lilly1
Well-Known Member
I'm debating taking shoes off my mare. It would be after the summer when the ground is less hard and her workload less.
She has thin soles and for that reason has always had fronts on all year round and back shoes on in the summer when we do more hacking. I've known this mare since a yearling and owned her for several years. Even as a yearling she was sore (footy)on rough ground and she's had shoes since a 4yo when she was backed. She's now 11.
This winter she has coped well without back shoes and I think her hooves, frogs in particular, look better for it. Compared to her front feet the frogs on her back are much wider and more prominent. I think the bulbs look more robust too. My long-term farrier and I have always been of the view she would not manage without front shoes but the more I read the more I've started to question if its the right thing to do. I'm thinking long-term soundness here and wondering if shoes off are best. I'm scared though as even with fronts on she gets sore on stony ground and will peck on landing if she steps on something a bit sharp.
Lifestyle wise she has turnout 24/7 summer and in at night during the winter. The field has a dense woodland patch in the middle and the 1/2 mile track to the field is rough hardcore / stone. Adding any other surface to the field is not an option. Hacking is all off road and the terrain varied; hard or stony ground is not uncommon. We hack most weekends, more in the summer. We school on a good menage surface 3/4 times per week. We compete at riding club level in all disciplines on surface and grass.
Hoof boots are a bit of a minefield and with the cost of them I don't want to make too many mistakes. Would I need an interim type boot before moving on to something like Scoots for instance?
Is there anything I could start doing now to help prepare if this is something I decide to do? Obviously I wouldn't just take them off and carry on as normal. I think if I do it I'll try it for 6 months and would hope at the end of this to see improvements. Would this be a realistic time table to work towards?
I have some pics of her feet if helpful but don't want to turn this into a farrier debate. I have no issues with how she is shod at all; just wondering if there is a better way.
She has thin soles and for that reason has always had fronts on all year round and back shoes on in the summer when we do more hacking. I've known this mare since a yearling and owned her for several years. Even as a yearling she was sore (footy)on rough ground and she's had shoes since a 4yo when she was backed. She's now 11.
This winter she has coped well without back shoes and I think her hooves, frogs in particular, look better for it. Compared to her front feet the frogs on her back are much wider and more prominent. I think the bulbs look more robust too. My long-term farrier and I have always been of the view she would not manage without front shoes but the more I read the more I've started to question if its the right thing to do. I'm thinking long-term soundness here and wondering if shoes off are best. I'm scared though as even with fronts on she gets sore on stony ground and will peck on landing if she steps on something a bit sharp.
Lifestyle wise she has turnout 24/7 summer and in at night during the winter. The field has a dense woodland patch in the middle and the 1/2 mile track to the field is rough hardcore / stone. Adding any other surface to the field is not an option. Hacking is all off road and the terrain varied; hard or stony ground is not uncommon. We hack most weekends, more in the summer. We school on a good menage surface 3/4 times per week. We compete at riding club level in all disciplines on surface and grass.
Hoof boots are a bit of a minefield and with the cost of them I don't want to make too many mistakes. Would I need an interim type boot before moving on to something like Scoots for instance?
Is there anything I could start doing now to help prepare if this is something I decide to do? Obviously I wouldn't just take them off and carry on as normal. I think if I do it I'll try it for 6 months and would hope at the end of this to see improvements. Would this be a realistic time table to work towards?
I have some pics of her feet if helpful but don't want to turn this into a farrier debate. I have no issues with how she is shod at all; just wondering if there is a better way.
) these are fabulous for when we go long hacks, he will have been out of shoes a year in july and its the best thing I could have done for him. His feet are strong his frogs are awesome. I think you have to give it a good year before you can actually how the adjustment has gone