Anyone gone from barefoot to shod?

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Daisy2

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I am thinking of shoeing Marley as although his feet are solid and dont need shoes in the sense that they dont crack, chip or breakup but I do find that little stones get wedged between the hoof wall and white line. I posted earlier to say he came up lame after a hack and the vet said its probably a bruised sole after ruling other things out. Farrier is coming on Friday and I know he would love to put shoes on him but Marley has never been shod and I am first worried that I am taking something natural away and also that it may for some unknown reason cause problems for instance my friends mare was shod and shortly after she got lami... She was grossly over weight though Any thoughts/experiences appreciated of going shod from barefoot. I also feel that I will feel more comfortable for him buts thats me being human
 
If he's usually coping fine without shoes then I wouldn't be putting shoes on.

Having shoes on won't stop stone-bruising, in fact it can make it worse: a barefoot horse builds up thick tough soles as they are using them all the time. Shod horses usually have pathetically thin and underdeveloped soles, so despite the 'lift' shoes gives them, they bruise much more easily. Doesn't mean unshod horses don't get stone bruises, it's just it take an awful lot more to cause it. The shod horses at our place get stone bruising more often than the unshod lot.

Getting stones trapped in the white line isn't really a problem as long it's just superficial (i.e no more than 1cm or so) BUT it is an indication that the white line isn't as tight as it should be and the foot is probably a bit flared.

Putting shoes on a horse with good barefeet isn't going to do much short term damage, but it does do long term damange to the feet unless the farrier is VERY good - the sole will loose it's toughness and the sole callus, the frogs and heels often contact and if the foot is shod in perfect asthetic balance (rather than the balance the foot needs) then you get uneven joint wear etc. It will probably take time to recondition the feet back to be rockcrunching after a long period in shoes.
 
Huge thanks for that, I really dont want to put shoes on Marley but thought that maybe I was being a little selfish doing road work but trying to keep him natural too. You \re right his feet are like rocks on the sole. Any ideas what I can do about the flare on the hoof if it is not tight enough
Thanks :D
 
A correct trim (not leaving the walls long) and a look at his diet should help. Too much grass (and grains) will cause flare (and sensitive soles too).

Road work is GOOD for their feet - it encouranges healthy growth and developement of internal structures. I just took my barefoot welsh X on a 6hr common ride, at least half of it roads. He bounced the whole time, galloped up the stoney tracks (wasn't MEANT to be, he just wanted to) and trotted through the big river (lots of bit stones) without a care. :D
 
Thats really encouraging to hear. Farrier is out on Friday so I will mention that however he is a normal farrier who trims Marley and shoes my mare. His diet is restricted grazing and soaked hay over night, no grain just a bit of chaf and sugarbeet for his vits.
Your ride sounds awesome and great fun.
 
putting shoes back on the cob mare as the dry weather and hard ground is causing excessive chipping and cracking - they can come off again in the winter when she's not ridden much - although TBH I will probably keep the fronts on.
 
You could get a pair of hoof boots too for times when you think bruising might be likely. All mine are wearing boots intermittently at the moment because the tracks are so dry they're like concrete and have stones scattered over them - we can go faster with the boots on!
 
To be honest, if he's comfortable as he is I'd leave him be with his trim. Diet sounds good and there's not anything you could change without becomeing obsessive and to extremes. ;)

The little stones don't matter at all - I dug out a couple of stones the size of large pea's out of HRH Toby's feet after the last ride out - he hadn't even noticed them.

And yep, the Common rides are fun :D - done a couple of on him and he's been brill, even with the pipe bands and screaming crowds. Good prep for going hunting (barefoot) this winter.
 
soloequestrian said:
You could get a pair of hoof boots too for times when you think bruising might be likely. All mine are wearing boots intermittently at the moment because the tracks are so dry they're like concrete and have stones scattered over them - we can go faster with the boots on!
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Yes thats a thought for some occasions. What boots do you recommend, he is a cob with BIG round feet. Can they wear boots on the fronts only or do they need to be on all four?
Thanks
 
The little stones don't matter at all - I dug out a couple of stones the size of large pea's out of HRH Toby's feet after the last ride out - he hadn't even noticed them. .[/QUOTE said:
Thats it you have taken my worries away - he does not seem to be bothered by the little stones just that I was unsure whether or not they would feel uncomfortable for him and a bugger to get out.
I suppose their feet are no different to the calluses on my hands lol! You know poo picking, buckets and wheel barrows, I think my farrier has softer hands than me !
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They have great big metal nails hammered through their feet for their shoes - they certainly won't notice little bit of stone! At most the bigger ones probably feel a bit like raspberry pips stuck in your teeth - a bit annoying.
 
Chipping and cracking may happen when there is dry hard ground but they are usually a sign that you have too much length on the hoof wall. And if there is a dip where the white line is that catches stones, in a horse with healthy white lines, that's usually a sign that the hoof wall is too long as well. Good barefoot feet are surprisingly short!

Barefoot horses in hard regular work onj abrasive surfaces have almost no hoof wall higher than the sole callous. The callous rolls into the white line and on into the hoof wall in an unbroken curve around the front half of the foot. The quarters are often not ground bearing at all, and the heels are a flat plane.

OP if your horse is sound, small stones in the white line are nothing to worry about. On the ride that he went lame after, maybe he trod on something that would have had the same effect if he was shod. It doesn't sound like he needs shoes if the stones in the white line are all that you are worried about.
 
Thanks all. You know I read so much about this and that but this kind of feedback is not found in a textbook and is invaluable. We can continue to ride silently. :)
 
Also road work not a problem so long as you are sensible. I have heard of people that take the shoes off then do umpteen miles of road the next day and wonder where they went wrong. I used to do 50 miles a week on my old horse and gallop over all sorts of rubbish with no trouble at all. But we built up to it.

If you haven't already you may find it helpful to check your sugar beet is the unmolassed sort. I don't know how old your horse is or the history etc but it never hurts to get rid of molasses which can cause problems when least expected.
 
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