Barefoot?

[maxapple]

I have just taken on a loan pony who is currently unshod as he has been out of work. He's a welsh x Arab and his feet are pretty good although he will walk on grass to avoid hard ground when we are out hacking.

I want to do some XC with him so wondered if I should put front shoes on?

 

[laura_nash]

Maybe ask your farrier when you get his feet trimmed next? He can see how the feet are holding up with the work.

My boy's got flat feet that crumble away without a shoe, but my old mare when I was a teenager had great feet and happily did everything without any shoes.

 

[eahotson]

My advice, for what its worth, would be to find a GOOD barefoot trimmer (ask around) and stay barefoot.

 

[Divasmum]

We bought a pony who had evented barefoot and was totally fine without shoes. He was 9 mand had never been shod. Careful trimming and keeping an eye on the feet is a must though.

 

[TheFarrier]

If the horse is trying to move off the road it sounds like he is already footsore and would probably benefit from a pair of shoes, however if you want to leave the horse barefoot the i suggest getting a pair of boots

 

[RomanyMayday]

I event my pony upto 1m without shoes, and hes been fine, and it saves alot of money!

 

[2diamondlova]

i know horses that wear nothing and are fine and i know ones that have to have shoes it depends on your horses feet
ask the farrier next time he/she comes

 

[Faro]

Can only agree with what TheFarrier says above. There is no reason why the pony cannot stay barefoot if you decide to do so - however it appears that he/she is a little footsore after having had time off. The feet will have got out of condition having not been in contact with anything apart from field/stable. With time and correct conditioning (and gradually building up the amount of time spent on hard/difficult surfaces), the footsoreness should lessen and disappear, but meanwhile until that time comes - do as TheFarrier says and use boots when working on surfaces which may make the pony uncomfortable.

 

[MagicMelon]

IMO it depends on the level you plan to do - if you intend to just pop round a mimimus XC occassionally then Id likely keep the pony unshod, but if you plan to do intermediate / open level or BE etc. then Id probably say get shod as youll find that youll need studs eventually to stop slipping.

Please note there is a difference between proper barefoot and simply un-shod! A farried will simply trim the hoof in preparation for a shoe (but just not put the shoe on!), whereas barefoot trimmers actually trim the hoof in a natural way. I have 2 who are barefoot trimmed by a specialist barefoot trimmer, 1 is trimmed by the farrier (as hes for sale and I felt the new owners would like the option to put shoes on if wanted) and my other 2 are shod.

So I wouldnt take advice from your farrier personally as they'll normally say shoe since it makes them more money

I'd probably keep the pony unshod (or barefoot - whichever you choose) and see how he copes.

 

[Scribbles]

My ned has never been shod and has remarkably good feet (better than a lot of shod horses). He gets a trim by the farrier as and when needed, which isn't often as they wear down naturally. Farrier has told me off for gettin ghim past when he isn't needed!

As long as you aren't going to be going at fast speeds, round tight turns, or long amounts of roadwork it should be fine. But again, depends on horse.

 

[clipclop]

If he balanced he will be able to do pretty much anything.

Mine is a great big 17hh hunter. We canter/gallop down quite steep wet grass fields with no slipping issues. I don't have a menage so I school & jump on a sloped field. I do that even when it is wet.

I thought I would struggle with all sorts of problems but 5 years down the line I have not noticed the lack of shoes. The only time I notice the lack of shoes is when we haven't done a great deal of roadwork and his feet soften a bit. A few days of good roadwork and he is fine.

The funniest thing is over the years we have been brain washed to think the moment a horse is backed and ridden on, it should be shod? (Me included). After a rather long and very steep learning curve, I am opting for the other way round from now on.

 

[Tia]

None of my horses are shod and they all ride out and compete with no problems at all. I think a lot depends on the type of ground you work on though. My guys are used to trailing right out into the wilderness and although I can go on roads, this isn't really part of what we do. It is quite rocky when we go up into the forest as it is situated on steep hills. I have my horses all trimmed by my farrier every 6 weeks during the summer though so their feet are always in tip-top condition.