Oh no... Barefoot/unshod question RE taken hind shoes off my mare. *Puts on tin hat*

Meowy Catkin

Meowy Catkin

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So, my mare has just had her hind shoes off. I've just started to hack her out down the lanes in walk only (she's on a strict fitness programme) and we went for hack number four yesterday.

OK,

for the first few minutes of each ride she has actively avoided any stones on the road (makes total sense to me as she only had the shoes off for less than two weeks) but after about 1/2 an hour she isn't being so careful about where she steps and feels happier to plonk her hooves anywhere. Is this normal?

I am slightly worried about this 'careful hoof placement' at the start of our rides, but this is the mare that has had a terrible time over the last year and I want to do the right thing for her.

*worried owner* :o
 
It might just take her a while to adjust to the road work, perservere and im sure whe will come right. If shes always worn back shoes, it might just take her time for her hooves to toughten up for roadwork.
 
sounds like my senario too, although mine are the fronts.

When we took the backs off, you would have thought the end of the world had happened as mine wouldn't even move
 
Remember in the good old days when all the beaches were stony and it took us a couple of days to get used to it? At the end of the two weeks we were running around as if on the finest sand.

Your horse is just in her adjustment phase. Don't worry.
 
It's normal. She starts off avoiding the stones because she thinks they will hurt. Then she steps on one or two and finds it doesn't. Then she plonks her feet down because she is confident. It'll wear off in time. It's amazing how footie a horse can sometimes seem on the way out from home and how rockstomping on the way home :) !
 
ok im thick i really dont understand this barefooted stuff - baby is un shod was ridden over everything and hey no probs at all - big lad is shod in front - TBx - but no shoes behind and fine - after 42 years im flummoxed - either a horse is shod or not so mmmm if unshod their barefooted lol yes ? ok i understand its about supposed trimming but jesus dont we make horse keeping confusing but im aged lol - when asked my farrier he wet him self lol -)
 
cptrayes said:
It's normal. She starts off avoiding the stones because she thinks they will hurt. Then she steps on one or two and finds it doesn't. Then she plonks her feet down because she is confident. It'll wear off in time. It's amazing how footie a horse can sometimes seem on the way out from home and how rockstomping on the way home :) !
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I was going to say something along these lines :)
 
Wonderful, I'll try to stop being overly worried about nothing and keep going with her fitness programme. :)

The farrier wants me to stick to the lanes for the first month before taking her off-road. I'm happy to do this as our local bridleways are very, very steep and tricky going.


ETA. My filly who's never been shod, doesn't care where she puts her hooves right from the start of her walk (led out in-hand along the same lanes as the mare). What I was noticing was the difference between the two horses and the difference between the mare at the start and the end of her rides.
 
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laura_nash said:
If unshod and sound in work then yes, doesn't have anything to do with the trim etc. The "barefoot" term is just used to differentiate from horses that are also unshod but are either not worked (youngsters, broodmares, retired horses) or booted for all their work.
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Since when ? My unshod horse is in full work. He's just not shod.
 
Unshod=barefoot. It's just semantics and mostly irrelevant unless the point is to differentiate between a 'farrier' trim and a 'barefoot' trim.

And no I am not going to try and do that on this thread :D
 
appylass said:
Same here, surely the term 'barefoot' simply means 'without shoes'?
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I understand barefoot to apply more to those who centre the management of their horses around being shoe-less. ie diet/mineral balancing/specific work patterns/turnout - all designed to optimise hoof health in order to allow their horses to work over all surfaces without shoes.

Unshod I tend to think applies to those who are happy to leave shoes off - so long as the horses cope ok, with no major changes to diet or environment needed. Its more the attitude that horses have a job to do, and these type of owners generally don't have time or facilities to overhaul their management for the sake of going 'barefoot'.
 
Nocturnal said:
I understand barefoot to apply more to those who centre the management of their horses around being shoe-less. ie diet/mineral balancing/specific work patterns/turnout - all designed to optimise hoof health in order to allow their horses to work over all surfaces without shoes.

Unshod I tend to think applies to those who are happy to leave shoes off - so long as the horses cope ok, with no major changes to diet or environment needed. Its more the attitude that horses have a job to do, and these type of owners generally don't have time or facilities to overhaul their management for the sake of going 'barefoot'.
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I took my old ponies shoes off when he injured himself. Purely because he couldn't put weight on the injured leg long enough for the farrier to shoe the other foot. I was already feeding him with his hoof health in mind (always do - isn't that an important part of managing any horse, shod or not?!) and he was on boxrest spending nights on bliss bedding and day time just on hardstanding with a sprinkling of bedding (also in part to look after his feet as prone to thrush as well as to ease boredom and enable him to have company). Is this barefoot or unshod!?!?!

Is it really the type of owner that determines whether it's "barefoot" or "unshod"? Or is it the horse? Some horses just get on with it without shoes or have never had them so don't know any different. Others don't cope so well and need time and different management to adjust.
 
AshTay said:
I took my old ponies shoes off when he injured himself. Purely because he couldn't put weight on the injured leg long enough for the farrier to shoe the other foot. I was already feeding him with his hoof health in mind (always do - isn't that an important part of managing any horse, shod or not?!) and he was on boxrest spending nights on bliss bedding and day time just on hardstanding with a sprinkling of bedding (also in part to look after his feet as prone to thrush as well as to ease boredom and enable him to have company). Is this barefoot or unshod!?!?!

Is it really the type of owner that determines whether it's "barefoot" or "unshod"? Or is it the horse? Some horses just get on with it without shoes or have never had them so don't know any different. Others don't cope so well and need time and different management to adjust.
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I think it is the owner that determines whether a horse is barefoot or unshod. Many people don't feed with optimum hoof health in mind - otherwise all those feed companies which sell sugary, starchy mixes would go out of business!

If the owner is willing/able to take the time and change their managment to accommodate taking shoes off, I would call their horses barefoot. Just mho, though.
 
Christ!! Does it really matter, I don't think I would shoot anyone down if they had their horse on a track system, mineral balanced, doing everything they can diet and management wise, and then referred to their horse as being unshod, likewise if someone referred to their fat field ornament as barefoot, I wouldn't correct them and say, ahem, oh no, sorry your horse is actually unshod.

This is coming from someone who is training to be a barefoot trimmer, or should that be unshod trimmer??? Natural hoof care practitioner :D
 
Un shod to me means no shoes and just getting on with it. The lucky ones have no problems. Barefoot to me means looking at the horse as a whole and working towards providing what that individual horse needs adjusting diet, management, work load, protection as needed and having a good (for that individual) trim to ensure bare hooves function as they are meant to.

It is semantics to a degree as it, as with all terms, depends on our individual interpretation.

No, it shouldn't matter kittykatcat. We should all be ensuring our horses are of optimum health and are fit for what we ask them to do.
 
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Take it easy, kittykatcat ;). No one's suggesting it's the b all and end all. The different terms do have different connotations to me, though.
 
Exactly. If you can take a horse's shoes off and have them rock crunching straight away - lucky you. If you have to put in a bit more thought and effort in to dietary and management strategies to have your horse working in what he was born with, then so be it!
 
Confused! ???

So my boy was barefoot as a youngster and at the age of 4 when I backed him he became un-shod?

What happened when he started doing more work at the age of 4 and a half and needed fronts on? Is he a half shod or half barefoot pony? ;)
 
Nocturnal said:
I understand barefoot to apply more to those who centre the management of their horses around being shoe-less. ie diet/mineral balancing/specific work patterns/turnout - all designed to optimise hoof health in order to allow their horses to work over all surfaces without shoes.

Unshod I tend to think applies to those who are happy to leave shoes off - so long as the horses cope ok, with no major changes to diet or environment needed. Its more the attitude that horses have a job to do, and these type of owners generally don't have time or facilities to overhaul their management for the sake of going 'barefoot'.
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So your definition is that barefoot owners are commited to keeping shoes off the horse and owners of unshod horses do it by luck rather than commitment ?
That is utter tosh. I am totally committed to every aspect of the horses in my care, but I won't follow an ideal when it conflicts with their well being, so if my horse is struggling after I've looked at the problem from every angle, then the shoes go on.
 
horserider said:
So your definition is that barefoot owners are commited to keeping shoes off the horse and owners of unshod horses do it by luck rather than commitment ?
That is utter tosh. I am totally committed to every aspect of the horses in my care, but I won't follow an ideal when it conflicts with their well being, so if my horse is struggling after I've looked at the problem from every angle, then the shoes go on.
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If they are still struggling then it is likely that they either have a metabolic illness, or that you haven't looked at the problem from every angle.
 
horserider said:
Since when ? My unshod horse is in full work. He's just not shod.
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Since before the script was written for the original True Grit film, at the very latest. The heroine, about to ride a newly broken horse whose feet are not accustomed to work, says "you'd better get some shoes on it, I ain't riding no barefoot horse".

Do you walk around your house in the morning when you have just got out of bed "unshod"? No, you walk around it barefoot.

Why on EARTH must people keep on and on and on trying to pick fights on this forum over a term we happily use for humans? It's just a word, for gawd sakes let's get over it!
 
lilaclomax said:
Confused! ???

So my boy was barefoot as a youngster and at the age of 4 when I backed him he became un-shod?

What happened when he started doing more work at the age of 4 and a half and needed fronts on? Is he a half shod or half barefoot pony? ;)
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No-one gives a damn about what you call it, but why did he need fronts on when our horses don't?
 
cptrayes said:
No-one gives a damn about what you call it, but why did he need fronts on when our horses don't?
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Because I ride for miles along flinty and stoney tracks, we have no road work or nice grass stretches - every track has been ultilised for cyclists and walkers so mud is a thing of the past around here!

If I rode him in the school alone and around the town then barefoot would be fine but due to the surface he rides on and the amount of work he gets shoes are the only way of keeping his feet without bruising. He is bare behind as his back end doesn't carry the extra weight of his head or the majority of myself ;)

He has fantastic feet and is healthy and happy - but to ensure I maximise his entertainment by visiting new and old sites out and about, the shoes come out - and if I could find a great pair of boots that do not rub, fill up with muddy water or get lost miles from the yard I would consider them ;)
 
I never thought my mare would manage barefoot/unshod (to-may-toe/to-mah-toe-surely?) but we recently took her back shoes off and my daughter has done some light road work with her and she seems fine. Not sure if we'll take the fronts off, maybe over winter.
 
lilaclomax said:
Because I ride for miles along flinty and stoney tracks, we have no road work or nice grass stretches - every track has been ultilised for cyclists and walkers so mud is a thing of the past around here!

If I rode him in the school alone and around the town then barefoot would be fine but due to the surface he rides on and the amount of work he gets shoes are the only way of keeping his feet without bruising. He is bare behind as his back end doesn't carry the extra weight of his head or the majority of myself ;)

He has fantastic feet and is healthy and happy - but to ensure I maximise his entertainment by visiting new and old sites out and about, the shoes come out - and if I could find a great pair of boots that do not rub, fill up with muddy water or get lost miles from the yard I would consider them ;)
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There are loads of us who ride for miles on bad tracks. At Rockley they hunt a whole team of them, half of them rehabs who were lame in shoes. I've hunted three myself, covering broken brick tracks at high speed and jumping from and onto hardcore. There are barefoot horses doing 100 mile competitive rides.

I would suggest that if his feet bruised at four and a half then it was more likely to be because you wanted to increase his work faster than his foot quality at the time would allow. I don't have any problem with you shoeing if that's the case, but if so then I think it was far too early to say he could not cope without shoes.

Just out of interest, before you had him shod, did you try cutting back on sugary grass, optimising his diet for high fibre/low carbs, feeding magnesium oxide, checking for mineral imbalances like high iron/manganese and low copper that cause thin soles and sensitivity????
 
horserider said:
No, to the first and yes to the second. Then decided to use shoes when appropriate.
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Yes you looked at every angle?

Did you get a mineral balance analysis of your grazing and each batch of forage?
Did you check your white bag labels and remove all food with molasses/wheat syrup/corn syrup in them?
Did you restrict grazing to night only in spring/summer/autumn and possibly muzzle as well?
Did you use boots and pads for a while to provide stimulation to build up the sole and heels?
Did you work the horse consistently on conformable surfaces to provide maximum stimulation to build up the sole and heels?
Did you build a well designed track system so that your horse could have maxiumum movement while not having access to too much grass?
Did you provide your horse with dry "turnout" in winter, so that movement could be kept up while not having the feet always soggy?

For some horses one of, some of, all of, or even more than those things are necessary for them to work well barefoot. You might not have wanted to do any of those things, and prefer to shoe, which is fine. But if you did not do those things, then you did not look at the problem from every angle. If you did all those things then I apologise for doubting you.
 
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