barefoot or shod?

[Donkeymad]

Unshod, always have been always will be.
Hubby has one shod one unshod.

 

[mrdarcy]

The donkey foal in your sig is possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen

 

[Tr0uble]

Barefoot, he just doesn't need them so why pay out?

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

i got some of mine shod all round, working hard. the part timers either have fronts only or barefoot. but all are checked, trimmed and balanced as req every 6 weeks by a qualified FARRIER who ha spent near on 5 years just training.NO FOOT NO HORSE!! depends on individuals foot growth and horn quality, which is diet and breed related. got a happy barefoot TB and a footy M&M type!!

 

[Oberon]

Both horses barefoot. Old arab was shod for 13 years and although sound, had deep sulcus thrush all that time - never picked up by various farriers. When I decided to go barefoot, the UKNHCP trimmer picked up on it immediately. As soon as that was dealt with, his hooves transformed. My Ardennes x ID has never been shod and has the best, rock crunching feet ever. I use an UKNHCP trimmer, feed a personalised diet (no brand name mixes with dodgy ingredients for us) and my horses do anything and everything shod horses do. Properly transitioned and maintained - the more a barefoot hoof does, the better and stronger it becomes. It is amazing to see them transform.

 

[Oberon]

The M&M may be footy due to metabolic problems?

 

[cptrayes]

Haven't shod a horse for five years, eventing, hunting, hacking hours and hours on the roads and stony tracks.

For "shod him in summer when the ground went hard" try saying "shod him in summer when the grass came through" instead - that's probably closer to the truth. Barefoot horses cope with hard ground MUCH better than ones with half a kilo of steel nailed to their feet. I canter on tarmac roads regularly with no concussion issues at all.