are you barefoot and what work are you doing with your horse

I tend to wear socks, too. cptrayes, would whiskey help me have warmer feet? :D

The pony is barefoot. He does a little bit of everything, but we're focussing on Endurance this year. I do have to watch his diet---native type on grass for cattle---but would do that if he were shod, too! :D
 
My 4.5 year old CB is unshod and always has been... curently doing two hacks of about an hour and two 45 minute schooling sessions which he copes with but much more and we're a bit footy and I just feel he is lacking in performance so have had my hay analysed and diet plan written... just waiting for my minerals to come and I'm hoping to see a vast improvement - both in his feet, which actually look good from the outside (bar flat soles) and his way of going :) and thus be able to increase his workload :)

For those who have gone down this route, how long til I should expect to see improvement?
 
CBFan said:
My 4.5 year old CB is unshod and always has been... curently doing two hacks of about an hour and two 45 minute schooling sessions which he copes with but much more and we're a bit footy and I just feel he is lacking in performance so have had my hay analysed and diet plan written... just waiting for my minerals to come and I'm hoping to see a vast improvement - both in his feet, which actually look good from the outside (bar flat soles) and his way of going :) and thus be able to increase his workload :)

For those who have gone down this route, how long til I should expect to see improvement?
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I started supplementing copper in the spring and that spring my horse that normally went flat-footed every summer kept his concavity right through. So it starts to work right away, but he had a good foot from over the winter and it stopped it dropping. It may take longer for yours to grow concavity but you should see a result pretty quickly because even the slightest tightening in the laminae pulls the sole up into the foot - you can see that effect by restricting grass for a few days in a really sensitive one.

Let us know ?
 
Irish heinz mare and CBx mare both had shoes off for just over 2 years now. They do need attention paying to their diet as their grass is just rubbish, so on a mineral balanced diet. Both do anything we ask comfortably. The limiting factor is confidence (mine!) and hours in the day.

Irish mare does endurance, dressage, little bit of jumping and hours on end of hacking at generally the faster paces lol! CB mare does dressage and SJ (up to 1.10m currently) and lovely long hacks too. Both are comfy over all terrain and storm over anything we come across. CB mare does occationally needs boots as grass flushes really affect her.

Farrier sees them once in a blue moon and generally doesn't need to get his rasp out. He saw them last in sept, long hacks keep them nicely trimmed. They do get one or two tiny chips every month or so, but a long hack sorts them out.
 
Another ex-racer here doing a bit of everything without shoes, and she and I are happy. me on the other hand has boots and socks on.... and my feet are still freezing.....

Did I hear whiskey would sort this affliction out???....
 
cptrayes said:
I started supplementing copper in the spring and that spring my horse that normally went flat-footed every summer kept his concavity right through. So it starts to work right away, but he had a good foot from over the winter and it stopped it dropping. It may take longer for yours to grow concavity but you should see a result pretty quickly because even the slightest tightening in the laminae pulls the sole up into the foot - you can see that effect by restricting grass for a few days in a really sensitive one.

Let us know ?
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Thanks cptrayes... I will definately let you know! I am so excited!! :) Can't wait for my minerals to arrive :)
 
cptrayes said:
I hunt with mine. (and all the work to keep him fit to hunt of course :) )

That is really encouraging CP, I want to hunt my QH when he's old enough and his feet are so wonderful I really don't want to ever shoe unless I have to. BTW I am not a "barefoot" zealot, just tight as a gnat's whatsit.
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DaffyAppy said:
cptrayes said:
I hunt with mine. (and all the work to keep him fit to hunt of course :) )

That is really encouraging CP, I want to hunt my QH when he's old enough and his feet are so wonderful I really don't want to ever shoe unless I have to. BTW I am not a "barefoot" zealot, just tight as a gnat's whatsit.
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There are up to five barefoot horses out, two ponies with adult males on them and three horses, one an ex racer. And I don't mess about, when I say I hunt I mean mine (a 17 hand Shire cross!) gallops on hardcore and jumps hedges six foot high onto and off any surface at all. This morning's hack included a hill about 1 in 6, which we canter up to keep fit - it's a tarmacked road :D

I hope you get yours out hunting, you'll both love it! I can't stop grinning over saving £800 per horse per year either :eek:
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Clo has been without shoes since Jan. She's been turned out (due to injury) since then and had her first BFT a few days ago and will now come into work slowly.
I am neither a barefoot evangelist nor a shoe lover, I just do whatever works for the horse and right now, this is working :)
 
my boy has been shoeless for two years , i do find there is a lot of stigma with people who shoe i let it go over my head, i never have issues with lost shoes, etc, he seems happy enough i wont trot over stony gravelly ground unless i have to he seems fine hes five years old, i want to get him to some long distance rides/fun shows etc, i ride him out on the roads, he seems fine its intresting quite a few of you compete and find it no issues i dont feed any special diet /supplements , etc he had sarcoids a year after i had him and this evolved by a shoe nicking his skin when he lay down and the flies made it worse( therefore no shoes no sarcoids , easy :D
 
I got some raised eyebrows when I decided to take my horses shoes off last year- he's a WB and his feet were crap but only because he managed to pull his shoes off every couple of weeks.

We'll be doing a bit of everything this summer an he'll be fine I think. His feet now get trimmed about once every 12 weeks and he is much happier as he doesn't slip as much. Best thing I ever did for him and so far it has stopped us doing nothing :D
 
Ps I tracked down his previous owner when I got him three years ago and she td me she had a psychic call him on the phone one day for a laugh- she said that Oaks told her that he didn't like wearing shoes as they made him slip and that he was cross as every time he managed to get them off he would have them put straight back on again... Weird!
 
I personally love my vibram five-fingers!!! Like walking barefoot but without traipsing in dry dog-****.

My boy has gone on loan somewhere else now but did dressage, hacked out for miles on the cotswold way over stone, shingle, roots at speed too. Even did the odd HT and driving on the roads. He had a brilliant trot!

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Just completed a 20 mile endurance ride over stoney tracks a couple of weeks back. First one with no boots or anything.

I don't get into diet or trimmers or anything, just a normal farrier trim.

Love that you don't slip on Tarmac :) feel so much safer than in shoes
 
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