Hunting barefoot

[Bernster]

First off, about this time last year, I wasn’t sure I’d even be riding this boy let alone thinking he might be able to go hunting again so even being able to contemplate this is amazing! He‘s had time off after melanoma surgery and treatment (partly successful) but is back in work and feeling great. He’s been barefoot since the operation and seems to be coping really well but hunting seems like a step up from usual work.

He’s been fine so far on roads, grass, cross country course hire, and the fairly stony hills and tracks around Cholsey as I’m getting him fit for a sponsored ride. The next test would be some autumn hunting to see how he copes. I’m conscious that full hunting is a fairly intense workload and can involve some pretty flinty fields. I don’t go out loads, maybe once/twice a month. It would be drag hunting so I can check with the hunt beforehand if the terrain is particularly tricky.

Does this sound viable? Would the extra wear and tear be too much for barefoot? I don’t mind either way but I’d prefer to keep him barefoot if possible. I’m assuming boots would be a no no as not being secure enough (and I’ve not tried boots yet).

 

[SpeedyPony]

The main issue I can see would be the roadwork/rough tracks, mine are shod and (admittedly I hack to meets) there's a  lot of wear on a set by the end of a 6 week cycle.
Thay said, it will depend know where you are/how much roadwork/the individual horse, so I'd be inclined to try it and see, just keeping a close eye on the wear on his hooves.
I certainly wouldn't go with boots- the risk of rubbing would be too high IMO with the mud etc.

 

[ycbm]

It depends on the horse. Some horses would need to be doing a lot of road work all the time to get a consistently fast enough growth to cope with drag hunting on a regular basis. If you did your fitness work on soft surfaces, that could be an issue. Some would be fine. I went out season after season on my big black hunter who had never worn shoes. There were times I was a little worried about just how short his feet were but he was never footsore so I carried on.

I definitely wouldn't, personally, ever hunt in hoof boots.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

As long as you build up to the amount of road work I think you’d be fine. We hunted Topaz barefoot and the only issues we had was when we took her on hound exercise and did way too much trotting on the roads for what her feet were conditioned too.

 

[ester]

We went every 3/4 weeks and he definitely wasn’t rock crunching. Only a couple of times we came across tracks that were problematic and we were able to skirt round, mostly small midweek fields and everyone knew he was bare and thought him amazing and cute so he probably got some privelges .
One day we were the last out as everyone else had lost shoes .
He flinted himself, over stubble I think, on his very last day of hunting ever though it wasn’t immediately clear he’s done it/we hacked home fine. We always had to do a road hack there and back usually about 45 mins

Because we only went where we could hack he was quite conditioned to most of the sort of tracks we were on- it did take a bit of time when I first moved him though.

Growth rate was only ever an issue when he stopped doing stuff and they didn’t get that message very quick so I was doing a lot of trimming.

 

[Boulty]

I’d say try and get him doing a decent amount of roadwork and ideally work over similar ground to what you’ll be crossing. If seems to be coping well in general then as long as fit enough just going out & giving it a go is probably going to be the only way to know for sure.

I used to take the Welshie out barefoot with the bloodhounds a few times a month depending on other commitments. He was not what you’d call totally rock crunching (he had issues that meant his soles always tended towards the thin side) but he did do a lot of roadwork and work on limestone & other gritty tracks in his day to day life and routinely did 20-30 miles a week hacking. He always used to cope well out hunting (other than having to seek out a bit of verge if trotting on very stoney tracks which tbf wasn’t very common where we tended to go, although he did cope well with well worn forestry tracks). More than once we got to feel smug when multiple horses lost shoes and there we were bouncing along.

Would not advise going in boots as likely to rub, have reduced grip, twist or fall off

 

[ester]

Someone on here did hunt their haffy successfully in boots as I recall they have very flinty ground. I would have had to make some adaptations to mine to make them work for hunting as if you did loose one in the mud they were inclined to come off again as the hoof was then slippy (easyboot gloves).
We were definitely doing min. 30 miles hacking a week without.

 

[Bernster]

Thx guys. I’ll see how he goes at this sponsored ride which will be mainly grass and a small amount of road work. Good point about forestry tracks. I’ll try to pick and choose those types of terrain and avoid ones with more flint fields. He probably doesn’t do enough road work currently as I’m doing more fattening work which is on grass but the off yard hacking is all road work, there’s just not very much of it.

 

[P.forpony]

I'm currently in exactly the same situation, trying to work out the logistics of hunting my tb after going barefoot last spring.
His feet have improved beyond measure but he still definitely doesn't have the sole thickness in front to manage a days hunting.

He hacks in a full set of scoot boots to save excessive wear from road work and I was sceptical at first, but have to say I'm really impressed.
He is the most delicate skinned creature and gets rubs from anything at every opportunity, but can happily do 12+ miles now in the boots. Never had a rub on front feet and only had one once on a hind when it shifted after a particularly vigorous pheasant from the hedge dance!

His hinds are pretty tough though so I think my initial plan will be to try taking him out a/h with just front boots, and see how we get on.

 

[Gloi]

I've been using hoof armour for a couple of years and found it good for reducing wear from tarmac and toughening soles against stone tracks.
I don't hunt though, just hack.

 

[P.forpony]

I've been using hoof armour for a couple of years and found it good for reducing wear from tarmac and toughening soles against stone tracks.

I've been wondering about this for a while now, its good to hear a positive review. May have to give it a go.

 

[Gloi]

I've been wondering about this for a while now, its good to hear a positive review. May have to give it a go.

I only use my boots now if I'm doing a much longer than normal ride

 

[P.forpony]

I only use my boots now if I'm doing a much longer than normal ride

Oooh that sounds promising!

My farrier is wonderful and has been doing some trials with rubber sole casts, which has really helped his sole thickness and making him more comfortable while transitioning, but it doesn't stop the wear and tear.
Seems like a sensible next step

 

[Gloi]

Oooh that sounds promising!

My farrier is wonderful and has been doing some trials with rubber sole casts, which has really helped his sole thickness and making him more comfortable while transitioning, but it doesn't stop the wear and tear.
Seems like a sensible next step

If you try it get the feet really dry then put on a very thin layer. I then put on another really thin layer a couple of days later. Repeat when feet are trimmed or if you feel it's needed. I do it once a month or so.

 

[ycbm]

First off, about this time last year, I wasn’t sure I’d even be riding this boy let alone thinking he might be able to go hunting again so even being able to contemplate this is amazing!

I forgot to say, well done!
.

 

[Bernster]

I confess I wobbling a bit! The farrier is coming Tuesday and I am pondering if we pop some fronts on him and then I wouldn’t need to worry. But I’ll try and hold out as that feels like a cop out when he’s gone so well so far. I’ll stick to the plan and see how he is at the sponsored ride next week but also chat to the farrier to see what he thinks. I trust him and he’s not one to shoe just for the sake of it.

YCBM - thank you, that kind. It’s been quite a journey and not in a good way. I’m so pleased to have my boy back happy and well (although he‘s too fat so I need to get him a muzzle again after he broke the last one!).

 

[P.forpony]

Stick with it!

The process is stressful but definitely worth it in the end.

I was wobbling constantly for about 6 months, even knowing it would take at least that long.
Growing out the old nail holes was the worst. He was loosing chunks constantly and they looked pretty rough most of the time.

Once we got passed that point things massively improved.

And your chap seems streets ahead of how mine was, whe had to take the hinds off 6 weeks before the fronts so he wasn't completely crippled on all 4 at once, and was so so footy on anything but grass it made me cringe even bringing him in from the field.

We're off for a 12 mile funride this morning and I'm going to boot the fronts and leave the hinds and
Definitely going to try the hoof armour though to help with wear and tear so hopefully will have an update after that.

Your farrier sounds like a good chap, mine is my hero! Him being on board, totally supportive and willing to experiment and try different things, has been the only reason I made it through the wobbles.

 

[ycbm]

I confess I wobbling a bit! The farrier is coming Tuesday and I am pondering if we pop some fronts on him and then I wouldn’t need to worry. But I’ll try and hold out as that feels like a cop out when he’s gone so well so far. I’ll stick to the plan and see how he is at the sponsored ride next week but also chat to the farrier to see what he thinks. I trust him and he’s not one to shoe just for the sake of it.

YCBM - thank you, that kind. It’s been quite a journey and not in a good way. I’m so pleased to have my boy back happy and well (although he‘s too fat so I need to get him a muzzle again after he broke the last one!).

I can understand this and if hunting is your passion then I can understand you wanting front shoes on him. Hunting is definitely tough on bare feet and it's not certain that you'll be able to build up the work slowly enough to get the growth you'll need to see you through. It may sound strange but the on/off nature of what you're proposing might be harder for him than if he was out every week without fail and doing road work on another 4 or 5 days too.

If I could hunt legally round here it would be the one thing that might tempt me to shoe for the winter. If his feet are good enough now, you can always take the shoes off again in spring. Many people find a 3 month break every year enough to reset the feet.
.

 

[Bernster]

Thx YCBM - I was wondering about that a bit, would he cope with front shoes on for a bit if we end up doing more, then off again at the end of the season.

I’ll also check out the hoof armour.

 

[Bernster]

PS on the passion for hunting— I wasn’t really thinking about but, honestly, that feeling I got when I took him to xc course hire! It really took me back to our Hunting days. He’s so well suited to it and it’s just the best feeling! Not that I’m a seasoned hunter, could never fit that many in each season but it’s such a blast!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Thx YCBM - I was wondering about that a bit, would he cope with front shoes on for a bit if we end up doing more, then off again at the end of the season.

I’ll also check out the hoof armour.

I've drag hunted 2 in recent years with just fronts on, inc the likes of Barossa and Minley, the bare rears wore but not excessively. Obs better on the farmland venues.
I'd not have done the 2 that I mentioned barefoot tho, as you'll know they have quite stoney sections Bernster.
Fronts came off 1 at the end of the season and after a rest were fine to hack, the other had rears also put on for a v busy summer.

 

[P.forpony]

Quick update on the funride, the big man completed 13.5 miles with jumps, with front boots and bare hinds.
There were quite a few unavoidable gravely tracks which we took as carefully as I could persuade him to!

Overall outcome, sucess!

No rubs at all from the boots even though some of the going was pretty sticky and we built up some mud. Hinds obviously did wear a bit, and had a few nibbles taken out, but nothing that wasn't fixable with a quick rasp round the edges.

I think with the help of some hoof armour it's actually starting to look realistic the tb might make it hunting barefoot

 

[Gloi]

Great news

 

[Bernster]

Ooh that’s fab!

Farrier just trimmed my boy so I assume he thinks he’ll cope. That’s me deriving whatever I can from typical farrier comms, or lack of it! He does a good job though just not always great at communicating.

 

[Bernster]

Hooves held up really well at south ox ride. It’s mainly grass and non stony tracks though. He did prefer the grass verge on the stonier bits mwhich is understandable. And he felt very jolly and finished strong so even though he’s a bit porky he’s reasonably fit.

 

[P.forpony]

Hooves held up really well at south ox ride. It’s mainly grass and non stony tracks though. He did prefer the grass verge on the stonier bits mwhich is understandable. And he felt very jolly and finished strong so even though he’s a bit porky he’s reasonably fit.

That's really good news, keep us posted with your progress

 

[Bernster]

Still not made it out for various non hunt related reasons, but I wanted to share that my fabulous farrier just sent me a text to say how much better Finn’s foot balance is without shoes. His advice about the ground was to go steady as traction might be an issue, and not to get pissed

 

[ycbm]

Still not made it out for various non hunt related reasons, but I wanted to share that my fabulous farrier just sent me a text to say how much better Finn’s foot balance is without shoes. His advice about the ground was to go steady as traction might be an issue, and not to get pissed

Lord I've never seen such bad advice from a farrier!

Getting pissed definitely helps.

 

[Clodagh]

I thought getting peed at the meet was the only way to bravely negotiate the subsequent obstacles?

 

[Sealine]

I always found a little 'jumping juice' at the meet was a great confidence boost