Do horses slip more with shoes on, or without?

[StormyMoments]

when Taz wore shoes on shiney tarmac he used to slip a lot even with road pins where as he doesnt slip there barefoot, he tends to slip a little more on grass without shoes. i have noticed that since hes become shoeless he isnt cutting into the ground as much all of my horses are barefoot and i hack them regularly over stoney ground, concrete and grass and they are fine

 

[criso]

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

Not all roads are equal and some surfaces are worse than others.

Where I grew up in Devon, there were hills that everyone used to get off and walk down they were so treacherous. It was a combination of being very steep and being a type of tarmac that combines with metal to give you a similar feel to ice skating.
These are the ones where you really notice the difference barefoot.

 

[Hippona]

My horses are all unshod. I hack off road on stony tracks and also on roads....mine NEVER slip. It is markedly noticeable when i ride out with friends on shod horses that their horses slip, slide and trip on and off road, although they dont use studs. There is far more traction in an unshod hoof than smooth metal.....would have thought that obvious TBH......

 

[ridefast]

Mine slips when she's leaning on the forehand (barefoot)

 

[Goldenstar]

Mine slips when she's leaning on the forehand (barefoot)

Spot on, the horses way of going and level of training is the key thing that affects slipping.

 

[cptrayes]

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?

I keep a hunter hunting fit doing nothing but roadwork for his hacking. He hunts on farm tracks made of broken brick and crushed up concrete. I am usually out with three other barefooters.

Both my other horses think nothing of walking over rubble either.



Regarding slipping, none of the many horses that I have had barefoot after being shod slipped any more than when they were shod. And on the road they slipped a lot less.

I think sometimes people see a barefoot horse slip and say "barefoot - it slipped", and forget that shod horses slip too. Two weeks ago I was hunting across a slippery slope and my horse slipped badly behind and then carried on without breaking stride. The shod horse behind me fell over when all four of its feet slipped sideways from underneath it, leaving the rider sat laughing on the side of the bank.

 

[paddy555]

Regarding slipping, none of the many horses that I have had barefoot after being shod slipped any more than when they were shod. And on the road they slipped a lot less.

I think sometimes people see a barefoot horse slip and say "barefoot - it slipped", and forget that shod horses slip too. Two weeks ago I was hunting across a slippery slope and my horse slipped badly behind and then carried on without breaking stride. The shod horse behind me fell over when all four of its feet slipped sideways from underneath it, leaving the rider sat laughing on the side of the bank.

all horses slip on mud/slick grass be they shod, barefoot or booted. It is how they deal with the slipping and that is down to the individual horse.
If you ride behind a barefoot or booted horse over very slippery conditions and ask it's rider if it slipped the answer may well be "he rarely slips".
In reality you will have seen it slipped the entire way around the ride. The rider was unaware of most of it as the horse knew how to control the slipping and didn't have any problem with it.

Some horses instantly know how not to slip and how to control it. For others it takes a long time to learn.

 

[Hoof_Prints]

When my horses were shod, I went sliding down hills a few times in the winter when there was a bit of ice, now they are barefoot they are grippy everywhere

 

[Nightmare before Christmas]

At a BE this year most slips and accidents this year were barefoot horses. I would never expect my horse to compete at a decent level on grass without studs let alone without shoes

 

[FfionWinnie]

Went on a hack today and it was really icy in places. Had hoof boots on the front and the traction was not good. Other mare with no boots (or shoes) was totally fine.

That's interesting BM, how many horses were involved. Wouldn't have thought many BE horses would be unshod!

 

[weebarney]

Mine are all barefoot apart from the new one who arrived with shoes. You should see the state of the field now the shod one has arrived, there are skid marks all over the place. MY POOR GRASS !

 

[poghag]

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 had grave misgivings about going barefoot and still do all the things I do - "I event! I go on stonking hacks! Surely it can't work!"

4 years later and we're consistenty clear at BE100, have done the Milton Keynes unaff. 3-day (open class - some BE novice fences, full roads and tracks, some of that on stony bits)... and can have long, hard hunting days with plenty of roadwork and trotting over nasty stony tracks...

The only time we've overcooked it was weekend after the opening meet, it was a really wet weekend so several farms were off limits and we did a LOT more roadwork than expected... add to that he'd just moved fields onto lush grass (which can make feet pretty sensitive)... and he was a little footsore for a while after that. This was a grave concern as he'd never had troubles before (but he'd also never been on lush grass before)... so a yard-move later to somewhere with very sparse grazing (so hay instead) and we're coming right back into hunting fitness now.

With real determination and application, because it's not an easy path to be fully barefoot, a well-transitioned horse (allow a year, preferably two, although I'm sure people have transitioned successfully much quicker than that, I am aware of one case where slight instability in the har-working, newly bare foot allegedly led to ringbone) should be able to negotiate all terrain no problem.

 

[poghag]

At a BE this year most slips and accidents this year were barefoot horses. I would never expect my horse to compete at a decent level on grass without studs let alone without shoes

That's interesting. I literally never, ever see anyone else BEing barefoot. Let alone a whole plethora of them all having slips and spills.

I wonder if anyone pays any attention when fully studded horses slip, which they also do?

 

[laura_nash]

Where I grew up in Devon, there were hills that everyone used to get off and walk down they were so treacherous. It was a combination of being very steep and being a type of tarmac that combines with metal to give you a similar feel to ice skating.
These are the ones where you really notice the difference barefoot.

I'm on the Somerset / Devon border and must have the same roads you are talking about. The slidding about (combined with him tripping) was the reason for taking my boy barefoot and he hasn't slipped since. We ride out with shod horses and its very obvious the difference, especially when its hot they are sliding about all over and picking their way down the verge on steep bits, whilst we trot down the hill happily whether fully bare or booted in front.

I don't manage to get onto grass that often but haven't noticed that he slips more without shoes, though he definately slipped more on grass and mud in his first boots (Boas). Fully bare or his current Swiss boots are fine.

For those who mentioned balance and fitness, for cross-country jumping etc I can see that but I think when walking along it is down to the surface and shod / bare / booted. Two of the horses sliding about are well-schooled TBx's who compete primarily in dressage, and my boy trotting happily down the hill behind is a little happy hacker cob on his forehand who hacks twice a week and struggles to canter a 20m circle in the school.

 

[monikirk]

im using these to jog really good grip but wear out a bit faster

What sort of shoes are these?

 

[cadefan]

That's interesting. I literally never, ever see anyone else BEing barefoot. Let alone a whole plethora of them all having slips and spills.

I wonder if anyone pays any attention when fully studded horses slip, which they also do?

well.... I evented several horses over the years mainly at BE novice, and always carefully studded up. This year, I evented a horse who has never had shoes on, and was interested to see how he coped. I can honestly say that he never slipped once, despite on some occasions me 'waiting for a slip' eg around corners, or very soggy take-offs. I also did a sponsored ride on him, with my daughter riding her shod pony. Her pony was constantly slipping, whereas my boy did not slip at all. We rode over all sorts of wet farm terrain. Both are well schooled and ridden in balance to a nice contact.
It has been a learning curve for me how well the unshod hoof copes

 

[Skippys Mum]

I live at the top of a hill and whatever way I hack out involves going down a steep hill that is covered in that stone mastic tarmac (think thats what its called). For 18 years I had my horses shod with non slip nails as otherwise it was like hacking Bambi on Ice. Skippy was always studded to compete on grass. His nickname was Slippy Skippy .

My current boy was shod as a 3 year old and was shod for the following 6 years. He was very slippy and prone to tripping. Going downhills was pretty scary. A year ago Arnies shoes came off (mainly as a cost saving exercise over winter - it never crossed my mind about the slipping and tripping) and he hasnt slipped since. He now walks confidently down the hills. He has competed xc this summer and hasnt slipped at all. I havent sj'd on grass so cant comment about that.

I have noticed that he has stopped tripping and seems more sure footed. I have never ridden him on ice but I have noticed this last week that he seems to be more confident crossing the icy bits en route to the field. He was flat out galloping in a muddy stubble field last week and was fine although it was pretty slidey. I was a bit wary going round the corner but he was fine.

 

[Kikke]

Depending on surface I'm sure but mine go everywhere without slipping and always barefoot. I have admit although I take them on grass gallops don't do any cross country so I would think may have better grip with stutted shoes or stutted hoof boots for that matter

 

[Scarlett]

well.... I evented several horses over the years mainly at BE novice, and always carefully studded up. This year, I evented a horse who has never had shoes on, and was interested to see how he coped. I can honestly say that he never slipped once, despite on some occasions me 'waiting for a slip' eg around corners, or very soggy take-offs. I also did a sponsored ride on him, with my daughter riding her shod pony. Her pony was constantly slipping, whereas my boy did not slip at all. We rode over all sorts of wet farm terrain. Both are well schooled and ridden in balance to a nice contact.
It has been a learning curve for me how well the unshod hoof copes

Thank you for posting this. I hope to event my boy next summer, we have sj'd and xc'd on grass barefoot whilst schooling with no issues but I'm constantly told you cant compete like it. Posts like yours help me keep the faith, so to speak

 

[cptrayes]

At a BE this year most slips and accidents this year were barefoot horses. I would never expect my horse to compete at a decent level on grass without studs let alone without shoes

I doubt it. They were the ones you noticed, precisely because they were without shoes. The numbers competing without shoes are so small I would be gobsmacked if you could support this assertion with any evidence.

I evented up to Novice level happily on a selection of 5 horses and never had more slips than I did on shod and studded horses.

In contrast to you, perhaps, I would not consider a horse ready to BE event until I had it balanced and capable of doing SJ and cross country without shoes on.

Scarlett, check the "barefoot only please" thread for peoples pictures.

 

[TrasaM]

I hack out on two very different horses,young yob and a vetern arabX TB both are barefoot and neither has ever clipped on the roads. Sometimes, when it's very muddy in the fields or a downhill very muddy path, I've had slight slips but that would happen regardless of whether they were shod or not. I am not comfortable about riding shod horses on Tarmac or concrete as I find they are more inclined to slip.