Are your friesians shod?

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Nakita

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Just wondering as I've been told they have very good hooves and don't require shoeing. Would be interested if anyone knows of or has a friesian that has done lots of hacking barefoot with no problems?
 
They dont tend to shoe Friesians in Holland as most of the ridden ones are ridden on verges, it tends to be only the driving horses that are shod and then only normally the fronts are done. Alot of friesians are left unshod. I personally think bare-foot is alot of effort so Roemer has always been shod from day one with me. Alot of horses at my yard are barefooted and it seems to be a bit of a constant battle. Roemer came to me shod so i took the view if it isnt broke dont fix it.
 
Thankyou for the replies :)

bexwarren24 - Sorry if this seems stupid but I've never owned an unshod horse (well except from Rocky my shetland and he doesn't count! Lol.), I assumed it would be easier. What makes barefoot an effort & a battle at times?
 
My old boy was shod all round. We didn't do a huge amount of roadwork, but he was ridden every day, did a lot of ridden showing, and I also drove him in Private Driving classes. He had feet as tough as iron, and could probably have gone barefoot, but I never really though about it.

My young lad is barefoot, and has been ever since I got him. I will have him shod all round for grading this year, but will then have the shoes removed again as he doesn't need them at home. He has incredible feet, and even though he hacks out, he still has loads of hoof removed when the farrier comes to do a trim.

I can't understand the comment "barefoot is a lot of effort" at all, it is the simplest thing in the world for me and my horse, as well as being much cheaper than having the horse shod!!
 
Glad I'm not the only one confused Maiko... But could I ask why you are having yours shod for grading? (just curious...) None of mine are shod and do very well.

To be honest it is less stress all round because between trimmings mother nature works her magic. The only thing my farrier "moans" about is that their feet are hard as iron. :) When I finally had the shoes removed from my old boy I immediately noticed a change in the hoof wall as there was an increase of blood supply (because the hoof wall "moved" more as direct pressure was applied to the sole)

If a horse has good feet and copes well with what you are asking then why not keep them barefoot? Just to note I am not advocating barefoot for all. As I said above... :)
 
Nearly every horse on my yard that is bare-footed (which is half of a big yard) have had problems at some point with thier horses feet being foot-sore, having soft feet, etc. They spend most of thier time trying to feed accordingly and treat with lotions and potions to get their hooves to stay hard. There is a mixture of breeds bare-footed on our yard and i guess some are more suited then others. Alot of them tend to spend the winter drying their horses feet out and then again in the spring slowly trying to harden them on the road. The exceptions to this are the ones that arent hacked regularly, they all seem to be fine but their is a regualr occurence of lameness due to feet. I must admit though they do not slip around as much on the roads as I do.

I am defanetly not against bare-feet as it seems alot cheaper than my £70 every 6 weeks for a set of shoes but as a side line thought, have you found that some vets have very negative attitudes towards bare-footed horses? Its something that has been noticed at our yard a few times.
 
BW - How bizarre!!! Never had that reaction from vets! Plenty of strange reactions from them when my lot were living out 24 / 7 and wanted hot water or "can you stable them". (Followed by looking round the field looking for stables and a hot water "tap" LOL )But never due to them being barefoot.

I also have never had problems as you have been describing. There was one year that I had flakey feet - the feet dried out too much during the summer so I overfilled the water troughs a little for them to stand in the water / mud. Worked a treat. Mine are also not on any special diets etc.
 
Mine is unshod, not had any problems with her feet, not a single day lame or anything since i've had her. Only just started hacking her out in the last few months but she's had no problems with roadwork.
 
But could I ask why you are having yours shod for grading? (just curious...)
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The judges prefer it, and the horse also moves a little bigger with shoes on when he is run in-hand. I'll have him shod a couple of weeks prior to grading, but they will come straight off again afterwards.

What 'lotions and potions' does a barefoot horse need? Mine is lucky if he gets a splash of hoof gloss for a show, let alone any weird and wonderful lotions / potions. He has incredible feet, the healthiest of any horse I have ever owned. He is hacked out on tarmac, and on shingle tracks, and has never shown the slightest sign of being foot sore. Maybe I am just lucky?? I am not an evangelical barefoot person, as my other horse is shod. What I do with my horses feet is what is right for that particular horse. If he doesn't need shoes, why bother?
 
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