Going back to shoes after barefoot

[Nightmare before Christmas]

Like I say my mare is shoeless as shes going in foal. He is very very footy in front on stones and similar ground. She isnt getting better with time and only gets lamer on stones if left. IF she was in work she would be shod but to stand in the field and visit the stud she is okay.

OP - shoe your horse and enjoy working her

All this horses must be barefoot rubbish really really gets on my nerves. We ride domestic horses that have been bred for hundreds of years to suit our needs, some need shoes to do this, some do not. Shoe if needed. Its common sense to me?

 

[Oberon]

Those of you who use boots on a regular basis, is there an increased incidence of bacterial infections or delaying healing in a thrushy frog ?
I'm currently keeping one off work because I don't want gravel getting caught in there.

You can dust the inside of the boots with athletes foot powder if you are using them long term (like for turnout with an abscess/thin sole etc) but with short use for exercise only, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Spotsrock]

Just have horse shod no nonsense. Good enough for youngsters so for a horse that's been shod before it will be ok.

 

[ester]

Like I say my mare is shoeless as shes going in foal. He is very very footy in front on stones and similar ground. She isnt getting better with time and only gets lamer on stones if left. IF she was in work she would be shod but to stand in the field and visit the stud she is okay.

OP - shoe your horse and enjoy working her

All this horses must be barefoot rubbish really really gets on my nerves. We ride domestic horses that have been bred for hundreds of years to suit our needs, some need shoes to do this, some do not. Shoe if needed. Its common sense to me?

I think people are only making sure that the op thinks its the right thing to do because they have previously seen pics of the hooves in question and they have previously had problems/been compromised and so shoeing might not be the best thing. Mine always had shoes on, a part of me now wishes he hadn't as perhaps he wouldn't have his current problem.

BVD I think the same as with the boots, you can shoe her and see how she goes too can always take them off again

 

[cptrayes]

Just to make clear - my mare was not "sore for a year", she was unshod for a year, and then started becoming sore in the last week or 10 days, shod yesterday and walked away sound. She does work for a living (display and movie horse) and I reckon all the wet weather and soft ground has just caused her hooves to soften and wear more than usual. Before you all start doing an amateur analysis of her diet, she is NOT out on lavish pasture, fed silly sugary stuff or overweight.

So she went all through a winter sound and you shod her because a bit of rain in summer made her footie for 10 days?

It wouldn't have been the choice I would have made, but there you go, we are all different.

She does not need to be on lavish grass to have a touch of lami. I hope for her sake you have not just masked the sore feet of a horse getting too much grass. And if you have shod her just because her feet were too wet, woudn't it have been cheaper and easier just to keep her in during the day to let her feet dry out?

 

[Holly Hocks]

OP - you must do whatever you feel will help you and your horse best. I'm not a BFT - I chose to have the shoes taken off mine due to various medical conditions that she has. If it hadn't been for the medical conditions I'm sure she would still be shod. Mine is out 24/7 at the moment actually on quite lush grass (oops!), and I use front boots for hacking which have helped her enormously. I don't find them a hassle at all - pick feet out, pop boots on and off we go! But you must do what is easiest for you and your horse. You are the one who has to deal with and work the horse and you know what is best for you. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.