Competition-legal non-traditional shoes?

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MagicMelon

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I have the shoes taken off my horse for the winter every year and they are put back on again around now (next week) as he needs them for studs (does BE & BSJA). Otherwise, his hooves are fantastic and he could cope perfectly without being shod. I have also noticed a big improvement in his way of going when he is shoe-less. He's a Luso x so has a naturally high front leg action - I find this become less prounounced when he's unshod. With shoes on, this action seems to be become more jerky and obvious. He's shod in a normal way with normal shoes - he keeps his shoes on fine and has never had any issues. I also think metal shoes seriously increase concussion (he has developed wind galls in the fronts).

Because of the above, I feel really bad having to shoe him. I'm wondering is there ANY other type of modern shoe which isn't metal for a start, that I could put studs into and that is legal for BE & BSJA. I had heard of plastic stick-on ones a while ago, but I don't know of anyone in my area who fits them (and would farriers fit these?!).
 
I'm no expert in shoeing or competing so just an idea from what I have heared. Does he need studs if not shod? I have heared of people who don't need studs if the horse isn't shod because they have better grip without the shoes. Other than that there may be some hoof boots that allow for studs but I'm not sure how the torsion would work with them.
 
I did not realise there was such a thing as illegal shoes from a competition perspective. If I was you, I would try the horse without shoes when you compete, you may find that he does very well without studs as he is barefoot.
 
Imprint, thats probably the ones I was thinking about. Can't afford them if they're terribly pricey!

I can't compete him barefoot. I kept my other horse barefoot for 2 years but in the end I had to have him shod (so I could use studs) as jumping off grass was simply too slippy. I think you can compete with no shoes on to a certain level. But I certainly couldn't consider doing novice BE and 1.20m BSJA shoe-less...

Sorry Tracey01 - I was sort of thinking about hoof boots when I spoke about legal ones. As ideally I'd love to compete using some sort of boot meaning I could put them on only if I needed the grip. But I know that these aren't currently allowed.
 
Can you get stud holes in aluminium shoes maybe? I know they're still metal from the concussion POV but lighter for the action issue. Just a suggestion, never actually used them!
 
Give him a go barefoot - he will probably surprise you!

My lad is BF, has been for 4 and a bit years now. We went XC schooling last weekend when it was quite wet and slippery. The shod pony in the pair that set off round the course ahead of us was not at all happy jumping and had to go back to the lorry to have studs put in, after which he was much happier. The unshod pony in the pair was not at all bothered. My lad had no problems either. He's only noticeably slipped three times while we've had him (2 years) once in XC warmup when he was being a total prat and veered very sharp right after the jump and twice SJ on grass when he was tearing around and paying no attention to me! The slips were noticeable but didn't feel out of his control. I find that he is usually very sure of himself, foot placement/balance wise and the when he does slip he pays sharp attention and quickly rebalances himself.
 
MM

Our little horse did a 1.20 jump off unshod last year, on grass with no probs. I also feel poo about putting shoes and studs on her. Pressure from SJ lot we train with is too great. We don't even compete them outdoors that much!
 
There are some Epona shoes, but my farrier doesn't rate them, having tried them.

As for barefoot, there are quite a lot of horses that hunt barefoot with the Exmoor Hunt and the Cheshire Drag, and others and they seem to find that the horses cope very well.
Still, I know what you mean about wet grass and needing studs, I think that is the worst conditions, like a dressage test, for a barefoot horse.
 
Lots of people jump very successfully barefoot.

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/barefootperf_jump.html

http://www.marthaolivo.com/articles/article21.shtml

The last link references Strasser trimming which I absolutely don't agree with but her horses are still proof that jumping barefoot is possible.

I don't jump but do travel at speed over all sorts of terrain when competing - we would never stud for endurance (the distances we cover are too high to have studs in for that length of time, plus we can go from slippy turf to tarmac and back again in the space of a few hundred metres) but I find my horses have much more grip on turf now than they did when shod. I think the thing with horses once they're barefoot is that they have a much better sense of balance and self preservation and if they do slip right themselves much quicker, or chose to slow their own pace if they feel the ground conditions warrant it.
 
How about ali show plates on the front? Not sure if you can have stud holes in them as they are much thinner than normal steels. I have ali on the front and steel on the back with stud holes but then again i only show not jump.
 
I'm probably being a bit dozy, but are you saying that hoof boots are not legal in affiliated competitions? I know they're not for dressage but that's because you're not allowed any boots. Surely if you can use overreach boots/ brushing boots etc to jump they can't ban hoof boots?
For hoof boot studs, http://www.easycareinc.com/Our_Boots/easyboots/easyboot_accessories.aspx and scroll down - they can be fitted to any of the boots though I've never tried them.
 
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