Cost of barefoot v shod

Dressagebabe said:
If you want a horse to continue competing in any discipline or hack/hunt over any terrain you WILL need to change the diet and have a true barefoot specialised trimmer do your horses feet.


Magnesium plays a huge part in their daily feed as does cutting out all sugar ie course mix es, mollichaf, carrots & apples, Mollassed licks etc.
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PMSL :D

YOU may need to do all that to keep your horses competition sound. Don't make rules for the rest of us :rolleyes:

My horseballing highland, who competes low level in all disciplines and hacks over all terrain, is trimmed by my farrier, gets fed on molassed chaff, not to mention occasional lump of likit, haylage, grass and apples/ carrots. I certainly don't have extortionate Mg bills either.

Same for my cob - he was shod for >12 years, I took his shoes off and took him to an L2 TREC 3 days later (and obviously he passed the trot up, no bother :cool:).
 
Ester, saw that on the other thread but still hilarious now. Thing its a bit rude of you to put up my pic without asking first though. Did say I was tall though, check me towering over the buildings!
 
tallyho! said:
Yes, this is quite true - every one is different :)
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Yea... What do you bet now I've said all that, the highland doesn't pass the trot up at horseball tomorrow? I hate trot ups - I know my horse is sound when I take them as I check before leaving, but I'm always worried they may go spontaneously lame just beforehand :o
 
littlelegs said:
Ester, saw that on the other thread but still hilarious now. Thing its a bit rude of you to put up my pic without asking first though. Did say I was tall though, check me towering over the buildings!
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I thought it would be ok :o it isn't like you'd be very recognisable if someone met you in the street :p ;) :D.

NB I am not currently singing 'every horse is different' to the 'every sperm is sacred' tune... honest..
 
Tallyho - No mocking of people who need to do that to keep their horses comfortable just mocking of people that say you HAVE to do that or you will have a lame horse, which I find quite amusing.
 
Of course I'm recognisable Ester, I always dress like that! Never have problems with crowds or queues for some reason.
 
tallyho! said:
Lets be fair.... we all know NFU are trying to get out of equestrian insurance. They don't advertise, renewals are sky-high, restrictions on every cough and sniffle... just find another insurer. It is not difficult.

Insurance is not mandatory like vehicle insurance. You don't have to have it.
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Although with my delicate flower of a horse I would not want to go without! Peace of mind. True though, if I get spare time I might look through a couple of other insurers as was reading the small print on our NFU policy and it does seem a bit tight.

What I meant in my post was there's a suggestion that other insurers might follow the NFUs lead re places like rockley- which seems a pity.

Sorry I've gone off topic.. will get back to revision :rolleyes:
 
I don't think anyone is mocking people who have to supplement etc rather the slightly ludicrous statement that it's impossible to have a barefoot performance horse without specialist trimming, supplementing and analysing. It's a fact of life that some horses will just be fine with no shoes just because that's the type they are. For me it's £22 every 6-8 weeks for a trim from the farrier, no idea how much shoes are as have never had to consider them. THere would be no difference in cost of hay or anything as the pony is on restricted grass not due to his feet but rather because he is part fell pony and part whale!
 
Hang on a minutey!

One of mine only has front shoes on and the farrier obviously trims the backs at the same time.

Does this mean that only her front half can "compete in any discipline or hack/hunt over any terrain"
What do I do with her back end? Leave it at home when I go to do XC, Or just leave it in the trailer?
If I go for a hack, do I take the front half out on the stoney road and let her backside go through the grass field and meet us at the end of the road?

Would like some clarification please....
 
My barefoot warmblood costs me £20 to trim with my farrier very 12 weeks or so (and could go longer but I just have his feet tidied up) he's on no supplements and just had balanced feed.

So compared to the £80 pet set every 6 weeks plus £20 extra per set to replace the shoes he constantly lost ... Bargain :-)
 
JFTD said:
My horseballing highland, who competes low level in all disciplines and hacks over all terrain, is trimmed by my farrier, gets fed on molassed chaff, not to mention occasional lump of likit, haylage, grass and apples/ carrots.
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Yes BUT you incorporate the Trolley Method of hoof care - that is a specialised practice, so it's unfair to compare yourself to others
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Dressagebabe said:
I would like to say that having read a lot of these replies 'true' barefoot is NOT just about trimming by anyone. If you want a horse to continue competing in any discipline or hack/hunt over any terrain you WILL need to change the diet and have a true barefoot specialised trimmer do your horses feet. Ask your farrier/trimmer if he/she can put in a mustang roll! If they look blank at you then they know nothing about trimming correctly for a barefoot horse. All my horses are and have been barefoot now for 2-12 yrs. Magnesium plays a huge part in their daily feed as does cutting out all sugar ie course mix es, mollichaf, carrots & apples, Mollassed licks etc. True barefoot trimming should cost around £35-£40 every 6 weeks plus around £20 per 6 weekly for the magnesium so it certainly isn't the cheaper option if done correctly.
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What a load of rubbish. Your true barefoot specialised trimmer certainly seems to be spinning you a yarn. :D

I don't see how the cost of a supplement can be considered to be part of the cost of barefoot. A horse doesn't just need a supplement for it's feet it needs it for all of it.
There are plenty of slow growing shod feet that would benefit from a good supplement.
It needs a supplement if the grazing, forage and feed don't provide the necessary for that horse. It just comes to the fore with barefoot horses as failings in the diet become very obvious.

As for low sugar, high forage and being careful on grass than surely a shod horse is just as deserving?

So the only costs I can see that can be attributed to a shod horse are it's shoes and to an unshod one the farrier/trimmers costs and costs of boots.

No one has mentioned the other cost saving and that is vet's fees. I am sure there are a lot of horses shod all their lives who have perfect feet and absolutely no leg problems however I have found from many years of barefoot that unshod ones tend to have less leg and foot problems. So whilst it is cost saving it is also priceless. :)
 
I have a qualified EP every 7-9 weeks at £40.

I just feed hi fi light (a bag lasts 6 more than 6 months but end up throwing it away as it goes off before my pony can finish it!) and a general vitamin and mineral supplement, again it lasts about 6 months and is under £20 a tub.

Then just ad lib soaked hay and is turned out for at least ten hours on pretty poor grass.

He hacks out on all surfaces (happy to canter over gravel or stony tracks etc) and schos quite happily - so pretty low maintenance although the yard and set up does suit barefoot and he has naturally good feet.
 
Oberon said:
Yes BUT you incorporate the Trolley Method of hoof care - that is a specialised practice, so it's unfair to compare yourself to others
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True, true...

I don't have lameness or footiness issues, but sometimes one of the wheels does jam :cool: :D
 
It's definitely been cheaper for me to have my horses without shoes. I was paying £60 every six weeks for a set of shoes - invariably she would lose one or two which was then £10 for farrier to come back and put another one on - that's the one main worry that has gone - I don't have to check every time I get her in from the field that she still has her shoes on! I pay £35 for a trimmer every six weeks, but she also does my youngster at the same time and doesn't charge me anything for her, so I suppose it's only £17.50 per horse really.
Feedwise I did change her diet - from an expensive weight gain product (which was fabulous by the way!) to Fast Fibre and high fibre cubes. I also give her Pro Hoof. She has ad lib haylage at night and goes out in the field during the day. So it has worked out quite a lot cheaper for me.
I use Cavallo boots for roadwork on her front feet - they were about £75 and should last for some time.
But cost isn't the issue for me - due to the number of lameness issues she had it was either no shoes, or corrective shoes and I felt that no shoes was better for her. If it comes to the time when she needs shoes, then shoes she will have, but I will endeavour to avoid that situation if possible.
 
How irresponsible of jftd not to factor in the cost of wd40. Especially for horseball when a performance dose is needed.
 
littlelegs said:
How irresponsible of jftd not to factor in the cost of wd40. Especially for horseball when a performance dose is needed.
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I don't use wd40, I just don't wash my hair and scrape the grease off that to lubricate the wheels - much cheaper and more natural :D

Oberon, you were deeply insensitive - just like all you traditional barefootists are :mad: You think your way is the only way and you don't think about the hardships of trolley-ponies. *flounces off*

:D
 
JFTD said:
Oberon, you were deeply insensitive - just like all you traditional barefootists are :mad: You think your way is the only way and you don't think about the hardships of trolley-ponies. *flounces off*

:D
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I'm afraid I may have to consider stripping you of your Barefoot Taliban sub-member status.

Please return the T-shirt asap
bye.gif
 
I've become very disillusioned with the barefoot taliban. Firstly on another thread I read they don't endorse it as a cure for cancer, now they don't allow wheeled ponies. Wonder what the point in it all is, except for owning hipposandles that is.
 
Goldenstar said:
Dont worry JFTD you can be the founder member of the TT ( trolley Taliban).
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I crossed out barefoot on the t shirt and scrawled Trolley over it :D

littlelegs said:
I've become very disillusioned with the barefoot taliban. Firstly on another thread I read they don't endorse it as a cure for cancer, now they don't allow wheeled ponies. Wonder what the point in it all is, except for owning hipposandles that is.
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Exactly. What is the point :confused:

We should start the Hipposandles Taliban (which do allow trolley ponies)
 
^^ good then we can be members :D

Now to the importand part what colour matchy matchy will we have to display our taliban membership?
 
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