Barefoot horses on roads

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trundle

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(I think there may be many stupid questions of this sort from me in the next few weeks - pls bear with me)

Are there major downsides to riding an unshod horse on roads? My new horse has extremely hard feet, and is unshod all round. I am not planning to do a whole lot of roadwork as we have a whole farm to ride round, but my old horse was completely dangerous on roads and it meant that i couldn't go off the farm at all. There are a few nice rides around us that require a couple of hundred yards of roadwork to get to them.

Will his feet wear down too fast if i take him on the roads? Will he have trouble with grip (I could always get him some hoofboots if we need to go a long way on hard ground).

His owner says his feet are like concrete, and last time the farrier tried to shoe him, he bent three nails on two different feet. Most of our work will be in the school or hacking round the farm.
 
I used to do up to 5 miles a week on my last gypsy mare no problem - she has very tough feet. Good grip too compared to shoes I found.

I used to do a little with Cairo no problem and plan to do the same with the two youngsters - our tracks are like concrete in summer and never had problems - but again all have iron hard feet.
 
He'l slip less barefoot than with shoes, his feet shouldnt wear too much they should just wear naturally, horses werent made to wear shoes and they live on rough and sometimes stoney ground in the wild, he'l be perfectly fine with the amount of roadwork your planning and would probably handle alot more than you'd expect!
 
Little Cob has never been shod
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He hacks on the road most days, jumps, used to use a sand school daily. Never (so far!) a problem.

The farrier, who isn't forwards with his praises lol, compliments his feet
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They are trimmed ever six - eight weeks depnding on when we can get fitted in with the farrier.

No slipping issues, in fact I think he's better without. If daugher decides to cross-country and the ground isn't good, we might have to think again, but until then barefoot he is
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Other two neds - LL shoes on front only, and the Dizzy one shoes all round.
 
Ok first off none of what you asked are stupid questions, I was asking them myself when I first considered taking my horse's shoes off.

You say he has hard feet but this doesn't necessarily mean he won't feel his feet on the road. You should instroduce road work gradually (assuming he hasn't done much without shoes) and if he is at all footy you need to walk him in hand to condition his feet (ride with hoof boots) it's really not fair to ride a footy horse, lame is lame IMO.

His feet won't wear down quickly unless he drags his feet which he should if he is ridden forward.

Grip wise they have slightly better grip on tarmac than a shod horse, the grip issue really only come into the equation when you are on long grass or mud, this is when you would need hoof boots if you were doing fast work or jumping.

I would say take him out and see how he feels, be prepared to invest in hoof boots if necessary but try to condition his feet by walking in hand if he doesn't take to sound road work
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Hi Trundle,

I think you'll be fine, especially if you've only got a couple of hundred yards of roadwork here and there, and if your horse is fully conditioned to being barefoot. Where I am, although I've got access to decent hacking, I have to do at least 10 minutes on tarmac (luckily down quiet single track lanes) to access any of the good riding, and I've never had a problem with any of my 5 barefoot horses.

I do also trot them on tarmac - although deliberately not excessively - but I do tend to trot up hills for fittening, and also to get out of the way of any oncoming vehicles etc. I have seen research which demonstrates that the concussive effect is far less for barefoot horses than for shod horses.

Finally, all horses can slip on the roads, but I find it's extremely rare with a barefoot horse. I strongly believe they have a far better grip than a shod horse. Also, in the recent snow and ice, I was able to hack out when all of the shod horses at nearby yards were confined to barracks. Didn't have any problems whatsoever in the cold weather (although I did use common sense, kept it slow and avoided any obviously icy patches).
 
It sounds like your horse has been barefoot a long time, or perhaps always. In this case you shouldn't have any problem with a moderate amount of road work. In fact my EP positively encourages road work as part of the conditioning programme. It helps promote concavity, but especially it helps correct underrun heels to work on a resistant surface such as tarmac. So as long as your horse remains comfortable, go for it!
 
I have a big horse barefoot, she's 5 yrs old and rides fine on the roads, nice hard feet like yours. She is better on her feet on the roads then my tb who is shod as she has poor feet. They slip lots more on roads with shoes on.

I have some Old Mac G2s for me big more for hacking on bridleways as she can be a little sensitive on really stony paths which there are alot of round here. Only on the front feet.

You shouldnt have any probs at all.
 
SDH- it was you who put the idea of the exploring into my head, so i will definitely be collaring you to go for a ride once he arrives ! I am SO excited !

PS. he is only little, but he does have a great power walk, so we won't hold you back. And he is FAST!!!!!!!
 
My mare has always been unshod - rock hard feet and we do roads etc with no problems. Has the farrier for a trim every 6 weeks (sometimes is more of a reshape) and has a pair of boots for her fronts in case for what ever reason we have to stick to road work (in winters when the fields are to boggy/muddy) but are used rarely. Agree with what others have said about unshod having better grip - and in the recent snow she was cantering around like a prat with no problems!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
SDH- it was you who put the idea of the exploring into my head, so i will definitely be collaring you to go for a ride once he arrives ! I am SO excited !

PS. he is only little, but he does have a great power walk, so we won't hold you back. And he is FAST!!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds lovely
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Remind me to ride Rusty not Sammy in that case (Sammy is v.slow .... and of the opinion "whats the rush" LOL)
 
this does honestly depend on the feet and you will have to play it by ear as it were.

I have a few horses on my books that will never have need for shoes and the one in particular is ridden on the roads all the time! where as others will be foot sore within a few minutes of stepping out!

play it by ear and see how you get on. if you dont want the horse shod and plan on doing more road work than the horses feet can takle then you could look into boots

good luck
 
I guess it depends on the horse but if never been shod than I am sure you will be fine. Both my horses are unshod, 15 year old cob pony with rock hard feet and a five year old friesian mare again with very hard feet. Both are hacked on the road and neither feel their feet, farrier checks and trims if need be every 6 to 8 weeks.
 
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