Do horses slip more with shoes on, or without?

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FionaM12

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This puzzles me. :o

I was told by someone who has unshod horses that they slip less on the road, as natural feet have better grip than metal shoes.

But then I was told by someone whose horses are shod that it's the other way round. Also, someone told me that competing cross country is safer with shoes as your horse slips more unshod.

Which do people here think is true? Or does it depend on conditions?
 
When I ride out with my friend, she has trouble with her shod horse slipping on the road Mine is barefoot and seems much more stable so I think unshod is less likely to slip? Don't know if that is a sweeping generalisation though!
 
I find my unshod ones don't slip on roads, concrete or anywhere much except skidding to a halt hooning. :D I don't compete so cant say if they would slip under pressure on grass. They do slip a little on slick, sheet ice though.
 
Roads much better barefoot, don't even bother to go round manhole covers.
Snow and ice better barefoot. Got to test this one really well when I took just the back shoes off and brought him in from the field and had to negotiate a icy stretch, fronts slipped and backs didn't.

Wet mud exactly the same which is not good, apparently tbs don't do mud and he slipped in both. Hates getting his feet dirty and will always stop at the edge of the muddy bit by the gate in the hope I will one day take the hint and carry him over.

With cross country people use studs for extra grip which you can't do without shoes, so that could be what people meant.
 
I think it also depends on how long the shoes have been on for - i find that if they're worn down they slip more on the roads.

But personally I find that shod horses (without any studs) slip on wet grass more than unshod ones do.
 
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im using these to jog really good grip but wear out a bit faster
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An interesting post - I guess it is more about balance than shoes per se.....
I have a youngster who i shod in front to start with, and hoped I might get away with the hinds - but I did not as he picked up gravel in his off hind (we hack, more than school in an arena)
To start with he slipped and stumbled quite a bit - but that was babyish behaviour - now he is walking as confidently down hill, as he was up- and shoes have made no difference to that at all. he is slipping less since being shod behind, but I think that is more due to his general collection and gaining muscle, and learning, than it is the shoes. Though he is pain free now, thanks to the hinds - I am neither pro or against bare foot, but I would be interested to know from those who go bare foot 100 percent of the time - how much hacking do they do? And do they have to circumnavigate a stoney yard each time they get astride their nags?
 
dressedkez said:
An interesting post - I guess it is more about balance than shoes per se.....
I have a youngster who i shod in front to start with, and hoped I might get away with the hinds - but I did not as he picked up gravel in his off hind (we hack, more than school in an arena)
To start with he slipped and stumbled quite a bit - but that was babyish behaviour - now he is walking as confidently down hill, as he was up- and shoes have made no difference to that at all. he is slipping less since being shod behind, but I think that is more due to his general collection and gaining muscle, and learning, than it is the shoes. Though he is pain free now, thanks to the hinds - I am neither pro or against bare foot, but I would be interested to know from those who go bare foot 100 percent of the time - how much hacking do they do? And do they have to circumnavigate a stoney yard each time they get astride their nags?
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When I returned to riding after my very long gap, I rode horses belonging to local farmer. He has six strong chunky mares and he hacks them out most days, for between one and two hours, almost entirely on roads. The track to get to the road from his yard is stoney.

None of his horses are shod, most never have been since birth and they're all sound. It was when I was riding out with the farmer, going downhill on a slippy road that he told me they don't slip as much unshod.

However, this has been contradicted by other people since, hence my confusion. :o
 
Pretty sure unshod has better grip on tarmac hence why they get worn down, mine is shod and slips quite a lot but nothing major, then its like someone put down a cartoon banana skin when we cross a manhole cover!

I think shod probably has better grip on grass even without studs, just like if we wear shoes with a decent tread instead of flat soles...
 
mandwhy said:
Pretty sure unshod has better grip on tarmac hence why they get worn down, mine is shod and slips quite a lot but nothing major, then its like someone put down a cartoon banana skin when we cross a manhole cover!

I think shod probably has better grip on grass even without studs, just like if we wear shoes with a decent tread instead of flat soles...
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I dont get that at all, assuming your feet are tough enuff, try running on grass with no shoes and with then with flat slippers, you will find plenty of grip barefoot, your proprioreceptors will kick in to automatially adjust your stride as you land.
I read about proprioreceptors in barefoot horses, this came in handy when my own knee ligaments "gave up". I now do not wear boots with heavy treads as the propriorecptors do not kick in, I wear arait short boots with minimal tread, and have a lot less stumbling and tripping.
Barefoot horses are not "flat", concavity develops in barefoot horses, just look at the imprint in soft mud, it is not like a flat pair of slippers.
Re hacking on tarmac: regular daily road work plus good diet will allow the growth of the hoof to meet the needs of the horse, they don't "wear flat", they self trim so there will be very little need for trimming, if any. Unlike shod horses, the feet are balanced every day, not once every six, eight or even ten weeks.
Grip on roads with a barefoot horse is fantastic, those of us old enough to recall leather shoes with metal "segs" [flat studs] will also recall making "slides" on icy pavements. Leather or rubber soles did not slide... and neither do barefoot horses.
PS never ever walk on metal manholes with a shod horse, if he is sliding all over the place, get off and let him work out his own balance. Slipping and sliding ... nothing major.... think again........
 
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Just ask the barefoot endurance riders who do 100 miles + in a day and see what their opinion is!! It's not just about slipping (my barefoot ponies just don't slip!!) it's about the pony knowing what his hoof is landing on.....and being able to adjust!!
 
Neither of my barefoot horses slip, infact my little 12.3h NF will quite happily jog downhill he is that confident. I used to be terrified of going downhill when they were shod especially when its wet and there are a lot of leaves on the ground

If I hack out with anyone with a shod horse it makes me cringe when they slip and slide about, Its very hilly here and they usually have to get off and walk them ( better I think )
 
One of our horses has never worn shoes and she hunts every saturday. I can tell you we have to cross all terrain and do a lot of hacking on the roads. Every week without fail we see and hear shod horses skidding on the road as the horses in front of them slow down. I can tell you with absolute certainty, there's no surer footed horse on a tarmac road than a barefoot one. Is it possible for a BF horse to slip on a Tarmac road? Ours never has.

Over grass and mud she doesn't slip any more than a shod horse. In very deep going she seems more surefooted and confident.

Yesterday I led her down the frozen lane to turn her out and there was a large patch of ice over 3/4 of the track. I only had a rope over her neck and she was marching to the field as she was desperate to get out, I didn't have a lot of control but she stepped on the ice and slowed down and stepped with more care, obviously because she has feeling in her feet and can adjust to the terrain she finds herself on.

Her brother is shod in front and although he slips a bit on the roads, it's nowhere as bad as others with shoes all round
 
Both of ours were shod all round, they have now been barefoot for about 18 months.

We hack alot and also compete at SJ and DR. Overall their grip is alot better, and they have more confidence over different surfaces. Most noticeable on the road as they used to slip quite alot going down roads. The only surface they aren't amazing on is deep v wet mud, but tbh I don't know of anything that will help you with that!

(and no, we don't need to pick the ground, they are wonderfully sure footed and sound over any surface we've found, grit, chippings, chunky stones - anything!).
 
I have never had an issue with horse slipping on the road it something I never understand people getting fussed about of course you have to adjust the horse if the road is wet and frost on roads is lethal.
It's my opinion that BF horse are more aware of them selves than shod one..
But on all surfaces shod and unshod it's the horses training brain and athletic ability that will affect s slipping most, unfit horse on their forehand slip more that balanced quick thinking well trained ones.
I have started hunting my horse BF i don't give it a thought I ride him like any horse no different .
Short grass and long wet grass are slippy to both shod and unshod horses and it then follows that both approaches will result slip ups on the flat from time to time.
However at the limits of performance think say of greenwich at the Olympics shoes and heavily studed will be the safest way forward at the limits of performance on tight fast turns, but whether that's good for horses long term is another matter .
The only major difference I have was last Saturday we unexpectedly found part of a track icy the shod horse marched on till he slipped and then adjusted him self the Bf one adjusted at once before we noticed ( that's how we noticed the ice ) and was very cautious.
Jumping on good turf I have felt no difference what so ever between the two other than that sutle different BF feeling.
Oh and just to add BF in heavy muddy going far far easier and nicer than shod .
 
I am neither pro or against bare foot, but I would be interested to know from those who go bare foot 100 percent of the time - how much hacking do they do? And do they have to circumnavigate a stoney yard each time they get astride their nags?[QUOTE/]

I wrote a longer reply to this on the laptop last night but yes we have un levelled hardcore between the yard and the fields and he has no problem. We also have no arena so he does road work regularly and as most of our off road hacking is ex gravel pits he does a lot of stony tracks with out a thought.

He also goes xc in all conditions and has never slipped even on wet greasy grass or in a grass dressage arena under similar conditions. The only time he has fallen over was when he was being so nosey at the lorry we were walking past he forgot about his feet.
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Both if ours have road nails, wouldnr go down steep hills on roads without them.. Rode my friends horse with no road nails & she ended up on her knees on a bend on a hill of a hill.. One of ours tho is only shod in front & his back feet slip in mud.
 
dafthoss said:
I am neither pro or against bare foot, but I would be interested to know from those who go bare foot 100 percent of the time - how much hacking do they do? And do they have to circumnavigate a stoney yard each time they get astride their nags?[QUOTE/]

I wrote a longer reply to this on the laptop last night but yes we have un levelled hardcore between the yard and the fields and he has no problem. We also have no arena so he does road work regularly and as most of our off road hacking is ex gravel pits he does a lot of stony tracks with out a thought.

He also goes xc in all conditions and has never slipped even on wet greasy grass or in a grass dressage arena under similar conditions. The only time he has fallen over was when he was being so nosey at the lorry we were walking past he forgot about his feet.
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I have three horses BF ATM I will discount the first one as he's not long out of shoes dealing with a foot balance issue .
The TB had terrible feet and been BF six months or so he hacks two to three times a week he's happy on some stoney surfaces but not all but he still does not have a whole new foot yet and had that whole TB feet thing going on he's still work in progress hes happy to be mounted on our stoney yard and ridden up the drive but could feel the car park at a clinic I went to this week ( level surfaced covered with a generous shattering of 2cmish roundish stones ) but many shod horses feel than car park. He's not at the stage where I would take him on stoney tracks say in the forestry .
My third is bf just over a year I can ride him any where including just starting hunting he was happy in the car park I described above his work is being built up to allow for the hunting I would say now he's pretty well 100% now I go to the forestry and trot and canter him where ever I do the shod ones his feet look amazing.
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My horse is shod with road nails as our roads are very smooth and polished. She rarely slips. I've always found that they have more grip in shoes, with or without nails, if the road is wet. Without shoes, I have found that they are much better than shod unless the road is wet and greasy, in which case they have a tendency to slip more so than a shod horse.
 
All my hacking bar a couple of short access tracks (surfaced in crushed rock and road planings) is on tarmac. I hack out most days.

I used to ride a mare shod all round, and hated going down hills and speeding up (trotting made me worried all the time, tbh). Even with road nails, she would slip or slide two or three times during a ride. Mind you, our countryside is very hilly, so maybe the people whose shod horses don't slide aren't negotiating 1 in 4 hills much :D

My unshod horse has never slipped out hacking, and that's walk and trot, uphill and downhill, and dare I say it, occasional canters - all on tarmac :). He's also never slipped with me on grass, but we don't have much off road hacking, so to be fair I can't really comment on that. Oh, and it's Scotland - last winter, the roads didn't dry out for 5 months ;-)

And bizarrely, despite all that hacking on tarmac, he hasn't yet worn his feet off :D (6 years, and there's still 4 hooves on there).
 
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I think over all, unshod has better grip.

Dressedkez mine hack out 2 hours most days on Tarmac and forestry tracks. On very sharp stoney ground they do pick there way but I'm not convinced shoes would make a big difference to that. I have boots now if we are going a long way on sharp stone tracks.

Both are still in the transition process too and I am hopeful their feet will toughen up further.
 
Without question, grip is much better on roads since being barefoot, even compared with shoes with road nails. On grass I couldn't say, really. The only time I've ever had a nasty slip on grass was in shoes with no studs...

As for hacking out - I hack mine over all terrain, and don't have to get off or go round the stoney bits; they walk straight over without a problem.
 
I found that barefoot is much better on roads. On wet mud and soft going barefoot was completely OK, probably better than with shoes.

On grass where there isn't much give in the ground then barefoot hooves will slip. One of the worst surfaces is trying to do a dressage test where there are sharp corners. My daughter's pony was had bare back feet and slipped over when show jumping, but she was thinking more of the fences rather than riding the pony, so I think a rider who is aware and rides to have the horse balanced, then barefoot is OK.

I don't think, though, that I would really fancy tackling a big cross country track without studs. Just sometimes you have to pull the horse round and the extra grip with studs would be reassuring.
 
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