Barefoot

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crazycoloured

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Im thinking of keeping my horse barefoot. The yard iv got her on now for breaking suggested that i keep her barefoot because her hooves are so good and dont need shoeing. She is a cob and we will mainly be doing schooling and hacking.Iv never really heard of barefoot trimming just wanted to know any thought's before i considered it.
 
It sounds very good advice. The longer you can put off shoeing the better, and a cob should be able to go through life without ever being shod. Keep the feet trimmed regularly, and if you hack over stony ground you could keep some boots like Old Macs for those occasions.
 
My cob has been barefoot for 2 years and we have n' t looked back. I hack mainly on fields and tracks. At night he is shut in a yard with hard standing and access to his stable. I think this helped to harden his feet. Although they were hard to start with.He walks out better without shoes.
 
Maisy is barefoot and schools and hacks on roads, moors, stoney tracks, you name it.
She was a little footsore when she first came to us but is perfectly sound and happy now.
 
I have 2 mares aged 7 and 12 and neither have had shoes on in their lives. They both have good feet and cope perfectly well. My gelding is shod but only because he has problems and needs shoes to help him stay sound.
 
I wouldn't if he were mine, I have 2 TB's and a warmblood in work and they're all barefoot, and my foalie won't be wearing shoes either.
Do some research though, there are ways and means of managing it well.
 
I would keep your cob unshod for as long as he can cope. There is no need to pay a small fortune for a 'barefoot trimmer' as a farrier is perfectly capable of keeping hooves in shape for roadwork, hacking etc.
 
all my friends horses we ride are barefoot and they are all sound . we all ride on cobbly ground grass , gallops roads ect . . . the owner trims them to keep them in nice shape and they are 1 is a welsh section D , ONES HALF ARAB HALF SEC d and another is a trotting pony, cob, section A and a foal and they are all good
 
i was told you had to have a farrier that specialised in bare foot trimming but i could be wrong. And also the managment is a little different regarding the way the horses are kept. I suppose its a more natural way of keeping horses which i am all for. I know of someone local who tried the barefoot method but swapped back to metal shoes. Do some cope better than others?
 
You've said it ... the person you are referring to swapped BACK to metal shoes, in other words they had already previously taken the backward step of putting shoes on, which often means a period of conditioning back to the natural state of the hooves when you take them off again. For various reasons many people won't see this through.

I am assuming your horse is a youngster and hasn't yet had shoes, in which case, you are well advised to keep her that way especially as she is a cob.
 
Yes my mare is a youngster and hasnt had shoes on before. It was the trainer that suggested i keep her barefoot and im considering it. I will do some more reaserch and talk to my farrier and ask his opinion. As she is so young this is the time to start barefoot. The younger they are the better i guess.
 
Good luck! There is still a lot of prejudice about keeping horses barefooot, esp competition horses (never mind Lucinda McAlpine riding GP dressage on barefoot horses who live out 24/7 in herds with no rugs).

My young mare had no shoes on when I bought her, I kept her barefoot for as long as I could but in the end she got so footsore in front I had to give in and put shoes on her. I have no connections with barefoot trimmers and didn't know what else to do. The minute she had shoes on she was fine and then had them on for about another six months.

I had them taken back off in Feb when I turned her away. She's been barefoot ever since and I'm REALLY hoping to keep it that way as she now lives out (she was in before) and I'm hoping the natural roaming will harden and strengthen her feet. I'd like her to live as natural a life as possible but will have to see - she went from barefooot and lame to shod and sound.

I think it all comes down to what's best for the horse. Overall conformation and foot conformation are crucial but I think having access to barefoot advice and experts is crucial. So many people still think barefot is second-best, neglectful, "not good enough for a proper horse". I think the single biggest obstacle you will face is other people's opinions! Good luck, arm yourself with expert advice and stick to your guns!
 
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i was told you had to have a farrier that specialised in bare foot trimming but i could be wrong.

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Yes, some people will say that but, no,it is not true.
 
Mine are both barefoot. My boy has never had shoes and goes everywhere and does everything barefoot.

My mare was a Navicular case that came right from barefoot trimming.

As to wether or not you need a barefoot trimmer or a farrier, I think really depends on the farrier. For my mare it was the change to the barefoot trimmer that finaly got her right.
 
One of mine goes barefoot all year round, the other has front shoes on in the summer when he's jumping to give him some more grip over the fences...but he's barefoot in the winter when all the competitions are on a surface.

Mine are both shod by a normal farrier and i've never had a problem with either off them...i tend to keep mine barefoot untill i have a good reason to shoe them.

Even my shod ones have three months barefoot over the winter
 
all my 3 are bare
they hack out,compete dressage, do road work just fine
it can take 1-9months for them to fully acclimatise.
my TBx older mare took about 2 weeks until she was comfy hacking on roads.she was hacking out on roads/paths for an hour everyday.she had been shod for about 10years before going barefoot aged 14.she is now 19.
my newer TBx mare had been shod for about 3/4years and was 5.her feet took longer to look better but now they are really coming on as all the cracks are almost grown out.
the 3 year old WB has never had shoes
all get trimmed every 5/6weeks by a farrier
 
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