner for putting those evil plates of metal on my horses feet.

[Guest]

I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad about not going barefoot, it's huge commitment and I've spent more time with a hoofpick in my hand in the few days Brys had her shoes off than not.

I can't be doing with reduced work loads etc which is why I have invested in a whole set of hoofboots and I have a BFT coming tomorrow to advise me on what I should be doing.

[eventerbabe]

If your horse isn't barefoot and you have absolutely no intention of even considering it why not?

several reasons. i do a lot of hacking on stoney/hard tracks. i can see it taking a heck of a lot of conditioning work to get a barefoot horse ready for working on such ground conditions. i don't have the time to condition his feet, or the inclination. His feet are doing perfectly as he is now, so why change it? I also trust my farrier 100% and am guided by his judgement. If he reckons going barefoot would be inadvisable for my cob, that's good enough for me. also, we have 1 EP who covers the whole of scotland. sorry, but that's just not good enough. if there were more EP's that were local to me then possibly but this lady lives over on the west coast, several hundred miles away from me.

[vjwuk]

I have similar reasons to a lot of you, I work away from home and can't be there to put her in , bring her out, there are 2 areas that she would need boots on to get over.

I am scared of seeing her struggle because of something I have chosen to change, even if someone said to me "in 5 weeks it will all be OK" I am not sure I could deal with it, praps I could who knows until it happens.

It is a difficult one, I think if I was foturnate to raise a foal then I would be barefoot definately but it's the old "why change what works" thing I think.

I read alot about it and have friends who are barefoot but they always have been, maybe if saw first hand the process my mind may change.

[teabiscuit]

I'm really not sure how it works.
Having bred, reared and backed and brought on my own youngsters, I have always found that they needed shoes eventually.

I have recently brought a 13 year old mare back into work after she had a few years off to have babies, she has just had to have front shoes on, I tried to hold out wondering when this barefoot mare would become comfortable working shoeless on our stoney track and tarmac roads, it didn't happen.

Lots of questions:

Do barefoot horses need boots to work on tarmac and stoney ground, or do you just put up with a horse that gets a bit footy on these surfaces?

Or do you just ride on soft surfaces?

Or just ride a couple of times a week so the foot has time to recover?

[l7oopys]

My mare has dry cracked feet at the mo, Taking off shoes would make them worse.

Also we do a lot of road work, Competing on hard ground etc

[BeachRiding]

I don't have the time to do it with Gitcha. Willie is totally barefoot, but he is on soft ground.

[No_Angel]

I have 5 horses, all of them are barefoot, 2 have always been barefoot and can tackle any ground,stoney ,slippery, water, cobbles, grass dirt, you name it they go across it.
One of my horses needs boots to do lots of work on stones, but for anything else doesnt need them (shes and ex racer).
Cob is fine on all surfaces (barefoot since november) no boots needed.
Amber had awfull feet that used to crumble when she lost a shoe and they were always cracked since barefoot she has lovely feet that i cant get a rasp through (no cracks either!)

I do long rides and go over every surface, lots of road work and my horses feet always need trimming when the farrier comes.
Barefoot has been a struggle, lots odf times ive thought about putting shoes back on maddie, but seeing her and murf my cob tackle a hill where murf used to slide down in shoes, and seing how ambers feet have improved, and how much muscle and condition maddie has put on since loosing the shoes, i know ive done the best thing.

[teabiscuit]

why was it a struggle? is it because they get footy?
if so how long does it take to get over the footy stage?
as I say, I've started with barefoot horses, and found that I had to get them shod, am I not giving them long enough to adjust to tarmac and stoney ground?

[Yann]

Horse in hard work, horse competing regularly, no problems at all in shoes, no time to mess about, the cost and faff of hoof boots, don't want to lose riding time, unsuitable facilities, it ain't broke amongst others. All perfectly valid reasons.

The theory is that with the right trim and conditioning any barefoot horse can eventually do anything a shod horse can, but it will invariably take time in most cases, especially if the feet have been shod for a long time and / or have developed problems. Many horses are able to achieve this but others aren't so successful. If you want to do more then the horse can manage hoof boots enable the horse to carry on normally but they're expensive and if they don't quite work on the horse's foot shape can be a source of massive frustration and annoyance.

[Yann]

I've got a horse that's still intermittently footy after 9 months, whereas a friend's horse had his shoes off and was eventing in 3 months.

[No_Angel]

it was a struggle because i couldnt ride how i was before, i couldnt find boots that would stay on that wernt really expensive (i tried easy boots and equiboots) but in the end bought some marquis boots secondhand (tried to get some g2s off ebay and they didnt ever turn up:rolleyes: ) and they have been fine so far.

[teabiscuit]

Thankyou for your replies, the confusion is clearing gradually!

[Guest]

Ok I am going to be really dumb now...what does EP mean:o , guess if I am going barefoot I should learn the lingo.

Brys old mac G2's arrived this morning, much to the amusement of my collegues who want to draw 'Nike' ticks on them.

Can't wait to try them out tonight.

[eventerbabe]

equine podiatrist, or barefoot trimmer ;)

[chev]

also, we have 1 EP who covers the whole of scotland. sorry, but that's just not good enough. if there were more EP's that were local to me then possibly but this lady lives over on the west coast, several hundred miles away from me.

There are two EPs (DEPs in fact - they have degrees in equine podiatry) who cover Scotland. One is Bonny Mears, who covers the whole country, although mainly the central belt and the Highlands - the other is Deane Roberts, who covers a 100 mile radius of Edinburgh. Deane's contact details can be found here (http://www.aepauk.org/). Click on the 'Find an EP' link.

[eventerbabe]

Bonny is the one i'd heard of. didn't know there was a second one. but frankly, that is still pretty poor to cover a whole country. i don't live in the highlands or the central belt and i'm outwith that guys working distance. unless something changed and i was advised to go barefoot, i'm sticking as i am :)

[JaffaAndMe]

I think what you have to remember is, the barefoot movement is still growing and as more and more people become aware of it and more people become fully qualified EP's (or DEP's) then the numbers will grow.

Any horse can potentially go barefoot - I have a TB cross who has very flat feet and terribly under-run heels who has taken to barefoot like a duck to water. The crunch point as to whether a horse can stay barefoot is all down to the conditioning work that the owner is prepared/able to put in. I don't think there is anything wrong with someone saying that they don't have the time or inclination to do it. It IS hard work and you have to be prepared that you may not be able to carry on with the same workload. Some horses transition in a few months others take a few years.

Hoof boots are fabulous and do allow you to do pretty much everything that you did before. My lad is much better barefoot and is much more confident on the roads and tracks than he was shod.

With regards to cracked feet in shod horses, it really is worth getting them cleantraxed or the like at your next trim to kill of any infection/WLD. All horses, shod or unshod are susceptable to WLD.

[katieB]

But why are shoes considered so bad? Surely if you use hoof boots then you might aswell use shoes? This isnt a dig at anyone, im just curious how the feet toughen up if you put boots on every time you go over some rough ground, or are we talking only very stoney ground?

People always say how barefoot is so much more natural, horses never wear shoes in the wild etc, but we dont keep our horses in the wild. How do we know that their feet havent evolved to need shoes, what if wearing shoes is actually now more natural than going barefoot? - Again this is a genuine question, if someone can point me to some links and educate me a bit then id be most grateful.

[MelanieD]

Do barefoot horses need boots to work on tarmac and stoney ground, or do you just put up with a horse that gets a bit footy on these surfaces?

Or do you just ride on soft surfaces?

Or just ride a couple of times a week so the foot has time to recover?

Mine work on tarmac and stoney ground as much as I feel like doing that week. That's usually at least an hour at least 4 times a week, often more, sometimes less.

Mia isn't bothered by any surfaces, stomps over anything. If she's a bit overworked she just gets a sole callous and relies on that a bit more instead of just the hoof wall and never takes an ouchy step because of it. She's not doing much work at the moment due to my lack of time and her feet don't look anything like as good as they did when she was doing lots of work on roads and rough tracks.

Roxy finds the occasional really stoney bit she doesn't like very much but doesn't bruise or really ouch, just pays attention to where she's putting her feet a bit more than on smooth tarmac. I would put her 'trainers' on if we were doing a lot of that kind of track. She had got to the point where she was cantering happily on quarry tracks, she's on the www.aepauk.org website showing off :), but then got a mild bout of laminits which set things back a bit. Now we stick to walk on the worst bits and trot some only slightly rocky tracks. The height of a shoe is less than the size of the stones big enough to bother her so shoes wouldn't really help and I do ride some shod horses, one with shoes and pads, that struggle more on those tracks.

My mare has dry cracked feet at the mo, Taking off shoes would make them worse.

Nail holes probably aren't doing anything to help. Getting shoes off and treating any infection lurking under the shoes and around old nail holes would help a lot. Though there is usually a stage of looking a total mess while the old nail holes grow out that's usually worrying for the owner if not for the horse :D

No EP around/don't want to/don't have time for conditioning/not practical for that horse or owner etc all perfectly good reasons IMO.

[EnduranceAli]

Back in the days when I had my first pony (23 years ago :eek: ), he was 'barefoot' - ie a fat Welsh Sec A who had never had shoes on (he was 22 when I got him). He was ridden on all surfaces every day, was never 'footy' and always needed his hooves trimming. I didn't even consider having him shod - and our usual farrier would just trim/rasp for £5. Not sure what method he used, but the pony had fabulous feet. Horse boots were probably unheard of then?

Now I am just about to collect my fat 12.2hh Exmoor mare :) She has always been 'barefoot' - never needed shoes, is ridden regularly on roads and gravel drives and has typical Exmoor feet (hard and dark). I was told, when approaching their gravel drive on her, that she doesn't like the gravel - BUT didn't seem to flinch at all over it and quite happily walked on the roughest section. They did use an EP for her for 3 years, but stopped a couple of years ago due to the cost and the fact their farrier seemed to do a more than adequate job anyway.

I intend to keep her barefoot. She will be out 24/7, on varying ground - often hilly and dry, plus some wooded areas. I will need to ride on roads every day - even if just to get to the sand school or out into other fields. These roads are often very 'gritty' (Pembrokeshire Council come out every year and spread a thick layer of stone on top of the tarmac - you can be wading in it on the quieter lanes :D ), and we have stony bridleways/fire roads. Hills are steep and numerous. Also will be riding on beaches (which I imagine will be good for her feet). I noticed she had some chipping on her off hind - and I do worry that she will be 'footy' on the surfaces around here.

I am not keen on the thought of using horseboots (will they fit such small feet - and they all look so expensive - and I need to pay for the pony, buy a trailer/saddle etc) - are they perhaps only necessary when a pony is used to being shod? However, I would obviously use them if really necessary, rather than just take the easy option and start paying £45 for a set of shoes!

I have found an EP who covers our area - but she charges £50 per hour plus travelling (normally 2 hours for the first visit at least :eek: ). The time needed does reduce and she can train me to use a rasp in between. However, I wouldn't be able to afford that for a few months, need to start working part-time and get some money in my account. To start with I would just be using our normal farrier for his £10 trim - which he does well (sorted out my rescue Shetland who had horrible feet to start with). If that works out, should I just stay with him - or can the EP offer a better service?

Lots of questions - but I really want to get this right. In the past I have always had ponies shod as soon as they are in regular work - with cracking, lost shoes, slipping on hills etc. I hope to show Frayne, so really want to keep a lovely natural movement.

Ali xx

[MelanieD]

But why are shoes considered so bad? Surely if you use hoof boots then you might aswell use shoes?

Boots are only on for the small part of the day the horse is being ridden, no nail holes involved, different material so no increased concussion as with metal shoes. Shoes themselves aren't bad, perfectly good solution to the problem of keeping horses on soft ground and wanting to work them on hard ground. The problem with shoes is the hoof adapts to it's environment and the pressures on the hoof are different in shoes, so inner wall ends up thinner over time, most weight is carried on outer wall which isn't designed for that purpose. Infection around nail holes and under the shoe can be a problem. The foot is trimmed every 6ish weeks then can't wear down until the next trim. A perfectly balanced foot right before adding a shoe might not be perfectly balanced anymore after a couple of weeks growth. Many other problems are partly down to how the shoe is applied rather than just the presence of a shoe. A lot of these problems can be avoided and the feet stay healthy in shoes if the feet are given a break from shoes for part of the year, like over winter when doing less work.

There are some interesting articles at www.hoofrehab.com, there's some interesting stuff about how shoeing and loading the outer wall affects the foot at http://www.hoofrehab.com/jessica.htm.

[Bay Mare]

Thanks, Melanie, for answering all the questions in my (hic) absence :) You probably answered them better than I could anyway :)

I have to just say that I was very lucky in that I saw 2 horses transitioning before I took Saffs' shoes off so I was ready for how crappy they'd look. We're talking mouseholes! They did look better very, very quickly though. It's amazing how quickly the hooves grow when the shoes come off and you get on top of the thrush! I NEVER thought that I'd be complaining that she grew too much hoof!

Saffy is sound on all surfaces including stony tracks. The only surface that she doesn't do much work on is tarmac because we just don't have the access to roads that we would ideally need ... unless you count trotting down the dual carrriageway which has a 40 mph limit but on which most people do at least 60 mph :eek:

[jenren!!]

Aramis has too thin soles and walls - she wouldnt cope and her feet would end up in ruins. A good farrier and hoof supplement is all i need - why take them off?

[KateWooten]

Or do you just ride on soft surfaces?

Or just ride a couple of times a week so the foot has time to recover?


Last year, I could only ride joePony once a week along the road, then had to give his feet time to recover. It was so restricting. Then I read and learned a lot more about barefoot, and got myself an AANHCP trimmer rather than the regular farrier. With no real change apart from the trim, and my attitude, now the struggle is to ride him enough on roads and rough surfaces ! The more you wear their feet down, the faster they grow (within limits, and you can't make sudden and dramatic changes in wear).

I'm now in the complete opposite camp from where I was last time I had horses 20 years ago. Then, in England, I'd have wondered why anyone would take shoes off the horse as they 'obviously' need them. Now I can't figure out why anyone would nail shoes on a horse because they obviously don't !! My three are barefoot, and I guess always have been. The new mare probably had front shoes on at some time. I don't have any problem with them being ouchy, I don't use boots although I do have a pair of those very expensive marquis ones. All three are ridden most days. They have a big gravelly stony area by the water trough so they are 'forced' to cross a rough surface a few times a day at least. They get no supplements apart from Apple Cider Vinegar when I have some, and salts - just grass, and some oats if they work hard.

[Yann]

im just curious how the feet toughen up if you put boots on every time you go over some rough ground, or are we talking only very stoney ground?

The way I look at it is that boots are a means of doing more work than the foot is capable of, especially in the early stages. It's usually possible to gradually build up to doing more and more without them over time, and our experiences with Rio seem to back this up, she's now able to march over things which she would have ouched on 6 months ago, especially with a smaller rider on (Nat). Hopefully we'll be at the stage where she doesn't need them at all eventually, but it may be a while as some of our bridleways are seriously rocky.

[Bay Mare]

Aramis has too thin soles and walls - she wouldnt cope and her feet would end up in ruins. A good farrier and hoof supplement is all i need - why take them off?

If you don't want to take them off then there's no-one saying that you have to I was just asking a question as to the reasons that people won't consider barefoot as an option.

However, barefoot would be ideal for a horse with thin soles and walls as the whole idea is to use a correct trim and proper conditioning to build up the structure. It may take time to do it but she would be able to cope in the long run and I can assure you that her feet would most definitely not end up 'in ruins', if anything in the long term they would be much, much better as the structure of the whole foot improves.

I know that you're not interested in barefoot but for anyone that is, researching the HPT method, Jaime Jackson and Pete Ramey will shed a whole new light on it :)

[teabiscuit]

Back in the days when I had my first pony (23 years ago :eek: ), he was 'barefoot' - ie a fat Welsh Sec A who had never had shoes on (he was 22 when I got him). He was ridden on all surfaces every day, was never 'footy' and always needed his hooves trimming. I didn't even consider having him shod - and our usual farrier would just trim/rasp for £5. Not sure what method he used, but the pony had fabulous feet. Horse boots were probably unheard of then?



I had a barefoot welsh section A too, he was 18, grey and absolutely gorgeous. Going all misty eyed thinking about him:).
It was about 27 years ago, he was never shod in his life, and it was in the days before barefoot was around! Rode him everyhwere with no problems, but I did ride him on the grass verges wherever I could...
thanks for reminding me :)

[Sexy Sietske]

Why use a EP?? Can a normal farrier just trim them?? I have always had youngsters and wanted to keep them barefoot but worried about them going down if thier feet got sore so just had them shod. I now have a new youngster and now having heard of all this barefoot business was serious thinking of keeping this one unshod as we intend to keep her. What special treatment or suppliments can be given to give young feet a good start in life. My young mare will being lots of road work in a couple of months to get her use to traffic...would this help make her feet 'hardy' for when she is ridden?

I am realy 'wow'ed about this barefoot business and would like to know more..save myself shoeing bills and caring for cracked and infected feet!!!

[holiday]

Most of my ponies go without shoes, although not "barefoot" as such!!! I find when they have their feet trimmed they are sore, even though never have shoes!!!!!! My little stallion has just had shoes on so he can hack out, our roads are so bad they are really slippy without shoes and he had a fall a few months ago due to them, i hack him out now and he is fine as the shoes give him grip. We havent had the roads resurfaced for a period of years and it is lethal without them. Ive had many near misses without shoes and now vouch for them everytime.

Some of the ponies cant cope without shoes and are really footy but others manage perfectly!!!!!

[Wally]

We live in one of the wettest parts of the UK. A huge part of our parks are bog. Our roads are heavily chipped. I do a lot of roadwork.

I do a fair bit of work in winter barefoot. In summer during hard work the ponies cannot go barefoot, I'd love them to but they cannot sustain the amount of roadwork they do.

I did barefoot endurance back in the 70's in nothing more than a grass trim, I am fully aware of the amount of work you CAN get from a barefoot horse. Sadly mine cannot go barefoot 100% of the year.

Just been speakaing to a barefoot trimmer/farrier, he confirms my thoughts :D :D :D

[Yann]

our roads are so bad they are really slippy without shoes

I've had the opposite experience, there are some lanes near us that were like a skating rink in shoes if we didn't have road nails in to the point of being dangerous. Riding the same roads unshod and there's not a hint of slipping as the frog contact provides tremendous friction. Same story on the dreaded SMA surfacing too.

[Guest]

I've had the opposite experience, there are some lanes near us that were like a skating rink in shoes if we didn't have road nails in to the point of being dangerous. Riding the same roads unshod and there's not a hint of slipping as the frog contact provides tremendous friction. Same story on the dreaded SMA surfacing too.

Ditto...ice rink with shoes....nice and secure without.

[MelanieD]

Same here, we have old roads that are very well worn. Shod horses with road nails manage okay on them in walk, shod horses without road nail go skating down, fatty trots and bounces down with no hint of slipping :D

Most of my ponies go without shoes, although not "barefoot" as such!!! I find when they have their feet trimmed they are sore, even though never have shoes!!!!!!

That usually means whoever is doing the trimming is doing something wrong, like trimming too short, or removing too much frog or sole. A good barefoot trim often leaves the horse more comfortable after a trim, should at least be no worse.

What special treatment or suppliments can be given to give young feet a good start in life.

As much time as possible on hard ground and a variety of surfaces, but build it up gradually rather than go straight from soft ground to turnout on stones! The main reason that horses get sore and need shoes when they start work is living on a nice soft field until 3 years old so the feet have never developed the structure to cope with hard ground then being expected to go straight out and work without building it up gradually. Going for walks on roads should help a lot.

[Wally]

I allow my unshod ponies to clatter down things in harness I'd creep down with shod ponies. (not by the book you understand!!)

[Greentchr]

On the original question...

1. we live in a very rocky area that horses would avoid if they were wild
2. There are no 'barefoot trimmers' in our area- the farriers laugh at the idea of barefoot in this terrain.

We do pull the shoes in November when it freezes hard so the horses do not skate on the ice, but then we only ride on the road and stay off rocks as much as possible until their shoes can go back on in April or May. Last year I got a little carried away and we came up lame with a rock bruise the week before the farrier came.

I suppose it is better for the horses to have the shoes 6 months off, but I do not really know about that. They seem to get around pretty well with the shoes off, but they do not go very far from the corral in the winter. I don't know that it is because of not having shoes on or if it is just because of the weather. It is a south-facing hill, so there is very little snow on it much of the winter, but the rocks are always there, frozen into the ground and unmovable as long as the freeze holds up.

They move around much more as soon as their shoes are on.

Barefoot isn't for everyone.

[k8schmutz]

My mare has dry cracked feet at the mo, Taking off shoes would make them worse.

Also we do a lot of road work, Competing on hard ground etc

A mare I know has just gone barefoot. She was having to be shod every 2-3 weeks as her feet were so bad. She's now being trimmed by an EP every 6 weeks - bit of a difference me thinks ;)

[Yann]

I suppose it is better for the horses to have the shoes 6 months off,

Way better, in an ideal world all shod horses would have an annual break from shoes, it certainly used to be the case with hunters, and their feet would be healthier and stronger for it. That was originally my plan, but I was so pleased with the way things were going I decided to continue without them.

[mad mare1]

My mare has been barefoot since she was born...had shoes on once, for about an hour...then she had such a stressy fit at the farrier, he took them off,and she is now 20 years old, and not a problem with her feet! And we do daily roadwork, and compete...doesn't bother her in the slightest!!!

[cazrider]

Interesting thread Bay Mare.

My personal answer would be that Sennie has really good feet shod, with no problems, so why rock the boat. I do quite like the idea of barefoot, but would worry that if I took his shoes off it would all fall apart. This is from having had a horse with very dodgy feet, I wouldn't really want to go through all that again.

[BecknSkye]

I haven't not considered it, I just haven't found anybody well enough qualified in barefoot to do my horse's feet, plus he gets footsore after stepping on gravel without shoes:o I've seen the work of barefoot trimmers around here and heard too many people complaining - one lady I met at a Stockhorse Club meeting a few weeks ago(she moved down here recently) said that her horse had been barefoot for years, but because the trimmers we have available aren't that good, she's had to return to having shoes on:(

[jinglejoys]

What are shoes? (Mule owner):D

[LindaAd]

My farrier reckons it would take a year to get a horse used to going without shoes. I dont see the point, and I certainly don't want to be faffing around with hoof boots.

I had a pony that I used to ride without shoes, but then I started riding more, and his feet just wore down too fast - we have to do a lot of roadwork round here. Also, I'm quite heavy - I'm sure that makes a difference to how fast the feet wear.

Obviously it might be a good option if you're having problems, but as someone's already said, if it ain't broke ...

Linda

[Black_Topaz]

Completely curious here, but can barefoot horses jump competively? Around my barn if the horses are out jumping (in a show enviroment) in the dew-damp grass they get corks because they would slip otherwise. I'm assuming that the answer to this for a barefoot horse would be that barefoot horses get more traction anyway so it wouldn't matter either way. Also it is sometimes necessary to go to show location with very hard ground, would a barefoot horse be okay at something like this? It's just I've never heard of barefoot horses doing this kind of thing so I was wondering if they can? :o

Kya

[99E]

Either you could rely on the "natural traction" provided by the bare hoof - or you could get a pair of well fitting boots wit studs to prevent slipping.

I know Swiss Horse Boots are nice for that kind of work (but they're rather hard to fit).

Most modern hoof boots can be used with studs of some kind.

[Yann]

On very hard ground a good barefoot hoof is actually an advantage as the amount of concussion transmitted up the leg is very much reduced because the foot can act fully as a shock absorber without the limitation imposed by a shoe.

[Yann]

*ignore*