Persevere or not .....?

[TeamChaser]

Had boys shoes taken off nearly 10 weeks ago and they've had nice long holiday. Have had them trimmed again 3 weeks ago and all looking good - TB especially had grown quite a lot of foot ... bit of a surprise!

They are out 24/7 in large field but not huge amount of grass so weight ok - although they've obviously put on few kilos having been off for a while. Having handful of unmolassed chaff and soaked grass nuts every day with biotin/zinc supplement and linseed

As they have put on bit of weight, started working them again Saturday (Lockie will have to be fit for team chasing in 10/11 weeks time). They are fine walking out on lanes where surface is smooth but if we encounter even the tiniest stones, both are really feeling it .... and I feel bad! They will have shoes back on anyway at some point as they do a lot of work autumn/winter and hunt/team chase, but question is do I persevere for a little longer or put shoes back on now? Only planning on walking exercise for a couple of weeks anyway as need to build fitness gradually up the hills but will they improve and adapt at all? Was planning on riding 2 days then 1 day off to let their feet get accustomed but don't like taking them out if they're hobbling over any stony bits

Thanks for any thoughts

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Why don't you get boots and pads? If you want them to have a rest from shoes they are the cheapest option and will help protect tooties from pain and bruising.

 

[TwoStroke]

If you want to give your horses a break from shoes every year, and as you do most of your harder work in autumn and winter, I would suggest getting them some front boots each. Spring and summer are often more difficult times to transition due to the grass growth - and being out 24/7 makes that a major factor, unfortunately.

Hooves will adapt, but it sounds like you're on a bit of a schedule, so boots and pads would ensure that you could keep the work up and get the most out of the horses' time out of shoes. As you'd be using them for a limited time, they should last a long time, making them a good investment, so to speak.

 

[TeamChaser]

Thanks for responses both - will look in to some boots


Appreciate I've probably got things wrong way round in terms of the seasons! Unfortunately they have fairly limited turnout autumn/winter and need to be fit so are exercised a lot. I do then let them have 2 months holiday in spring to just be out full time and chill and feet have stood up really well - no problems with cracking/crumbling and they've been perfectly sound in field. They just are now struggling a bit on any stony ground now we've started working again. Would hopefully plan to give their feet a break again next spring/summer so boots would be good investment as you say


Thanks again