intouch
Well-Known Member
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Intresting video, I am not for or against barefoot, I think it depends on what ground you work on to be honest. My lad has to be shod, he came to me with really cr.ap cracked and dry feet and it would just crumble without a shoe, he is an ISH but his feet are that of a typical tb type foot.. Plus, the area I ride isnt very soft and there is alot of road. I once decided to leave my old pony barefoot as I could only ride once a week and it wasnt far. He had decent hooves but they still wore right down within 2 month.
They are shod for YOUR convenience: very very few horses 'need' shoes. Hard areana and road work have little bearing (in fact raod work is one of the best things for barefoot horses)
There are so many people who say 'well, my horse is special and couldn't possibly manage without shoes'. Almost all horses could work without shoes given the right management and conditioning BUT for some it really isn't worth the time and effort. A large number could work just fine with minimal changes to management but there's plenty who would need a radical overhaul of the way they're kept - for many owners that's not practical, desiarable or possible.
I have had (and got) various barefoot horses. Some are of the first catergory and needed no special treatment to work barefoot. Others have needed chages to their management to keep them barefoot but nothing extreme. If I had a horse who would need drastic measures to keep them barefoot, I would consider shoes. HOWEVER, I would go to those length to take shoes off to improve very 'shoe sick' feet beacuse I've seen first hand the amazing improvements that can have. Then i'd probably have shoes back on them if the hassle became too much![]()