Not having your horse shod.....

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tye_bo

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I think I read ages ago about the back to basic's method of not shoeing your horses but having their feet trimmed instead. Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can find out more information or even tell me more about it? Can you ride as normal (ie on the roads), can your usual farrier trim the feet, any thing else I should know?

Thanks!
 
My pony has no shoes on and has very good feet, the farrier said he could do roughly 1 1/2 hours of hacking on the road per week with no shoes on. He was also schooled and lunged within a field most days with no problems. Your usual farrier should be able to trim the feet yes, it is part of his job and he would possibly do it whenever you have new shoes on anyways if the feet are a little long.
 
We have two unshod (one retired) and one with only front shoes on. We ride as normal with no problems, we have the farrier to trim as would not want anyone with less knowledge, training and registration touching our horses feet. They tend to slip less on the road, but whether it suits your horse or not depends on how well the horn grows. The person to discuss this with is your farrier.
 
Wow that's interesting thanks. Why do you or people tend to choose not to shoe? Whats the benefits in going down that route? Isn't a bit slippy on the roads with no shoes on?
 
My Haflinger has never been shod and because she hasnt had to transition from a 'shod foot' shape, her feet naturally wear properly. The farrier takes a rasp round them to tidy them up, thats it. My other horse is shod so he doesnt charge me for it.

Her first ridden season was last summer and she found the hard dry gravelly roads a bit much to start with and got a buised sole once. So I used Boa hoof boots all summer for riding. Once we got to autumn she didnt need them any more and they havent had to go on yet this year.

I do everything as normal, all paces all surfaces, including roads and am hoping to do endurance with her.

She had Farriers formula last summer but now has Dengie healthy Hooves and nothing else, its low calorie and she loves it.

It's a lot harder if you take a horse that is shod out of shoes, there you probably need a specialist barefoot trimmer, would probably need hoof boots for a good while for riding and might even need sole pads inside them too.

the Nagtrader forums on barefoot trimming are good, you might want to have a look at them.

Either way if you do barefoot you do need to be more attentive to the hooves and their state - but thats no bad thing I dont reckon :-))

good luck!
 
No they slip less on the road as the foot can have a more natural action. The main one is not shod is that no one could get a shoe on her! It takes sedaline to trim her feet, she is 17hh of shirexclydesdale. The Appy had front shoes put bacdk on when she was having issues with her neck and back as she was wearing the hooves down unequally. It is not a vast amount cheaper as you pay for your farriers time. They do not need visits as often, once they are used to it, as the hoof wears down on its own.
 
I used to have all my horses shod. One now has no shoes .One only ever had front shoes.When they came off used Old Macdonalds boots for first summer. Just taken back shoes off other horse and she is fine. Still do some road work and my farrier trims them for £15. Must admit tidyied one up myself with a rasp I bought from Robinsons and it was fine. Just ask your farrier he should advise you.
 
Thanks everyone, it's something for me to think about thanks....
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My two aren't shod. They were, but one is notorious for losing a shoe (only had fronts anyway). The other had shoes for ever, but change of lifestyle meant I could go shoeless. Both have really good feet and are trimmed regularly.

We don't do much roadwork as have many tracks and trails to ride in, max of ten minutes on road/paths really.

Neither has been footsore, but if they showed signs of soreness i would shoe them again.
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Have a look at this website: http://www.performancebarefoot.co.uk/

It's one of the best and it'll tell you how to get started in barefoot management.

It's not just about the feet - barefoot management is 'whole horse management' in its broadest sense. There's no point in simply taking their shoes off and getting someone to shape the feet a bit, you need to think about diet, exercise and general health as well

but it's worth it, for those of us who go down that route

good luck

E
 
My mare used to be shod. She has been unshod now for two years. She never needed the special boots during the transition period. She was just a bit 'footy' on stoney ground. I wouldn't ride her over stoney ground, just led her over it at her chosen pace (i.e. slowly). That was only in the first year, then her feet were hard enough to have no problems. She is trimmed by a farrier, never needed to look into equine podiatry (and I think a lot of what goes on under that and 'barefoot trimmer' is a scam) and she needed no special supplements.

It all depends on the quality of an individual horse's feet though, so you really need to discuss your horse with a farrier - of course not one that is anti-barefoot!
 
Agree with Stella, it will largely depend on how good your horses feet are. Hooves can be improved with care and diet adjustments, but some hooves will just never cope with much work unles shod. Five of my six are not shod and are fine, but they do not do masses of work. Speak to a good farrier - hopefully your current farrier - and see what they recommend. A good farrier will help you try going unshod, but be prepared for it to fail.
 
i have one who is barefoot, but retired and the other is shod in front, but only because i've had him a week and he came with them - i might try him again without them because his feet are rock solid and he doesn't flinch over stony ground. he hunted in wales unshod, so i'm sure he can cope with our sandy hacking and schooling.
 
I have two Welsh Cobs shod only in front - both do plenty of road work and have competed ODE upto 3' and SJ upto 3'6 like that. My AA mare has never had shoes on - she's happy on the road and will be eventing with no shoes, we expect her to PN this year. My section A mare is a driving pony nowadays and will happily go out on the road every day unshod.

All these animals are just trimmed by my farrier. hth
 
Both mine are barefoot. My TBx has poor feet so doesn't hold shoes well and tbh I don't really like teh idea of putting nails into my horses foot
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My farrier is always honest with me about how their feet are looking. The pony wont ever have a problem but my TBx has old macs if we do more than 1 hour road work a week but we gen stay in the school or the fields.
 
This is a bit of a can of worms!
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As others have said, some horses will be fine barefoot, others won't. Some horses will need lots of conditioning work on their feet, others have basicly good structure and need little additional conditioning. Some farriers will do a good barefoot trim others will not and an EP will be your best bet.

Before you take the leap do as much reading and study that you can. I have never regretted taking any of my horses barefoot. My current horse is a warmblood and is over 17hh. He is fine hacking out over stones and concrete etc. He is working at medium level dressage and his movement and paces are very good.

Another website to look at: equine podiatry association The Chosen Road by KC La Pierre is a good read as are Jamie Jacksons book

Good luck
 
Star is barefoot at the moment, and as the ground gets harder over Summer will sport a pair of shoes on her fronts. But they will come off again in the Autumn.
 
This opens up a whole new can of worms - EP V Farrier.
Some farriers it would seem are incapable of doing a good working trim, however some - like mine - are brilliant.
 
My pony is unshod, currently farrier trimmed, but I did them myself before my back gave in (and the farrier said he had smashing feet *blush*!). He went unshod years ago as he hated the process and I discovered lots of others didn't shoe. I went through the KC La Pierre training route, doing two courses, in addition to trimming under supervision from a farrier. Have had some farriers that couldn't balance a glass on a desk, let alone a hoof, but current one does a nice job, so I've stuck with him even though back is improving - I've gotten lazy!
 
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