why shoe?

Both my 2 are barefoot, Fred is retired and i never thought he would ever go barefoot he was soo footy if he ever lost a shoe, i remember him being shod once and he looked really uncomfortable just stood on concrete when all his shoes were off. Before i retired him i decided we weren't going to do any road work as he hates hacking so may manage barefoot and i decided to see if he would cope. As it turns out he ended up retiring and never doing any work barefoot but he didn't have any problems what so ever, i was lucky though and did it last early summer when it was wet and the ground was softer. He wasn't even really footy, i left him in the field for a couple of days so he didn't have to walk over stones and he was fine!

Marley i took barefoot because when i got him off the track his feet were in a right state and he lost all his shoes so kinda took himself barefoot! I am not sure if he is going to cope and i'm seriously thinking about putting shoes on for winter although i don't want to. He has been barefoot since May, i've just got some boots for him and have been working him for about a week in them and they work really well. Without them he looks ok in the field but can't walk across stoney ground still and i tried working him in the school which is rubber without his boots and he couldn't manage. His hinds look ok without anything on them although when in the school he does look footy occassionally when trotting. I just don't know if i can manage to faff about with boots in muddy gateways in the dark with 2 horses wanting to come in. I also think every time he has a trim he will be sore, he was last time and i think he will be again this time which means another week or so without riding him, the farrier said last time he came that his soles had really hardened up and were looking good so i don't know why he was so sore after, maybe he's just too flat footed or sensitive. I just don't know i'm going to give it a bit longer and see how he goes.
 
Last edited:
Kai's feet are solid. I have been putting cornucresine on them but it only takes a minute, and in return I'm guaranteed with healthy round feet :)
He copes on the roads fine too - hell, he's a driving pony! He has to cope!

I do miss the sound of clip clop though...............
 
xloopylozzax said:
we do far more work then any barefoot hoof would be able to cope with (fast roadwork, 9+ miles a day 7 days a week)

i dont know how you can say "oh my horse is barefoot" then stick it a pair of naf boots on for work- isnt that just the same, only a temporary measure?

we need studs because the road conditions are crap tbh and need resurfacing-given the amount of wear the feet get there wouldnt be any extra grip from barefoot so save you breath :)
we also school whilst out hacking in whatever field we can find, stubble/set-aside, not the best conditions or particularily level so again studs stop us slipping over.

barefoot is more work, scrubbing with this that and other potions and painting this on 10 times a day and feeding this and that and singing a song to them to increase growth :rolleyes: (ok made the last one up lol)
when its shod, you pick its feet out and thats it. check for thrush etc but ours never have any trouble with that.

they also need trimming more often (some people on here have tham trimmed every 4 weeks i think :eek: and general shaping after doing anything on rough ground to take chips off.

for us been shod works well, and considering my dad was a farrier i couldnt imagine it any other way :)
Click to expand...


It's not just the singing a song bit that you have made up!!!
 
x.fat-pony.x said:
Kai's feet are solid. I have been putting cornucresine on them but it only takes a minute, and in return I'm guaranteed with healthy round feet :)
He copes on the roads fine too - hell, he's a driving pony! He has to cope!

I do miss the sound of clip clop though...............
Click to expand...

yeah so do i.....my friend got old mac g2's at the weekend.....and its not even like a clip clop....its just like clump clump! lol!:p sounds like when you've got wellies on:p haha!:D
 
Oh, and FAO LoopyLozza.....:

Kai was last trimmed end of July, by a bog standard farrier. His feet are still perfect. And he is barefoot.
What works for one person doesn't always work for another. If having yours shod works, then good for you. Don't be so hasty in tarring all barefoot horses with the same brush, we don't all put boots on or slap potions on. Nor do we sing songs to them! Although I am singing for Kai to stop being lame, he stood on a nail and is bruised :rolleyes:

I used to think that barefoot was a new concept for the 'NH' people, something I don't really do - I'm traditional through and through. However, since having Kai on loan I've realised how economical and easier it is, both or me and him. I'm not crawling round looking for lost shoes and money in my bank account (!) and he's not hobbling around as he's thrown a shoe or we're waiting for the farrier to turn up.
 
ours have and do lose shoes occasionally (not often i must admit, they have good feet and a good farrier) but they dont go sore without, we carry on the same and they dont break down and weep.
our farrier is good, he manages to slot us in quite quickly once we ring him so its only a few days a week tops till he can come and sort us out.

the shoes we lose tbh arent worth finding to put back on so there isnt that worry.
reading some of the barefoot threads on here alot of barefoot people do what i have mentioned or atleast most of the NR barefoot population, it isnt just plucked from thin air, i can always find links and quotes if that would help??

im not saying its a bad thing, but its not a completely brilliant, everyone should/can do it, option- there is several reasons both for and against.

obviously this will get more attention from the barefoot people rather than the shod population because of its location.
 
im not saying its a bad thing, but its not a completely brilliant, everyone should/can do it, option- there is several reasons both for and against.
Click to expand...

If you actually bothered to read what some of us have posted, you'd see that we agree completely with you on this particular point ;)
 
Yann said:
If you actually bothered to read what some of us have posted, you'd see that we agree completely with you on this particular point ;)
Click to expand...


LOL!
slated because i posted something completely deflamatory, taking on-board other posts etc :rolleyes: :p
i have bothered to read it, every single letter, like most things posted on NR otherwise there would be no point of been on here.

you have my opinions, and i have read and taken on board other opinions- the whole point i thought? correct me if im wrong...
 
reading some of the barefoot threads on here alot of barefoot people do what i have mentioned or atleast most of the NR barefoot population, it isnt just plucked from thin air, i can always find links and quotes if that would help??
Click to expand...

From reading things on the internet it can seem like more of a faff than it is, basically because the people who have horses barefoot to sort out cr*p feet are much more likely to be on the internet stressing about the best way to sort it out while those who have sound barefoot horses where its all rather boring and they just get on with it don't really bother posting 'my horse was sound again today and I didn't do any faffing' :D
 
xloopylozzax said:
LOL!
slated because i posted something completely deflamatory, taking on-board other posts etc :rolleyes: :p
i have bothered to read it, every single letter, like most things posted on NR otherwise there would be no point of been on here.

you have my opinions, and i have read and taken on board other opinions- the whole point i thought? correct me if im wrong...
Click to expand...

You haven't been slated at all, other people are also entitled to their opinions. I have 2 horses, 1 is shod 1 is not. It is not a shod v unshod issue there is good and bad in both situations. It is what is best for each individual horse. My 2 are treated the same, no extra lotions and potions for either. The shod one costs me £50 every 7 week, the unshod £15 if he needs doing. I do lots of road work with both, I ride in fields, on forest tracks, they both do the same. The unshod one does not need special treatment. Even if he did, SO WHAT? If someone chooses to have an unshod horse, it is their decision and they do not need someone like you putting them down!!! And actually the unshod one has better and stronger feet!
 
It is worth remembering that horses are not born with shoes, also that they were ridden without shoes for thousands of years before we decided to put shoes on them.

Have a look at the info on www.naturalhoofcare.co.uk and www.easycareinc.com

for my personal experience, my 17hh trakehner x was nearly done for under the hands of the 'experts' farriers, as he is an extravagant mover he keep treading his shoes off, farriers solution = shoe him tight behind. result =not enough support and heel became under run causing navicular syndrome, next farriers solution = put him natural balance with wedged pads and impression material, result (18 months later at £140 EVERY 4 WEEKS!!!) horse lamer than when we started and xrays show not one millimetre of change in foot shape or angle also tiny wisps on navicluar bone now small nodules, farrier solution = aluminium wedged eggbars, told me that they don't make his size 5 so put on 4's result = 16 hours later led horse out of stable crippled, farrier solution = put normal shoes on, a week later still noticably lame with roaring hot feet, MY SOLUTION = SACK FARRIER searched on internet about boots, found easycare website and never looked back, found Alicia Mitchell on natural hoofcare and out she came, she knew she was my last hope, and she is brilliant! she provided a set trim to Clint and my old boy Digby and explained everything about what was going to happen with his feet, how they would feel like they have pins and needles in the feet for 3-6 weeks and that he would look touchy on them, but that this is because shoes have numbed the feet and it would take this time for the feet to come back to life, as the digital cushion and all surrounding nerves would now be able to do their job, in the first 6 weeks he chipped alot of old hoof off they looked unsightly but she explained that this would happen as he had such poor quality hoof, after 8 weeks from the start I trotted him up on the drive and he was SOUND!!!! I got my equine physio out and she did 3 sesions on him, as she put it he was muscle bound and tight in his whole body, he has had cartrophen injections by the vet to stop the nodules in their tracks, and last night I got on him for the first time in 6 months he was a different horse, huge stride willingly going forward and so flexible, we did 10 mins work in walk, it was the best 10 mins of my life, he had a big smile too! I think he rather missed our time together and when I went to lead him out of the school he rooted! more please mummy! I don't often cry but it hit me on the short journey home, I cried for how lovely it was to be on him again, and for my ignorance and what I have put him through with shoes, no horse of mine will ever go near a farrier or have shoes on again.
 
snopuma said:
It is worth remembering that horses are not born with shoes, also that they were ridden without shoes for thousands of years before we decided to put shoes on them.
.
Click to expand...

Totally agree but there were not the animal welfare issues that there are now and their horses could have been lame as and they may not have cared, also the invention of concrete and tarmac has moved us on from the dark ages and created a surface that some horses cannot deal with under a full workload.

I have to admit I feel for loopylozza because her father is a farrier your comments have automatically put her in a box persae and it's no fairer than others putting barefooters in a box.

I shoe because it stops my horse being in pain in the quickest possible time with no ill affect to her health or wellbeing. My other one is not shod as she doesn't need to be
 
Manwell has shoes he does lots of work on roads. I tried taking his shoes off but it is stony in parts where we rode and i think he had never been without shoes and he seemed to tred overly carefully. We also tried just fronts but then agian did not seem comfortable, so went back to full set. Max never had shoes in his life, and we had him for 3yrs before we put shoes on. We put shoes on as his work load increased and involved a lot of road work, some of which had sliipery services. So shoes with road nails in that way has helped. I have noticed that his feet have deteriated slightly since having shoes :confused: Not enough to cause anyproblems just doesnt look like the perfect hoof anymore. I think that a lot of people that i know who does not do a lot of work with their horse shoe because a lot of farriers can cut too short, causing problems.

I do like barefoot but i think its what suits your horse, and every horse is different
 
Originally Posted by xloopylozzax
we do far more work then any barefoot hoof would be able to cope with (fast roadwork, 9+ miles a day 7 days a week) - Horses in the wild do far more travelling, over much more severe terrain than any of our horses do. They do 20 miles +! Even the newborn foals (whose hooves are still very soft) are expected to keep up (or die). I do alot of roadwork with my boy and he doesnt wear out his feet as we imagine they would. i dont know how you can say "oh my horse is barefoot" then stick it a pair of naf boots on for work- isnt that just the same, only a temporary measure? - The boots are very good for the transitional period. Imagine taking your shoes off and walking over gravel! If, however, you kept doing it you'd end up being able to run without feeling the stones - just look at the Africans in the bush!we need studs because the road conditions are crap tbh and need resurfacing-given the amount of wear the feet get there wouldnt be any extra grip from barefoot so save you breath -on the contrary, barefoot gives significantly more grip than shoes. If it didnt then horses would be born with shoes even in the wild!
we also school whilst out hacking in whatever field we can find, stubble/set-aside, not the best conditions or particularily level so again studs stop us slipping over. - my last horse did all events including x/c s/j and stressage barefoot. I never had any problems. You may well find that your horse isnt actually that balanced and has come to rely on the fact you put in studs. (Not being derrogatory here, the 'stud reliance' is quite common in competition horses who use them all the time) People on NR have commented that they find Boas are slippery in wet grass/muddy conditions. Personally, I use Boas and havent found that problem. Is my horse just well balanced?
barefoot is more work, scrubbing with this that and other potions and painting this on 10 times a day and feeding this and that and singing a song to them to increase growth (ok made the last one up lol) - Where did you get that from?
when its shod, you pick its feet out and thats it. check for thrush etc but ours never have any trouble with that. - same as barefoot.

they also need trimming more often (some people on here have tham trimmed every 4 weeks i think and general shaping after doing anything on rough ground to take chips off. - dont totally agree with that. Each will be individual but then there will always be the horses who require shoeing more often too.
for us been shod works well, and considering my dad was a farrier i couldnt imagine it any other way - Each to their own!

Incidentally, there are comments on this site re flat soles or soles not coping with stones etc. On the sites on barefoot already posted, there is brill info about how flat soles will go back to concave given the chance as the whole internal structure is allowed to reshape itself once the hinderance of the shoes is removed. also, the hardening of the soles (the bit we all talk about) to be able to go bare is not strictly speaking true. What is more critical is the firming of the interal structure above the frog. The frog does not have contact with the ground when shod and should do when bare. This firming can only occur when the frog is exposed to pressure from ground contact. (very similar to you going barefoot!)
 
Last edited:
WW there is no way I will risk a lami attack by having my horse out of full work for over a year waiting for someone who is not actually that trained (as I understand it their training is a lot less than a farrier) to attempt to make her barefoot, I have had her hinds off and she was nigh on crippled and because of having less work had a minor lami bout.

I wont put my horse through that pain and risk her longterm welfare when there is no benefit to me personally of having her without shoes.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back