barefoot

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niagaraduval

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My horse went barefoot for 3 months last year his feet ended up so hard we could walk across gravel and stones, he wouldn't even flinch.
He used to throw shows just 3 days after the farrier had put them on.
His feet got so hard that he wore the same shoes for 12 weeks, the farrier was delayed..
When the farrier came he was re-shod ans the same happened.
Well now Niagara lives out 24/7 and is ridden maybe once a week for 5-10 min (walk only) I'm thinking of putting him barefoot again. And once i can ride him properly again if his feet aren't hard enough, investing in some hoof boots.

I was just wondering who else had horses that go barefoot, it's the natural way. Once the hooves are hard enough i find my horse is much happier going barefoot than being shod, also it's less than half the price and he has less issues with his hooves (he no longer has any issues).
It's estimated that 75% of Americans are barefoot!
 
My Haflinger girlie is 5 and barefoot, we just use boots when ground gets very hard or we are doing long distance stony terrain. I was lucky as I got her as a youngster so shes never been shod which is a lot easier!
 
I've asked about this before on the forum and it seems there are a few people on here that keep horses barefoot and use boots when riding out.

I think it's a great idea but you're horse really has to have the feet to suite it, my girl has rather flat feet and I'm just not convinced she would cope.

You know your boy will as he has done in the past, I'd get the shoes off and start saving on shoeing bills
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My horse was barefoot for 9 months over winter as his hooves were so bad, I could put my finger in the holes and they would poke out through the other side.

I happened to have broken ribs at the time and so on the advice of the fantastic farrier, we took his shoes off. Jake would have remained barefoot, but he is a footy horse and as the ground dried up over the spring, he became sore and I didnt feel it was fair to him, so he had to have shoes on again.

If your boy is fine without shoes, then go shoeless.
 
Sorry to hijack the post but how do you go about preparing for going barefoot - do you have to use anything to strengthen up the feet beforehand? Do you just have to put up with them being a little footy until the hoof wall toughens?

I have a cob who is prone to losing shoes and at £64 a set I'm seriously considering it since we do mainly schooling and off road hacking. His previous owner tried it but apparently he got an abcess soon after the shoes were removed but my farrier thinks he has fab feet.
 
The Haffie I have barefoot has feet as flat as can be and they dont grow very fast either, it's still worked fine as long as I let her choose her route (eg on a track she will choose the edge) and am prepared to monitor if she starts to get footy and then put on the boots for a while. I use Boa boots.

Although it would have been easier to just get her shod like everyone else I know, having read about the role of the frog in blood circulations and knowing that its easier to never shoe than to shoe and then try to go barefoot, I was sure it was worth a go. And now weve moved up to rural NE Scotland its hard to get the farrier to come out promptly, so at least Im only worried about my shod big boy and not her!
 
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Sorry to hijack the post but how do you go about preparing for going barefoot - do you have to use anything to strengthen up the feet beforehand? Do you just have to put up with them being a little footy until the hoof wall toughens?

I have a cob who is prone to losing shoes and at £64 a set I'm seriously considering it since we do mainly schooling and off road hacking. His previous owner tried it but apparently he got an abcess soon after the shoes were removed but my farrier thinks he has fab feet.

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Well they will be grouchy for about a month (just keep him of gravel) roads are fine, grass, etc.. just flat surfaces. You'll soon notice his hooves are getting harder as when you first ride him on the road you'll barely hear his hooves, when his hooves are really hard his hooves will sound like he's wearing shoes!
I didn't use any product just rode him on road/ soft flat surfaces. I then started riding him on gravel and things like that again he was grouchy at first but after a few weeks he has able to walk on gravel.
And don't grease hooves, brush water on them, grease only makes them softer! I saved loads on shoeing bills and i will go barefoot again now. It costs about £30 for a trim every 2 months. I have saved a fortune!
 
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Well they will be grouchy for about a month (just keep him of gravel) roads are fine, grass, etc.. just flat surfaces. You'll soon notice his hooves are getting harder as when you first ride him on the road you'll barely hear his hooves, when his hooves are really hard his hooves will sound like he's wearing shoes!
I didn't use any product just rode him on road/ soft flat surfaces. I then started riding him on gravel and things like that again he was grouchy at first but after a few weeks he has able to walk on gravel.
And don't grease hooves, brush water on them, grease only makes them softer! I saved loads on shoeing bills and i will go barefoot again now. It costs about £30 for a trim every 2 months. I have saved a fortune!

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Wow thank you so much for this - farrier's not due for another 4 weeks but I'll have a chat with him about going barefoot - I'm always slightly suspicious of their opinions thought as its not in their interest for you to go barefoot but my current farrier seems really good and actually took time to explain to me the damage that shoeing can cause to the strenght of the hoof so hopefully he'll help with it.
 
I had no end of problems with my welsh pony and seedy toe. We decided to leave shoes off as her feet were very shelly and would just crack when shoes were put on.

I used naf hoof and sole which was brilliant and after 9 months we have decided not to put shoes back on as the hoof wall has thickened really well and the seedy toe is alot better.

I can ride her on grass and smooth roads but i do use boa boots for gravel and stoney ground but i am hoping that as the hooves harden i will not need to use them. My just broken tb has very flat feet but as she has never had shoes on (and never will) i can ride her over gravel and stones and she is not footy at all.

Lots of people give up to soon after having shoes off as it does take a long time for the hooves to harden etc, as with my welshie it will take her at least a year to be fully comfortable barefoot but it is worth it in the long run.
 
Feeding is important for working a horse barefoot. Low sugar/high fibre diets seem to work best, along with a high quality vitamin & mineral supplement.

The other top tip is that the more you work them, the better they get (within reason). If my horses have a holiday, they get a bit footy over stony ground and it takes a little while for their feet to toughen up again.

Flat feet and thin soles are not necessarily a barrier to being barefoot, it will just take a little more time and commitment. My TB's feet have changed out of all recognition since he went barefoot, with the help of my wonderful trimmer. We definitely needed boots to keep working until his feet improved.

My older horse's arthritis also improved once his shoes came off and he no longer trips or stumbles out on a hack. It has really been a great decision for me and my horses!
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I have 2 horses. One is barefoot because he has nice strong feet that can cope with out shoes. The other horse, even though she isn't ridden is shod as her feet can't cope without shoes. I tried her without and she became a complete cripple - call me soft but I couldn't watch a horse in obvious pain shuffle around a field with no shoes. No way would I put my horse thru that for a month or more ( you read posts where they are still like it after 9 months) just to save some money.

So barefoot is great on the right horse - but don't force it on a horse where it's feet are not good enough.
 
As a farrier my opinion is some horses do well barefoot others do not . Many horses who are a bit 'footy" will due well shod on the fronts only ,but in all honesty a horse working hard [especially in rocky areas] is better off well shod .Heavy accent on WELL SHOD.
 
My previous horses have always been shod, but my m/hw cob whom I bought 3 months ago was unshod, and so I thought I would try to leave him that way. He is 6 and I think that he has never been shod. However, he is really struggling with our stony unmade roads, and is constantly tripping, he seems to move quite short and big chunks are breaking off all 4 feet, and cracks are appearing, and his feet were in good condition when I got him, so I have made the decision to have him shod.

Now we have a new girl on our yard and her horse is unshod, and he wears boots on his fronts for hacking, and she has a special bare foot trimmer - not a farrier - to trim every 6 weeks at a cost of £40, which is not much cheaper than shoes! What I am wondering is, should I persevere with my boy for a bit longer, although he seems very uncomfortable and I feel guilty leaving him like this, or just have shoes on. And what qualifications, if any, do these bare foot trimmers have, because previously I have been having him trimmed by the farrier, who is excellent by the way. The new girl said that she has the special trimmer because they know more about how the feet should be without shoes?! What does everybody else think?
 
Sue Ellen I would get a barefoot trimmer out to look at those feet, sooner rather than later assuming he has been farrier trimmed up until now? Not saying there is anything wrong with your farrier but would be worth a second opinion.

I've PM'd Diggerdog to ask who her trimmer is, as we have one of ours who needs some more specialist attention.
 
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