Going Barefoot?

[mu0ljk]

Hi,

I have been wondering whether my horse could go barefoot. He has good feet and is a tbxid. I would imagine he has been shod all his life and he is now 16yrs old.

I do lots of road work with him though - say 45mins 3-5 times a week with other rides on a menage or in fields. Would I be able to do all that roadwork on him (including trotting on the roads)?

I have found a link from the EE website that lists barefoot trimmers - and it would appear that there is one really really close to me (same phone code!). Her name is Karena Beaumont - has anyone heard or had any dealings with her?

Many thanks!

Oh and please feel free to bombard me with things I should consider too! ;)

[Yann]

Your best first step would be to contact Karena and arrange an initial consultation with her, which I believe they'll normally do for free. She'll be able to comment on the condition of his feet and suggest how easy or difficult the transition is likely to be, although there are a few things you can't tell until the shoes are actually off. I don't know of her but use an EP myself and like many people have found speaking to one a breath of fresh air compared to many farriers.

It all depends as far as the roadwork and trotting goes, it took Rio quite a while before she was happy to trot and canter(!) on hard surfaces happily without boots, but with them it's another story. Unless the feet are really bad most horses can pretty much carry on where there they left off in hoof boots, that's certainly been the case with Tess.

Good luck and let us know how you get on, you've nothing to lose, if it doesn't work out then you'll be no worse off :)

[Afellpony]

Falcon is barefoot - most of my natives have been barefoot.

[mayoguinness]

Well I got my arab when he was 10 and he had been shod all his life! Took his shoes off and 3 years later hes still completely sound! Never had a problem on hard or soft! Of course its different for different horses and different types of trims have different affects! You've gotta find the right trim for your horse and it may take a long time for your horse to ajust or it may be that you take the shoes off and there are no problems! No real way of knowing I dont think. I've heard Pete Raymee (sorry I dont know how to speel his name) is good though!! :)

[Bay Mare]

Haven't heard of Karena but if you contact JustineJ (aka Senjj) on EE or have a look at the AEPAUK website they'll be able to tell you if there's anyone in or who covers your area :) EPs tend to travel quite a bit so even if there isn't one who lives around the corner they may be willing to come out to you :)

Good luck. Saff has been barefoot for 18 months ago and it's one of the best decisions that I've made (along with putting her on a forage based diet :) ).


Sorry, eta, Karen is an EP, her profile is on the AEPAUK website! Sorry, I was thinking that she was an AANHCP .... brain rot :) I haven't come across her but have to say that every EP that I've come across has been excellent and the training is TOUGH. KC doesn't pass them lightly! She qualified in October 2006 but don't let that put you off, I've used 2 students (one has just qualified) and they've been brilliant.

[Kate F.]

Every horse is different and every horse's feet are different, so whatever anyone else's experience, that won't necessarily be your experience.

The only way to find out is to try it an see. It's definitely a good idea to get professional advice first - but even the professionals don't have a crystal ball to see how the horse will go in the future.

One consideration is how much you are prepared to sacrifice along the way. Most horses will take time to get used to going barefoot if they have been shod before, and they will be very likely to get sore feet in the beginning, to you may have to restrict the type and quantity of riding you do for a while.

Another consideration is WHEN you decide to make the change. Ideally when the ground is soft, and when you don't have a particular riding programme in mind. (eg not at a time when you're planning to go to lots of shows, not just before you take your horse on a trekking holiday or anything like that!):D

[mu0ljk]

Thanks for the replies everyone - sorry I haven't responded - I went away for a couple of days just after posting this!

I guess as you say the first place to start is to get in touch with Karena and have a chat etc - she must be very local anyway! I will have a chat to my 'normal' farrier too - he is very good and I know he will give good advice too.

I shall get in touch with Karena and then let you all know what comes from it!

As you say it depends how flexible I am. At the mo it is a struggle to ride anyway what with work and the light so perhaps this would be a good time. Come summer I have no plans to do any shows etc (at least probably not more than 2 - I'm so ambitious aren't I! ;) ) just to hack really.

The only thing I am worried about is that he does get a bit footsore when walking on gravel tracks. If he had no shoes then that might make him worse?

[Bay Mare]

Initially he probably won't be able to work on gravel tracks if they already make him footy BUT you'll probably find that he will be more comfortable eventually than he is now with correct transitioning and conditioning. Saffy can happily march up our very stony lane now without a single ouchie along the way ... haven't tried it with my heft on her but I don't think that she'd have a major issue :)

Obviously Karen will be able to give you better advice based on what she sees going on with the foot but it's possible that you'll need to hand walk in pads and do some work (in hand or ridden) on tarmac to stimulate the growth. You'll also need to be prepared to become a hoof anorak :D Tackling thrush/WLD/seedy toe is a lot more crucial in barefoot horses than it is in shod horses, you do tend to get a bit obsessive about it though :)

Although Saffy's feet were in pretty good nick anyway (we don't think that she was in shoes that long) we were advised to wait for the better weather (spring time) when the ground has dried out a bit but isn't rock hard. We were very lucky in that she transitioned overnight, her feet weren't perfect but they were useable without boots. Oh, that's another thing, you may need to invest in some boots, again Karen can give you advice.

If you decide to go the EP route she'll probably take piccies anyway but it's always a good idea to take your own pics so that you can see the progress.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on :D

[Yann]

If he's already footsore on gravel in shoes then there's no way he'll manage without them to start with and boots and pads and possibly an initial period of only hand walking will possibly be necessary. It can take a long time for a horse to consistently get to that stage, especially with the added weight of a rider on board. However the feet are unlikely to improve with the shoes on, but they certainly will without them. The main thing is to keep him comfortable all the way through. Taking shoes off in winter does make this easier, but the soft ground and wet are a mixed blessing because it does tend to slow down the rate of progress quite a lot.

[xxxkristinaxxx]

Well you say you do alot of roadwork. It depends on how he will cope when he has his shoes off.
I dont think it will be too much of a problem for your horse, however he will have sore feet for a few weeks and will want to walk on verges, and hate walking on the roads.
Thinking about it at my old hacking/trekking centre, we would have to ride them to and from the field. This would add up to 40mins roadwork a day, however they had all been barefoot all their lives.
If your horse really struggles with it, you could always just put her front shoes back on, as many horses cope with just front shoes.
Some horses hooves dont grow very well barefoot, so this would result in them having their shoes back on. When i had my pony on loan, he was barefoot he only needed to have his feet trimmed every 2-3 months on average.

[MelanieD]

That amount of work is easily possible barefoot for a horse with okay feet. Both of mine could easily do that and have plenty of trimming work left for me to do. Trotting on roads barefoot is much easier on the joints etc due to better shock absorbtion than when shod. Does take a while to get the feet from being adapted to being in shoes to being able to do the work without shoes though. Since he's already complaining about stoney ground with shoes on he's not likely to be one of the ones that have the shoes off and barely notice so you may have to have some time off from riding and are quite likely to be faffing about with boots for a while.

When to do it depends on your facilities and how bad the feet are. For example horrible feet would find soft ground to start with easier but if a horse has reasonably good feet already taking the shoes off while the ground is hard means that some of the conditioning work gets done for you while horsie wanders around in the field.

One thing to think about is if it's worth doing considering the age of the horse. If you have a fit healthy 16 year old that may have another 10 years or more being ridden and could be sound and happy without shoes relatively quickly then it's well worth doing. OTOH if your 16 year old may not be in work more than a few more years for reasons other than feet and has difficult feet to get to a point where he can be ridden without shoes then the time off and faffing about with boots may not be worth it for you.