First Shoes

[Whoopit]

My fella goes away for backing at end of March.

Do I shoe him sooner rather than later or so I shoe him once he’s done and come home and bimbling about on hacks?

He’s KWPN so has better feet than the TB but wouldn’t want him barefoot.

 

[Cortez]

Why wouldn't you want him to go without shoes? Just curious; I'm no barefoot evangelist. I don't shoe unless they need it, which means there hasn't been a shoe on anything here for years. "Needing" it means, if they're sore, if the foot chips badly, if wear gets ahead of growth (see sore), if they need studs.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I totally agree. Don’t shoe because you feel you have to. Wait and see, he may be absolutely fine without and surely that’s the best thing

 

[Whoopit]

Our hacking out is really hard going and he’ll end up with his feet chipped to tatters!

 

[ycbm]

Our hacking out is really hard going and he’ll end up with his feet chipped to tatters!

How do you know he won't cope if you don't try, with a steady increase in exposure?
.

 

[Arzada]

Our hacking out is really hard going and he’ll end up with his feet chipped to tatters!

I was told the same. It hasn't happened yet. 18 years later.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Some hacking will be too much for bare feet. Ours is here because the roads are like coarse sand paper and no matter how slowly it is introduced their feet just can't keep up. But it's worth trying and seeing rather than assuming, especially if you have mixed surfaces to play with. Mine wear hoof boots for road hacking rather than metal shoes all the time. I'm not anti-shoeing but there are other good options these days. It is a shame to shoe a young horse just because its the done thing without giving their feet a fair try to see if they cope.

 

[Sandstone1]

Our hacking out is really hard going and he’ll end up with his feet chipped to tatters!

Hoof boots?

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

Mines going away for backing start of March barefoot, he's a WB & farrier says he's got really good feet & see how it goes - we'll keep an eye on it & show if he thinks he needs it. We have lots of stoney forestry with us so seeing as I'll only be lightly hacking a couple of times a week this summer, hoping I can build him to it slowly & use hoof boots. I'm going to try my best to keep him barefoot! I'd leave him and see how he goes personally

 

[Apizz2019]

I'd play by ear and see how he goes if it were me. Many horses do just fine without shoes and many don't but you won't know until he's in work.

I stupidly shod our native pony (I know, I deserve to be flogged for this) because he was a bit ouchy on our gravelly track...

It was the worst thing I did. 10 years without shoes and he'd done just fine.
Shoes on - we had back issues, balance issues, contracted heels, thrush etc

I promptly asked for them to be taken off but not before the damage had been done.

2 cycles of shoes = 12 weeks
7 months later I'm still trying to undo the issues from my stupid mistake

Good luck!

 

[lannerch]

Definitely no shoes at first , when a horse is first backed it makes it safer if ridden on hard ground as it can feel its feet if it starts misbehaving or being over zealous.

 

[spotty_pony]

Definitely no shoes at first , when a horse is first backed it makes it safer if ridden on hard ground as it can feel its feet if it starts misbehaving or being over zealous.

This. It's one of the reasons I like to back on concrete.

 

[catembi]

Why not stick with b/f for now and see how you go? You might find that the feet adapt to the work. I have 4, all b/f, including an ex-racer. His feet are a lot better bare than they were in shoes.

 

[LEC]

My fella goes away for backing at end of March.

Do I shoe him sooner rather than later or so I shoe him once he’s done and come home and bimbling about on hacks?

He’s KWPN so has better feet than the TB but wouldn’t want him barefoot.

I don’t shoe until they need it. One did 2 years and one did 6 months from being backed.