Barefoot people - how impressed am i?!!

[Equilibrium Ireland]

I can't edit on my phone but that should be, I hate sugar in diets!

Also beyond that one abcess last summer, I can't remember the last time any of my 5 had one. My 5 YO has never had one. The retiree had 2 in my first year of ownership and then none. Ive had him 7 years, the mare had one and it was a doozie, yearling none, and 7 YO had 1 as a foal and that's it. A mix of no shoes and shoes.

Terri

 

[Miss L Toe]

I was trying to get a barefoot trimmer but gave up in the end as the guy was spending a lot of time on lectures and such, but when I asked what was the essential difference between mustang roll and a rounding off the edges, and a few other questions, I never heard from him again.
I got my farrier to do his pasture trim [he was not wanting to read Feet First], and I have managed my boy according to his feet, diet and exercise, nice feet [according to visiting farriers] and I run a rasp round the edges as required. There were a few chips at first, but no longer.
Main problem is the lush grass rather than moorland fescues, or old pasture, plus it is so wet here [60 inches of rain, and the grass just keeps growing]

 

[Kaylum]

All the kids ponies are barefoot.

The problem we have is that we were doing a lot of schooling and road work. Schooling was like using sandpaper on the hooves. It started to really wear them down quickly and of course the road work. I have no doubt he could have gone totally bare foot as his hooves were amazing but these surfaces didnt help him.

 

[cptrayes]

What do you mean by less capable, do you mean discomfort/foot sore like?

I mean that you will be going along a path that you have done together happily for some time, and suddenly notice that your horse is feeling stones that they did not feel last week. I usually wears off quite quickly, but it can be devastatingly disappointing because the timing is usually just when you are congratulating yourself about how wonderful barefoot is!

I figure it's easier to deal with if someone warns you in advance that it might happen.

 

[cptrayes]

That is the most ridiculous statement I've ever read.

Not against barefoot at all - but it is the statement above that totally switches many of us off, because it shows a real lack of understanding of the development of the shoe, their uses and their needs. I.e the horse is now a domesticated animal which is asked to do jobs for which it can't always be barefoot.

That aside; OP - looks fantastic.

To be fair Anymay, the things that domesticated horses need shoes for are:

- to attach studs

- to be able to be ridden on abrasive surfaces after standing in wet mud all day

- to be able to be ridden on feet which are compromised by standing in ammonia in a stable bed all day.

- to be able to be ridden when they don't get enough movement, because they are stabled, or turned out alone or in tiny paddocks, to make their feet grow fast enough to cope with the wear

- to be able to feed a substandard diet, full of sugar and carbohydrates, or unlimited grazing for a horse which is grass intolerant (surprisingly common once you know what you are looking for).

The first is fair enough, if you are convinced you need studs. Many people, especially in livery yards, have trouble with avoiding the other four, but none of them is an unresolveable reason for a domesticated horse to need shoes (although it may be very difficult for some owners to resolve them). There are plenty of us showing that "domestication" has not limited one bit what jobs we can ask our horses to do. I've just got in from three hours hunting one of mine and there were three others in the field with no shoes too. Must go have a bath now.