Barefoot trimming

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daisybe33

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what made you decide to go barefoot?.

Was it a shoeing problem or was it personal choice?

Did anyone who used it for particular foot issues found it resolved them?

The reason I ask is that I have a TB with very sore feet and is only sound 3/4 of the time at the moment and I'm trying to think of alternatives for him.

Thanks x
 
With my horse, a 15.3 ISH, it was a last resort, the vet had run out of ideas and she was due to be PTS as her lameness from navicular issues wasn't getting any better.

There was a trimmer who had clients on our yard, and I got talking to him when we were at our lowest point. He was optimistic but didn't promise miracles. It seemed worth a go as we had nothing to lose.

This was the turning point from which she made a dramatic recovery. There was a certain amount of work to do on the conditioning programme at first, but this worked well alongside her rehabilitation from box rest.

She is now back to competing and doing everything she ever did, but without shoes.
 
For me, the choice came from a lot of reading and discussion. Many of the horses I knew as a kid were unshod, and they didn't seem restricted in what they could do. Over the years, I noticed that whether or not horses in a given stable were shod had more to to with the cultural/social background of the people, than with the horses themselves (note: this was in North America, not here). That didn't make much sense to me, so I looked into the debate. When I got my pony, he didn't have shoes on, so I wanted to try keeping him barefoot. It's working out very well so far.
 
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When I got my pony, he didn't have shoes on, so I wanted to try keeping him barefoot. It's working out very well so far.

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IMHO *keeping* something barefoot that has never been shod is very different to *changing* to barefoot after a horse has been shod for most of its life. If I were to buy a youngster, for example, that had never been shod, I'd try to keep it unshod for as long as possible. That isn't the same as taking the shoes off something in its teens and expecting it to go "barefoot".
 
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He's going today. I shall let you know the verdict

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Ah excellent. I always think that you need to think about these things so carefully when there's an issue with the foot. I know that my horse would certainly not tollerate going without shoes as his soles are too thin, and his pedal bones have a slight rotation. So he needs shoes to support the foot.
 
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