My first question.... Barefoot!

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LittleLady2

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Hello, I'm new. Been a bit of a lurker every now and then but decided to take the plunge and join.

I have a 15.2hh black cob x who has just been brought back into work. Averaging 2 - 3 20 minute hacks a week to build it up.

However, he currently has no shoes on, and has never had shoes on. Isn't foot sore, however can be a little weary if a path is stony. By this I mean just picks his way through.

I am nowhere near an expert on barefoot, am I or will I do any damage to the foot by carrying on this routine for the next 2 - 3 weeks?

Thanks for any advice!
 
you wont do damage - far from it the stimulation will help the hoof to grow. Why only 2-3 weeks? Dont tell us you're shoeing him then?
 
Agree with TT. I don't think its actually a problem for a horse to be careful walking over sharp stones, it doesn't mean they are uncomfortable just sensible. All of mine have done this while transitioning and their feet are getting better and better all the time.
 
TT I was planning on having him shod. As planning on doing a little more road work with him.

However, as I said I have very little experience with barefoot. Maybe a trim would be more beneficial, and then could always shoe later on if it doesn't work?
 
When a bare foot horse puts their foot on the floor their blood vessels dilate and the nerves are stimulated. When a horse is shod they go "numb" like we do with shoes. The shoes are more for impact and grip. I get a lot of people asking me if the horses get sore and sometimes my arthritic mare does, but the if any damage is done it tends to be if the horse is unsuitable for bare foot or the rider is inconsiderate. But sounds though yours should be fine :)
 
LittleLady2 said:
TT I was planning on having him shod. As planning on doing a little more road work with him.

However, as I said I have very little experience with barefoot. Maybe a trim would be more beneficial, and then could always shoe later on if it doesn't work?
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I do hours of road work on my horse, she never gets sore. If it's built up slowly (just as you build up their fitness in general) then there's no reason why they should need shoes. Unless you decide the horse when fit needs a high protein, high molassed diet. It's the diet that causes foot problems.
 
Excellent reply ridefast.....why not postpone the shoeing plan and investigate the possibilities of barefoot op?
 
Horses don't need shoes to do lots of roadwork, quite the opposite infact. Have a read through all the barefoot pots on here - you'd be surprised just how much barefoot horses can do :)
 
Roadwork's what keeps my horse's (bare) feet in good nick :) Plenty of stimulation and wear. Currently doing two to three miles on tarmac, twice a day in preparation for a 20km pleasure ride in a few weeks, and his feet have never been better. Think of yourself walking down the road in (a) bare feet, (b) regular shoes and (c) walking boots. You feel stones differently in each - barefoot, you will slow down and if you have to walk over gravel, you do it carefully - it doesn't hurt, because you're slow and careful. In regular shoes, you will feel a stone, but you probably won't slow down much. In walking boots, you won't feel stones. But... if you keep walking lots with your shoes off, you will stop feeling the stones as much and walk faster. When we holidayed in New Zealand, it was great to see lots of kids in country towns (and even some in the cities) running off to school without shoes - they just don't wear them as a matter of course the way we do. Bet they feel the gravel less, because they run around without shoes much more. It's the same for your horse - if you build up a good thick sole gradually, your horse may never need shoes. We just have a cultural bias towards shoeing... bet a New Zealand kid would come over here and wonder why everybody wore shoes all the time ;)
 
If he isn't foot sore there is no need to shoe keep them barefoot.....or for as long as possible!!! My mare is in full time work and doesn't have shoes on (WBxTB), she is "careful on big stoney paths too but otherwise just trundles along fine. She jumps, hacks, competes etc without them :)
 
Thanks for all the advice! Think I'm going to try the barefoot route and see how it goes. I think I just fell into the old school thought of every horse needs shoes.
 
You must have a farrier whom trims your horses feet??? Farriers have to train for years in this country to be fully qualified!!! why not ask him about the situation which you are having, it just maybe a little foot sore and im sure your farrier will be happy to trim your horses feet for you!! I have my competion horses which are shod and my semi retired go barefoot my farrier does both and i would prefere them to look after my horses feet just that they have had so many years training and at the end of the day its personal choice and which works best for you hun xxx
 
Brightbay said:
When we holidayed in New Zealand, it was great to see lots of kids in country towns (and even some in the cities) running off to school without shoes - they just don't wear them as a matter of course the way we do. Bet they feel the gravel less, because they run around without shoes much more. It's the same for your horse - if you build up a good thick sole gradually, your horse may never need shoes. We just have a cultural bias towards shoeing... bet a New Zealand kid would come over here and wonder why everybody wore shoes all the time ;)
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Gosh you make us sound "outback" and so rural ! I was born and live in New Zealand and have done all my life and I wear shoes ! Too damn cold in the winter not too. Although my Dad had lots of stories of when he was a boy, going to school barefoot (couldn't afford shoes - but this was in about 1935) and standing in cow pats to warm up his feet.

OP - leave your boy barefoot if you can, he will be fine. I endurance ride BF and given a bit of time they condition themselves quite nicely to whatever you are riding over.:)
 
Tarmac is perfect for conditioning barefoot hooves. Just make sure the diet is right (not as complicated as it sounds), if he is footy consider too much sugar or thrush before you rush for shoes.
 
fuzzle said:
You must have a farrier whom trims your horses feet??? Farriers have to train for years in this country to be fully qualified!!! why not ask him about the situation which you are having, it just maybe a little foot sore and im sure your farrier will be happy to trim your horses feet for you!!
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how will trimming a foot sore horse help?
 
FfionWinnie - what sort of diet would you recommended, what's best, what to avoid?

My boy isn't footsore, that's why I have started debating the whole barefoot versus shoeing. I think trimming back an already sore foot would increase the problem rather than solve.

I'm quite happy with his feet. Never had any problems (touch wood)
 
NZJenny said:
Gosh you make us sound "outback" and so rural ! I was born and live in New Zealand and have done all my life and I wear shoes ! Too damn cold in the winter not too. Although my Dad had lots of stories of when he was a boy, going to school barefoot (couldn't afford shoes - but this was in about 1935) and standing in cow pats to warm up his feet.
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Just saying what I saw - I saw more people (mainly kids in "smart" school uniforms, so by no means hillbilly look) without shoes in three weeks in NZ, north and south islands - than I have in 50 years in Ireland and the UK. It was early spring, and the weather was cool and even frosty some mornings. I was impressed, to be honest, rather than feeling it was in any way rural - bet they grow up with better posture, and fewer bunions and ingrowing toenails! If you can do it, and the weather permits - do it :) Same for horses, IMO ;)

Re diet - best barefoot diet is the one that avoids any inflammation or deterioration of the feet (which to some extent, is masked by shoes). So more forage/less grain. Enough forage to keep guts healthy and horse fit enough to work, but not so much that they go above condition score 3. Lower sugar forage (so poorer pasture rather than neon green grass) - same as us, you can eat larger meals of lower calorie, higher roughage, and that keeps horse (and us) feeling full and satisfied, rather than high sugar meals where you can only eat small amounts and horse (and us) feel more hungry as a result. If using hay or haylage, try to get late cut, lower sugar (hay and haylage that farmers make for cattle tends to be cut earlier to get the highest sugar - much less suitable for horses). Horse's feet seem to be sensitive to having the right balance of minerals in their feed - if anything is lacking, they seem to show it in their hoof growth and comfort when working. So adding a (low calorie ;) balancer seems to help get good hoof growth. Barefoot folk on here including me have had success with ProBalance (from eBay) and Forageplus. Try to avoid any feed or balancer that states it contains iron, since this is oversupplied in almost all UK pasture and may affect hoof quality. In winter, horses seem to benefit from added Vitamin E, which they can't get in hay or winter grass.

That's about it? Keep it simple, keep it low calorie, keep horse feeling satisfied, make sure minerals are sufficient.
 
My four year old tb x has never been shod, he does about 3 1/2 - 4hrs hacking per week, no need for shoes, even when I up that next year he will not need shoes. Your cob will be fine if you up the workload unshod.
 
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