20 yr old warmblood -appropriate to barefoot at his age?

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lyndsayberesford

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Just wondering whether at 20 yrs old it would be fair/appropriate to barefoot my 17h warmblood. Been in shoes since he was 4 yrs old. Moving him to a new yard where hopefully he will still be able to hack and do schooling etc.

If I was to do this what would be a good base diet for him to go on?
 
I took my 19yowelshie barefoot last year. I did have reservations after so long in shoes but he was lame, shoes and injections to coffin joint not helping so figured that or retire ;) and he wasn't getting shoes if retired anyway :p.

He's sound and in full work - hours of hacks, dressage comps at same level as before, bit if jumping now etc so all good :)
 
My friend took her 28yo tb barefoot last year. Was fine.

Unless you have a set of feet that are seriously compromised from all those years of shoeing, it will be fine. The majority of feet are shod well and cope with not having shoes relatively easily.

The sole will be weaker and perhaps the frogs may be weak too so just prepare to give them a little time to adjust.

After all, a lot of horses when retired, don't wear shoes and are turned away without a problem. All our retirees are bf and out 24/7 on fairly rocky terrain.

Like anything, prepare yourself, read, research and be patient.
 
I took my now 23 year old barefoot 18 months ago and she is doing great. Age is no problem and if you are dealing with age related problems like arthritis it can be beneficial to deshoe.
 
I took my almost retired chap barefoot at 18, he is a MW or HW hunter, 17 hands and had been shod since he was 3 or 4 (we had him from 6 so I know he was shod all the time from then).

Have never regretted it, he had a stiffness from arthritis in one leg and I think it has helped somewhat. Interestingly despite the years and years of shoeing the trimmer was impressed with the bulbs at the back of the hoof, they were very good for a shod horse so she said he must have had a good farrier (which confirms my opinion of the farrier at our old stables as being a good un).

NB I would advise taking backs off first, allowing the horse to get those into shape and then take off fronts a few months later once you are happy. The fronts are where any challenges will arise if any, so getting the backs nice and comfy first means you can just concentrate on them.
 
I worked on a horse yesterday that was taken bare in their 30's.

The usual provisions apply. Assess hoof health, make any necessary diet changes, be prepared to boot at the start if it is required and exercise comfortably. Then give the transition some time.
 
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