orin
Well-Known Member
just out of intrest do youguys have your horses shod or are they barefoot and why?
barefoot or shod?
- Thread starter orin
- Start date
Super_Kat
Well-Known Member
Mine are all barefoot (because shoes are classed as a luxury at the moment!) and they're all perfectly happy.
Chico Mio
Antedeluvian
Were shod, now trying barefoot.
OH can trim and shoe but we thought we'd try them both without shoes over the winter, while the ground is softer. I'm all for seeing if a horse can manage without shoes. Some can and some definitely can't, if I have any problems I will put shoes back on.
OH can trim and shoe but we thought we'd try them both without shoes over the winter, while the ground is softer. I'm all for seeing if a horse can manage without shoes. Some can and some definitely can't, if I have any problems I will put shoes back on.
Cliqmo
Well-Known Member
4yr old (lame) youngster is barefoot and two of the senior vets at the practise cannot agree whether he should be shod or not
Bentley has good strong feet so breaking etc not really an issue, Vet A says the extra support a wide shoe would provide would help him heal more quickly and Vet B says barefoot is best and that Bentley's feet aren't so poorly shaped that the benefit of extra width would outweigh the benefit of being barefoot??
Bentley has good strong feet so breaking etc not really an issue, Vet A says the extra support a wide shoe would provide would help him heal more quickly and Vet B says barefoot is best and that Bentley's feet aren't so poorly shaped that the benefit of extra width would outweigh the benefit of being barefoot??
Ellies_mum2
Well-Known Member
Barefoot and hoping to keep her that way.
Not really an issue at the moment as she is only 13 months old
Not really an issue at the moment as she is only 13 months old
StarFell
Well-Known Member
Star is barefoot at the moment, can't decide whether to get him shod again. Those of you with barefoot horses, are they happy on the roads and do you do a lot with them?
Cliqmo
Well-Known Member
Yup my boy was at the vets yesterday and they (for reasons best known to themselves) have put down very smart but VERY sharp gravel in the car park
Fortunately Bentley didn't flinch on it once
I recall when I took my last horses shoes off it took about 6wks for him to adjust in the intitial stages and probably 6mths for him to stop the 'ouch' reaction when he stood on a stone
but he got there and was much better for it
... Obviously when I sold him the new owners put shoes straight back on
I recall when I took my last horses shoes off it took about 6wks for him to adjust in the intitial stages and probably 6mths for him to stop the 'ouch' reaction when he stood on a stone
vallin
Well-Known Member
Last year mine went barefoot through winter (previous to this she was only on a 1/2 set) when the ground was softer because she kept fulling her shoes off and so I figured she could try without and she was fine throughout winter, however when it got to summer and the ground was hard she went a bit foot sore so I had the fronts put on again (the break from shoes did her feet a lot of good, they looked great all winter and are still looking pretty good). However all the work I was doing was on a surface, so I'm not sure whether I'll do it again as she s now doing road work and I'm hoping at some point to hunt her....decisions, decisions....
Nailed
Well-Known Member
unshod.... not barefoot
TelH
Well-Known Member
I have 5 ponies, 3 are unshod because they cope perfectly well that way. My gelding has front shoes on, he had really bad laminitis a while back, had nearly 2 years off and was nearly pts. He is sound now but gets sore without his shoes on. My old mare also has front shoes on, thats how she was when I got her a few months ago, I had them re done last time the farrier came but I may try her without shoes too as we do very little road work.
Ali2
Well-Known Member
Barefoot because that's the healthiest option for his feet. He does a fair amount of road hacking and competes in all RC activities with no problems.
VictoriaEDT
Well-Known Member
Shod one of my horses is in too much work to be unshod and he needs the heel support. The other has always been shod and it works for him-if it aint broke dont fix it!
The two miniatures are unshod obviously!
The two miniatures are unshod obviously!
Jane_Lou
Well-Known Member
Baileys has always been shod in front and has been shod behind since he was 5 and started proper work. Joe was unshod (good hard connie feet) until the farmer resurfaced the farm track with road planings which made him foot sore. He was ok with just fronts until this year when the track was done again and he and the other 2 horses unshod on the yard were getting footsore, he is fine now shod all-round.
kateknights
Well-Known Member
New horse 3 yr old, never had shoes on, farrier came out last week and said that his feet are coping really well with it and are very tough, so we are hoping to keep him that way. And it only cost me £20 for a trim
rather than £65 for a set of shoes!
Kate x
Kate x
badgerdog
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
New horse 3 yr old, never had shoes on, farrier came out last week and said that his feet are coping really well with it and are very tough, so we are hoping to keep him that way. And it only cost me £20 for a trim
rather than £65 for a set of shoes!
Kate x
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm in exactly the same position. My farrier thinks my youngster has very tough feet and will not need shoeing. We've ridden quite a bit on the country lanes and she's been fine. I hope it stays that way, I only pay £15 instead of £50.
New horse 3 yr old, never had shoes on, farrier came out last week and said that his feet are coping really well with it and are very tough, so we are hoping to keep him that way. And it only cost me £20 for a trim
Kate x
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm in exactly the same position. My farrier thinks my youngster has very tough feet and will not need shoeing. We've ridden quite a bit on the country lanes and she's been fine. I hope it stays that way, I only pay £15 instead of £50.
Tiarella
Well-Known Member
Just front shoes.
Ellies_mum2
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
unshod.... not barefoot
[/ QUOTE ]
Genuine question here
What is the difference? I have always thought they were the same
unshod.... not barefoot
[/ QUOTE ]
Genuine question here
What is the difference? I have always thought they were the same
Swift08
Well-Known Member
Pharaoh is barefoot. He had front shoes on at one point but his feet were good without them and he liked the noise they made when he scaped the concrete so took them off. He was shod all round when he was on loan but took them off when we got him back
He is also a monster to lead (but getting better) so i would never willingly but back shoes on him!
_daisy_
Well-Known Member
my 3 yo is barefoot just like my other 3 horses. she wont ever have shoes on
Ranyhyn
Well-Known Member
Shod infront only.
mrdarcy
Well-Known Member
All mine are barefoot and very happy. Their feet have never looked better and thank god I never again have to worry about bringing them in from the field missing a shoe. I can do everything I did with them when they were shod and more.
It's a fallacy that horses can cope barefoot when not doing much work but when you start doing more work with them you need to start shoeing. The opposite is in fact true. The more work you do with your barefoot horse the better quality feet you will get. Horses feet respond to stimulus and grow and strengthen accordingly. Much like if you've never worked outdoors your hands will be soft and blister easily to start with. But the more work you do your skin toughens up and becomes able to cope with lots more work without blistering.
As to the amount of work possible barefoot my friend did about 45 miles of a 50 mile endurance ride completely barefoot last week. She only put boots on for the last 5 miles because her horse was getting a little tired and dragging his hind toes. Others I know have gone further than that. I know people who hunt every week barefoot over all sorts of different terrain.
Have to say it's refreshing to read in this thread of farriers happy to leave horses unshod but please also take into account the importance of diet - too much sugar in the diet (including from grass) can make many horses very footy. People often keep their horses barefoot over winter but put shoes back on in the summer because their horses get more footy in summer. They blame the footiness on working the horse harder in the summer months, or the ground being harder or stonier but the real reason for the footiness is more likely to be caused by higher levels of sugar in the grass. Rather than putting shoes on at the first sign of footiness if they restricted their horses grazing they would probably see the footiness disappear.
It's a fallacy that horses can cope barefoot when not doing much work but when you start doing more work with them you need to start shoeing. The opposite is in fact true. The more work you do with your barefoot horse the better quality feet you will get. Horses feet respond to stimulus and grow and strengthen accordingly. Much like if you've never worked outdoors your hands will be soft and blister easily to start with. But the more work you do your skin toughens up and becomes able to cope with lots more work without blistering.
As to the amount of work possible barefoot my friend did about 45 miles of a 50 mile endurance ride completely barefoot last week. She only put boots on for the last 5 miles because her horse was getting a little tired and dragging his hind toes. Others I know have gone further than that. I know people who hunt every week barefoot over all sorts of different terrain.
Have to say it's refreshing to read in this thread of farriers happy to leave horses unshod but please also take into account the importance of diet - too much sugar in the diet (including from grass) can make many horses very footy. People often keep their horses barefoot over winter but put shoes back on in the summer because their horses get more footy in summer. They blame the footiness on working the horse harder in the summer months, or the ground being harder or stonier but the real reason for the footiness is more likely to be caused by higher levels of sugar in the grass. Rather than putting shoes on at the first sign of footiness if they restricted their horses grazing they would probably see the footiness disappear.
spookypony
Well-Known Member
Barefoot. He manages perfectly well without, and I monitor his diet and exercise. He's fine on the road, and had no problems hunting, either.
He has boots for the fronts now that he's been wearing to protect an infection, but he's fine without, again. They'll be really handy to have, though, if we go somewhere with unusually gravelly ground or something!
He has boots for the fronts now that he's been wearing to protect an infection, but he's fine without, again. They'll be really handy to have, though, if we go somewhere with unusually gravelly ground or something!
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
So did any unshod horses do Okeover last week, as there were some nasty stoney tracks for quite a distance and going uphill, if so how did you mangage ok ?
JoBo
Well-Known Member
Badger (the Fjord)- just shod on the front, just because he was wearing his fronts away a bit much because he does quite a bit of hacking on the roads and our woods have stones down on the paths.
Bodey (my coloured)- shod all round. He was barefoot but I have started to do a lot more jumping and XC, and just felt he needed them, and plus I can have stud holes.
Bodey (my coloured)- shod all round. He was barefoot but I have started to do a lot more jumping and XC, and just felt he needed them, and plus I can have stud holes.
Flame_
Well-Known Member
Shod if they're in work, unshod if they're turned away, generally, but it would depend on each horse and what work it was doing.
celia
Well-Known Member
Our three are all unshod at the moment but will prob be putting fronts on my lad early spring when he starts doing a bit more work (I've been ill and then busy with with work and he's had a pretty lazy year). Welshie has always been unshod and we had shoes taken off other pony about 18 months ago - mainly because he was a bugger to shoe and thought we'd give it a go - and although a little footy at first he's been fine without ever since.
maggiesmum
Well-Known Member
4 all barefoot, 2 in work one of which is off on hound exercise tomorrow 
charlyan
Well-Known Member
Both currently unshod.
Minz was shod up until he hauled his shoes off in the field a couple of weeks ago so have decided to use the winter (reduced riding) to let the nail holes grow out and give his feet a chance to recover. He struggles on the roads without shoes but does have Old Mac boots that he works happily in. If we both settle into the new routine of using the boots then I may not bother putting shoes back on him as he's not very good at keeping them on. He's very active and playful in the field and shoes don't tolerate skid stops and handbrake turns very well...
Smith is currently resting/ very light work as he was diagnosed with bone spavin 6 months ago so has no shoes on and seems quite happy as he is. Once/ if his workload is increased again, we will re-evaluate and see how he goes.
Minz was shod up until he hauled his shoes off in the field a couple of weeks ago so have decided to use the winter (reduced riding) to let the nail holes grow out and give his feet a chance to recover. He struggles on the roads without shoes but does have Old Mac boots that he works happily in. If we both settle into the new routine of using the boots then I may not bother putting shoes back on him as he's not very good at keeping them on. He's very active and playful in the field and shoes don't tolerate skid stops and handbrake turns very well...
Smith is currently resting/ very light work as he was diagnosed with bone spavin 6 months ago so has no shoes on and seems quite happy as he is. Once/ if his workload is increased again, we will re-evaluate and see how he goes.
Moggy in Manolos
Well-Known Member
Seren i shod on the front, she cant go without the fronts due to her underlying foot problems, she is barefoot on the back though
BackInBlack
Well-Known Member
my 2 ponios are barefoot, tb is shod - my spotty is a newcomer, has never been shod, he is only 4. he's got lovely strong feet so hopefully will be able to remain barefoot. i do quite a bit of road work tho through the winter so i'll keep an eye on him and see how we get on.