Going barefoot

[Daisy2]

Marley came to me unshod and it would seem that he has never had shoes on so remains that way, he has got great feet, hack any where and is trimmed by a normal farrier every 6/7 weeks. Maizie however is shod on the front, she came that way but had awful feet. Now they look nice and healthy I am thinking of letting her go barefoot, by come late autumn giving them the winter off and out 24/7 at which point the shoes will come off and perhaps a little in hand walking up and down the lanes. What is your experience good or bad and what do you think of my plan thanks

 

[fitzaud2]

I think it's a great idea, wish all mine were barefoot. Am going to try that for my 3 year old, he's never had shoes, so we'll see. My friend went down that route, had a farrier come down from northern ireland. he said for a horse that has had shoes, it can take up to 18 mths to come sound barefoot, she didnt have the patience, so put shoes back on after 3 mths, but i think it would be great if more people would try. Have you read Joe camp's book, it's a great read, he went from knowing nothing about horses to owning 3 in 4 weeks, and then started asking questions as to why things were done the way they were. Shoeing was part of that, and all his horses are now barefoot. Great book, pity i cant think of the name. google it!!!

 

[Kallibear]

Going barefoot will improve her feet dramatically but it won't be a case of whipping the shoes off and letting her get on with it, if she's got poor feet.

Barefoot feet improve quickest if the horses is working and using them - standing in a field doing nothing does nothing for their feet, so they won't improve much if you take them off over winter and do nothing with her.

She should NOT be lame after her shoes come off but she may well be sensitive over rough ground. If she's sore even in the field then there is a) somethings drastically wrong with her feet and b) proabably too much effort and work to be worth taking them off, esp if she's comfortable in shoes and you're not very knowledgable about rehab-ing barefoot horses.

If she's comfortable in the field (which most horses would be, straight out of shoes) then get her a pair of hoof boots and work her as much as possible. The more stimulation her feet get the better and faster they will grow. Boots will keep her comfortable whilst her feet heal and strengthen, and you can carry on riding her pretty much as normal. Most horses can then dispense with the boots after a couple of months, though many will need them occasionally for certain terraine. True rockcrunching feet are very possible even with initially terrible feet, but a huge amount of time and effort, as well as correct diet, is needed.

 

[Daisy2]

. True rockcrunching feet are very possible even with initially terrible feet, but a huge amount of time and effort, as well as correct diet, is needed.

Thanks for the advise, the reason I thought of going barefoot is a) to be as natural as possible, they currently, through all seasons go rugless unless its horrendous rain and out 24/7 and b) Because Marley is barefoot I do notice a big difference in the way his feet land on hard ground trotting roads etc which we try to keep to a minmum as opposed to Maizie hers seem quite jarring and his land softly.