Barefoot - should I/shouldn't I

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L&B

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So, I am interested in taking my trad cob barefoot. She was shod on all four when she came to me 2.5years ago and I have attempted taking her shoes off previously...
This resulted in her feet becoming brittle and chipping pretty badly, followed by me panicking and calling the farrier out some 2 weeks later to re-shoe. Throughout the chipping/breaking off, she remained sound but my farrier says he would prefer to keep her shod. When I asked his reasons for this his response was 'just try to remember how her feet break up'...


In others' experience, there anything I can do to aid this transition? Am I panicking unnecessarily?

Diet wise she is as natural as I can, ad lib hay when in, grass when out...
All bar one token feed per day (as part of routine) which contains fast fibre, grazeon and a fistful of linseed.
Also, if it's worth anything, she also forges when shod, this stopped instantaneously in the two weeks she was barefoot previously.
 
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You really need a farrier that is wanting the same thing as you.. to get her BF. If he is going to be as negative as that, he isn't going to be any support by the sounds of it.

There's lots of BF knowledge on here .. I'm sure they will post in time! For what it's worth it is a progressive transition if she is going from shod to BF of course. Our 23 year old (horse) has been BF all round all his life and is still hacking and schooling and jumping well ... has done a bit of everything inc BSJA and his feet are great. One farrier commented he should never have a nail through his hoof. Anyway enough about me. A cob such as you describe should be able to cope better than some other types and the fact he no longer forges when unshod is an indicator that he should do well with it once adjusted. It does take time though. How badly were they chipping/breaking up though. Was this more cosmetic as your used to seeing a 'perfectly' round, smooth shod hoof?
 
Its a good time of the year to make the change as the ground is soft. I don't worry too much about chipping if its fairly superficial. Sometimes if I'm a bit late with a trim they will self-trim and it all looks a bit horrible, but it tidies up pretty quickly. If yours was sound when they came off last time then there's no reason to not try again. Did they just chip back to the old nail holes?

I like red horse hoof spray for keeping thrush at bay at this time of the year.

You might want to consider a good balancer (forage plus, progressive earth etc) which I think really helps.
 
I have successfully transitioned 3 horses to be barefoot including a TB with the most hideously deformed feet.

This is a good time of year to transition as the ground is quite soft unlike summer when the ground is hard so this should reduce the amount of chipping.
Pretty much every horse that has its shoes taken off will have chipped hooves as the hoof is weaker between the clenches. This is nothing to worry about so long as the horse is sound. Depending on how fast your horses hooves grow, and in winter the growth is slower than in the summer it will take between 8 and 14 weeks for the clenches to grow out. Once the clenches grow out then the amount of chipping will reduce significantly.

Your horse may also be a little footy for a while. This is because it is a new sensation for them to be able to feel the ground under their feet and because it takes a while for the soles and the frog to 'toughen' up in response to the contact with the ground. To begin with I only rode in the school and on grass and then worked up to road and then finally over more rugged ground. You could try hoof boots if you feel that your horse needs them. The only time my horses were ever a little footy when in the yard as we have road planings, which are very hard on the horses feet, but now they crunch across it with no problem.
 
they will chip, especially as nail holes grow out.I actually found an equine podiatrist to help me as she assesses every thing, not just trimming. Although some farriers are very good with bare feet, it isn't financially in their interest!
 
I have debated this every which way with my ridden horse. My other two are barefoot (and were when ridden most of the time too and have great feet) and all have a barefoot suitable diet. I now have a farrier who does BF as well as shoes and will have a sensible discussion about it (you need to get one of these). This farrier now has my mare 100% sound and moving better than ever in ordinary shoes in front (previous farrier had her in eggbars) so bluntly I'm reluctant to rock the boat given the gaps in work we've had to date with front related issues.
 
Mine has been barefoot since May. She was turned out 24/7 but seemed fine. She did have some chips but I was told by my farrier that this was normal as it is the nail holes growing out. She did also get a bruised sole which is when I called my farrier in a panic and very almost told him to put shoes back on. Glad I didn't as 6 months on, feet are looking fab. No more chips and no more bruised soles (touch wood)
 
pippixox said:
Although some farriers are very good with bare feet, it isn't financially in their interest!
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Can't agreed with that I'm afraid; mine charges £30 for a trim which takes him 5 to 10 minutes. Not complaining - he's an excellent farrier and totally supportive of barefoot horses - in fact he suggested it when I first got my mare eight years ago.
 
there is no magic answer, if you want to try without shoes why not take the backs off first and see how that goes. the feet may break up a bit at first until the nail holes grow out. once you feel happy and confident that all is ok take the fronts off.... just remember that each horse is an individual and its not a failure if your horse cant cope and you need shoes...also your farrier has been through a long period of training and should know how to trim feet so you dont need anyone else...
 
Yes you were worrying unnecessarily (though completely understandable), if you want to take the shoes off then go for it again. The feet will adjust themselves along as the diet and exercise is alright. If he was sound and quite happy on all surfaces then that is a really good sign. As long as he is comfortable, try to keep his work load really consistent for a month or so to give the hooves time to adjust.

Good luck
 
When my TB's shoes came off, his feet cracked & split & looked awful, but it was just the nail holes growing out. 2 1/2 years later, all is fine! Two weeks was not enough for the nail holes to start growing out. If you try it again, you need to grin & bear it for a couple of months as they get worse before they get better.

Mine always hated being shod & much prefers b/f. At first, his feet looked really odd & vulnerable without shoes, but they have filled out & strengthened, & the withering and contracting that comes from being shod has gone. I am very pleased with them, and he is too. :)
 
my heavy cob is now barefoot. Hes got fantastic feet even the farrier says not to bother with shoes!. Best thing I ever did for him. it does take a while for them toi transition and harden you have to take things easy or get boots for about 12 months. after that your horse should have fantastic feet and go well.
 
pansymouse said:
Can't agreed with that I'm afraid; mine charges £30 for a trim which takes him 5 to 10 minutes. Not complaining - he's an excellent farrier and totally supportive of barefoot horses - in fact he suggested it when I first got my mare eight years ago.
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If you add in his traveling time, he makes a lot more money out of shoeing for most people than he does out of trimming.
 
but it might be £30 cash in hand. all profit. no shoes to buy doesn't need putting through the books all profit.trimming 4 horses = £120 for less than an hours work and can all be pocketed as theres no proof as too how many trims the farrier does the tax man will never know.
 
Downton Dame said:
but it might be £30 cash in hand. all profit. no shoes to buy doesn't need putting through the books all profit.trimming 4 horses = £120 for less than an hours work and can all be pocketed as theres no proof as too how many trims the farrier does the tax man will never know.
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He can do the same cash in hand with shoeing, so he is always going to make more money out of shoeing if there is much traveling included in the job.
 
Can't agreed with that I'm afraid; mine charges £30 for a trim which takes him 5 to 10 minutes. Not complaining - he's an excellent farrier and totally supportive of barefoot horses - in fact he suggested it when I first got my mare eight years ago.
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Interesting, so what exactly does he do in those 5 - 10 mins? Just curious, as my Barefoot Trimmer/Podiatrist charges £30 a trim, which takes anywhere from 20mins (for the youngster who keeps her feet nice and trim on her own) to an hour or more (for the middle aged one that needs more attention). She's very good though, she balances the whole hoof whilst taking into account the whole horse, doesn't just nip some toe off, tidy the frog and wall and call it good (like some farriers I know!). Takes before and after photos, gives advice for vits/mins depending on what the hoof tells her. I often feel that £30 is incredibly cheap for what she does, she'll certainly be getting a bottle of wine and some choccys for xmas!
 
ycbm said:
He can do the same cash in hand with shoeing, so he is always going to make more money out of shoeing if there is much traveling included in the job.
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Don't be so sure, a local farrier to us was caught up with by the tax man as the tax man looked at how many nails he ordered and then converted that into shoeings, and landed him with a huge, backdated tax bill!

OP, I think going barefoot is great, but if you are new to it you do need a professional to back you up. This preferably includes the farrier, as if it does all go wrong you will be going back to have him sort it out.

I don't generally take shoes off unless I intend to leave them off for 3 months as they do get worse before they get better. I usually rub a rasp around a couple of times a week to prevent too much splitting, just keeping them neat.

Feeding is very important, not too much iron and enough copper.
 
IMO its not up to your farrier, yes they should know what they're talking about but some just seem to like shoeing automatically (makes them more money obviously). I dont think they are necessarily caring about whats best for the individual horse.

I personally would get a different farrier if you can. One that is happy for you to try unshod. But he's there as backup in case you do decide to reshoe. Im lucky that I am on pretty good terms with my farrier so I have my barefoot trimmer all the time doing mine unless I specifically want my competition horse shod (for studs for eventing season) then he'll come back for as long as I want him. It works great but I cant imagine that many farriers or barefoot trimmers would be quite so accomodating... If you're happy to go the proper barefoot way then find a decent trimmer and give the horse time to adjust. My trimmer is brilliant, she spends 3 times as long as my farrier would trimming and looks at the angle of the hoof etc. and not just buff the edges like some farriers do.

For what its worth, I dont feed my horses anything different whether they are shod or barefoot. They all get 2 feeds a day (Readymash Extra etc.), ab lib hay, 24/7 turnout etc.
 
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Don't be so sure, a local farrier to us was caught up with by the tax man as the tax man looked at how many nails he ordered and then converted that into shoeings, and landed him with a huge, backdated tax bill!
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Well if he was dumb enough to put all his nails through the books as expenses, but not all his shoeing as revenue, then he's going to get caught!

I'm not suggesting many farriers evade tax, btw, just that if they are going to do it, they'll do it whether they are shoeing or trimming.
 
Do it OP!! Just arm yourself with your own research and do not rely on others - even the farrier.

Lots of books on barefoot on Amazon - get yourself a good one. Go online and if you go down the farrier route, make sure he has lots of PERFORMING horses on his books not just lots of horses with no shoes on with pasture trims. Not the same thing. If in doubt, look up the EPAUK website.
 
Based on a lot of help from people here, just over a year ago I pulled off shoes on my two and haven't looked back. For a good 3-4 months my gelding had horribly chipped feet, and some nasty looking ones at that and I had all sorts of panic attacks over it. He had some nasty flares to grow out too which added to the chipping. He wasn't lame and was turned out every day. I panicked over white line and all sorts as the flares were horrid.

On the advice of a barefoot farrier, I stuck with it, despite wanting to turn back and put shoes on and I am so glad I didn't go near the shoes. For the first few months I had fortnightly checks and the monthly rasp to tidy up (farrier was just in the yard anyway) and he was fine. I got myself a radius rasp and rasped out any cracks myself (with advice from my barefoot trimmer too) as they happened.

My mare was perfect from the day her shoes came off, and apart from the odd chip she was A1!.
A year on, I am SOOOOOO glad I did it. And so happy I stuck with it. Wasn't easy but I did!
 
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ycbm said:
Well if he was dumb enough to put all his nails through the books as expenses, but not all his shoeing as revenue, then he's going to get caught!
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and if he is dumb enough to omit some of his purchases ie nails (or actually shoes) then the taxman is going to be even more happy. Few cover their backs well enough!
 
re trimming if you are going to have a farrier do the trim make sure they don't trim any of the sole away and that the put a bevel on the wall. my farrier is excellent but his apprentice trimmed as he would to prepare for a shoe, it left the sole too thin near the wall and the wall began to chip after only 1 ride out. We learned to trim and file ourselves and our horses hooves have never been better, a good barefoot trimmer if there is on e locally can be a godsend.
 
my 17.2 selle francais only has shoes on front. he hasn't had back shoes on for at least twelve years. he does everything and has amazing feet. he is 20 and you certainly won't question him not having shoes
 
This book by Nic Barker is an excellent starting point:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feet-First-Barefoot-Performance-Rehabilitation/dp/0851319602

Too many farriers, for whatever reasons, advise owners that their horses can't go without shoes. My own horse was the same - I bought him shod all round, and the previous owner had been told this by her farrier. I took him barefoot immediately and he was sound straight out of shoes. His hooves chipped until the nail holes were gone, but 9 years later he's still going strong and has amazing hard hooves.

The real key to success is to educate yourself, understand how the hoof functions, and what a proper, working, bare hoof should look like. Also how to look after and feed a performance barefoot horse. This will give you the confidence to persevere when people tell you to shoe - and they will!
 
splashgirl45 said:
just remember that each horse is an individual and its not a failure if your horse cant cope and you need shoes...also your farrier has been through a long period of training and should know how to trim feet so you dont need anyone else...
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There are a few horses who's feet have been so badly damaged by shoes, or who have metabolic or other issues, that will never be comfortable on hard rough surfaces. I have one myself - I struggled for 10 years, and long ago accepted that he has metabolic issues that mean his feet are ultra sensitive, and grow in a strange way. I tried glue on shoes (imprints) and even crumbled and had him conventionally shod, which was a disaster. The farrier had NO IDEA how to keep him correctly balanced - I watched his heels contract and under run, his toes get dubbed back, and his whole footprint migrate forwards, over just a few shoeing cycles. Thank goodness I finally found an excellent barefoot trimmer, who essentially saved his life and still trims him today. His hooves look great now, but his metabolic issues will always mean boots are an essential for riding.

I strongly question the training of most farriers. Just looking around at shod horses, there are so many with contracted heels, long toes, terrible crumbly walls full of nail holes, toe first landings.... Nobody can tell me that it's ok to just keep banging shoes on these feet, and if the horse goes lame up the ante with eggbars and other "remedial" shoeing. Ans to tell clients that their horses won't cope without shoes is nonsense. Most will not only cope, but they will thrive.
Rant over :-)
 
Absolutely agree with ycbm and land cruiser above.

Not just farriers but vets too. Just bear in mind that very few vets and farriers have any training on hoof biomechanics - the ones that do are the ones who do keep their own barefoot.

I too cannot believe what people think are "well shod" horses... (there are of course truly truly well shod horses but so so few). Eggbars, heartbeats etc is to me like just extra scaffolding on a condemned building...

As for training, there is a huge misconception about farrier training vs equine podiatry training. If they actually looked it up, they would surprise themselves what is actually involved.
 
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