Barefoot TB - to boot or not?

[AandK]

I am in the process of taking my 6yo TB barefoot. I have had him just over 3 weeks and am doing this as he pulled off 3 shoes in the first 2 days of owning him. As he was walking fine without fronts on (and one hind) I thought I'd try him without. He had the final shoe taken off Weds 27th March. He is on a low starch diet, with linseed and minerals, out 24/7. He is walking out fine on grass and tarmac/road but is feeling stones if the ground is rough (e.g. track to field). I am not in any rush to get going riding wise with him, so want to give him the best chance I can for him to be barefoot. I have not had a ridden horse barefoot before, my 29yo has been without shoes for a long time now but she is retired!
The question is, should I boot him to ride? I have ridden him twice so far, getting on in the school and then walking down the lane for 15-20min. He finds the short walk from arena to road on a rough track hard, but was fine on the road. I don't want to make him sore, but also don't want to boot him unless necessary. Any thoughts or advice please?

 

[AnShanDan]

I'd say if you have to go any distance on stony ground that is making the horse uncomfortable then use boots

 

[ester]

It is tricky when it is only a relatively short stretch but if genuinely struggling and no edge/middle that is a better surface I would be more inclined to boot in the early days when their own structures for protection are not developed rather than them becoming bruised.

That or get good at taking them on and off. F couldn't cope that well with the road to start (plus they had resurfaced with chippings) so he wore the boots for that and when we got on a better surface I took them off. I understand this is easier on a 19yo native pony though

 

[AandK]

Thanks both. YM has some boots I can borrow short term, but will look into getting some for him.

 

[ester]

Ah it's definitely useful to have some to hand at least .

 

[Gloi]

His feet will still be toughening up even if you are riding in boots. Much better to use them as needed than to let him get sore.

 

[AandK]

I am in the process of taking my 6yo TB barefoot. I have had him just over 3 weeks and am doing this as he pulled off 3 shoes in the first 2 days of owning him. As he was walking fine without fronts on (and one hind) I thought I'd try him without. He had the final shoe taken off Weds 27th March. He is on a low starch diet, with linseed and minerals, out 24/7. He is walking out fine on grass and tarmac/road but is feeling stones if the ground is rough (e.g. track to field). I am not in any rush to get going riding wise with him, so want to give him the best chance I can for him to be barefoot. I have not had a ridden horse barefoot before, my 29yo has been without shoes for a long time now but she is retired!
The question is, should I boot him to ride? I have ridden him twice so far, getting on in the school and then walking down the lane for 15-20min. He finds the short walk from arena to road on a rough track hard, but was fine on the road. I don't want to make him sore, but also don't want to boot him unless necessary. Any thoughts or advice please?

Just realised that should be Weds 20th for having the remaining shoe removed! 27th was when my mare had a trim... Am looking at getting him some boots, going to measure his feet tonight.

 

[ester]

I bet he sounds right funny ATM!

It's a balance between stimulation and bruising, and I would very much err on avoiding the latter.
It's also not an indication of how it will always be, F was bare for 6 weeks, then got sore, then booted in front for 6 months. Long term he was only ever booted on the most challenging terrain even though he remained pretty flat footed.

 

[Scarlett]

With the spring grass coming through just now as well as him only just having his shoes off I would absolutely boot him. I have 3 barefoot TB's and all have had spells in boots when required. One is turned out in boots atm as his soles have retracted after a very wet winter and some other health issues that have affected his feet. He is wearing them in the field during the day but has them off to do 20-30min of walking in the arena. I plan to hack this weekend and will definitely boot even though we will just be on roads and soft tracks. Same with my mare who was shod out on loan and has had them off since coming back but has long, flat feet due to the terrible farrier that shod her. She is mostly fine but no point risking it when you can buy boots.

IMO I think it's important to make sure they do get stimulation out of the boots too but definitely only when comfortable.
FYI I have Boas for mine, you cant get them any more so its a case of looking second hand but I find them the best shape and fit for TB feet without spending an absolute fortune. They stay on too!

 

[supsup]

I think of boots as "strapping a comfortable surface to the hoof". What you want is a lot of comfortable, heel-first landings. Any significant amount of walking/riding on uncomfortable surfaces will only prevent correct movement (striding short, toe-first landing), could lead to bruising and might lead to muscle tension throughout the body from mincing over uncomfortable ground. Boots don't stop stimulation, in fact if you add some insoles, they can provide the same sort of stimulation you'd get on a yielding surface.
I really don't see any downsides to using boots (apart from the hassle of putting them on) and would use them as needed, and experiment with leaving them off as and when your horse is comfortable. Another really great advantage of boots is that you can test very easily whether your horse is truly comfortable on a surface by trying him with and without boots, on the same day, under the same circumstances. I remain entirely unconvinced that making a horse go over terrain they are not comfortable on (e.g. large stones or gravel on hard surfaces) will do anything to toughen up their hooves.

 

[AandK]

Thanks for all the responses!

I tried him in the borrowed Cavallos this morning, walking in hand for 20mins. They did a great job and he was much more comfortable walking out. So will get some of my own (second hand for now!) and use them until he is more comfortable on the rough ground.

 

[AandK]

I bet he sounds right funny ATM!

It's a balance between stimulation and bruising, and I would very much err on avoiding the latter.
It's also not an indication of how it will always be, F was bare for 6 weeks, then got sore, then booted in front for 6 months. Long term he was only ever booted on the most challenging terrain even though he remained pretty flat footed.

He did sound rather strange! I am planning to boot him for rides on the Downs, as a lot of the tracks are v stony, but hoping in time he can go without boots for road hacks and general riding. All going well, I plan to event him next year, hopefully minus shoes still!

 

[Sasana Skye]

Sorry to bump up and old post but I’m curious how your horse is getting on a couple months down the line? My ISH’s shoes come off in 4.5 weeks

 

[Pinkvboots]

I did a fair bit of in hand walking on different surfaces first then did short hacks on a mixture of stony track grass and road and he was fine, he feels the odd stone but in summer the tracks are very stony so understandable really.

 

[AandK]

He’s doing really well. Feet changing shape, still a way to go but I had a trimmer out last weekend and have some tips to help make the improvements needed. I have scoot boots for hacking, but he’s fine in the arena and field. Also fine to handwalk on the road with no boots.