Please tell me why the obsession with barefoot?

J

Jasper99

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Hi everyone, I'm new *waves*

Now before you start, I'm not a troll, I have been lurking for a long time and I wanted to join purely to ask the question :

Why is there such an obsession with going barefoot?

Please don't kill me :o
 
Why not? If shoes are an unnecessary intervention for my horse then why would I use them?

My horse doesn't need oats so I don't feed them.
Doesn't need a Pelham so she doesn't wear one.
Doesn't need a grackle.
Doesn't need shoes.........

All of these things have their place but not for my horse.

So why would I shoe?
 
I wouldn't say it's an 'obsession'.

My two are barefoot because they don't wear shoes in the wild - I believe in keeping their lifestyle as close to natural as I can - and having shoes nailed on to them restricts the hooves' natural growth pattern, which will cause problem after problem.

Not to mention the constant losing of shoes in the mud, the risk of shoes twisting and puncturing their sole, the forking out of over £70 a month to get their feet done (as opposed to £25 every two months for a trim)....

How long did horses survive before us humans came along and started modifying them to suit our lives?
 
Some horses can take being barefoot. Some can't. It has always been thus, but at the moment, it's a 'hot topic'.
 
Because it's the current fad. My horses aren't shod because they aren't ridden at the moment. When they are ridden if they need shoeing they get shod,depend mainly on their hooves as I had 1 cob who's feet were so hard they had trouble trimming them.:):)
 
Because they don't need them, all mine came without shoes and have excellent feet and its so much cheaper £14 a pony.... obviously if they had some sudden real need for shoes they would get them but why waste money?
 
It's not an 'obsession', barefoot is generally better for the horse and pocket, also less chance of nasty injuries if anyone is unlucky enough to be kicked.
I think shoes should be seen as a 'last resort' rather than the other way around.
 
Why is there an obsession with shoeing?
I've shared one mare with shoes, other than that all have been barefoot. Simply put mine have never needed them. OHs father is a farrier and with about 50 horses, two are shod. The rest don't need it so why whack an expensive piece of metal on with a horse it isn't needed?
 
Hi,

I don't think of it as an obsession - some horses/ponies just don't need them.

If they need them for health, terrain, etc then they need them - a wild horse doesn't use a farrier - a kept and worked horse/pony will for many reasons or not need them.

In my case - my lad came to me bare foot from a yard with roadwork/level hacking - my yard has different hacking (ex-mine area - very hilly, rocky/ exposed brick works) and it has helped him having fronts for extra traction - I did ride him bare shod to begin with and he slipped a lot underfoot.

I'd rather my lad be bare shod - cheaper. But hey - as long as he's okay - whats the main thing.

:D
 
If my horse could work without shoes then I wouldn't bother shoeing her, why would I shoes are expensive and not wearing shoes is not a new concept. To be honest although I am interested in hoof health etc, we have a lot of gravel/hardcore tracks here and I expect most horses would struggle, I struggle in my wellies! So she has shoes on all 4 currently although may try with backs off.*

Each to their own, I just find it amazing how much effort people put in, feeding endless hay all year as the grass is all wrong and supplements and 'barefoot trimmers', oh and hoof boots!
 
It's curious why people wanting the best for their horses should be considered obsessed. :rolleyes:

It's also odd that nothing much has changed in shoe design in the centuries since humans started to nail iron to their horses hooves. Is it because the concept was so perfect that there was no need to change it?..doubtful.
The only people with a vested interest in shoeing horses are farriers and there would be no incentive for them to innovate themselves out of a job. So the only other viable option to iron shoes is no shoes.
 
It's a bit like me asking why the obsession with being shod,which I wouldn't do on here as would be a sure fire way to start a row,just like this thread no doubt:rolleyes:

Besides there are far more worrying things in the world that people are obsessed with,reality tv shows spring to mind;)
 
Jasper99 said:
Hi everyone, I'm new *waves*

Now before you start, I'm not a troll, I have been lurking for a long time and I wanted to join purely to ask the question :

Why is there such an obsession with going barefoot?

Please don't kill me :o
Click to expand...

I haven't noticed an obsession with barefoot in real life, but if you are alluding to the amount of hoof/barefoot related posts on this forum in particular - then it is because over the last few years this forum has become a 'safe place' to discuss such things.

It wasn't always so....believe me :eek:.

You often get spates of barefoot related posts at certain times.

It's heartbreaking when otherwise healthy horses are lost to hoof related lamenesses and associated problems that follow, when it could have been prevented. So I am delighted that people are comfortable enough to keep asking questions.
 
Not an obsession for me, a necessity- all previous horses have been shod, this one can't hold shoes and has awful feet- which my farrier agrees is because of shoeing.. so his shoes have come off- if it works, great, if not, shoes will go back on- but at the moment he is doing well and his feet look better than they have for ages.
 
Well, evolution didn't put horses on my shoes and I don't ride on the road so I don't shoe them. I think it's sensible to give them what they need to have healthy feet (nature didn't intend for horses to eat hard feed or haylage either) but I never knew there was such an interest in the technicalities of going 'barefoot' til I joined the forum.

We always thought of it as just plain and simple unshod. In fact I always thought it was normal to have your horses unshod if they aren't doing lots of roadwork or aren't in need of studs, but that's just me.
 
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Why use the emotive word "obsession"?

OP is just trying to start a fight, I suggest we ignore.... bet some people cannot help themselves though! I've only read page 1, wonder how it is going??
 
peony said:
I wouldn't say it's an 'obsession'.

My two are barefoot because they don't wear shoes in the wild - I believe in keeping their lifestyle as close to natural as I can - and having shoes nailed on to them restricts the hooves' natural growth pattern, which will cause problem after problem.

Not to mention the constant losing of shoes in the mud, the risk of shoes twisting and puncturing their sole, the forking out of over £70 a month to get their feet done (as opposed to £25 every two months for a trim)....

How long did horses survive before us humans came along and started modifying them to suit our lives?
Click to expand...

So you don't ride or handle your horses at all and they are free to roam just like they would in the wild too?

I don't think its necessary if horses are not in work or in light work with no roads. But I do personally think its a fashion thing at the moment, that and shoes are expensive and people want to save money.
 
Ye olde humans didn't wear shoes either, but I definitely don't want to walk down the road without them.
My only experience of an unshod horse was a share a while ago who seemed to go on tip-toes over any stony, rough ground. I felt I should get off and carry him over it. He was also constantly lame with foot absesses.
If you can get it to work, I love the idea of being more in tune with the nature of the 'real horse'. But then, nature didn't expect someone to be sitting on them, riding them over varying terrain etc, and breeding them to be so much bigger than the original species.
 
oh you have started the thread I planned to start! don't understand the barefoot lobby either, I don't mean the ones who sensibly discuss practicalities but the ones who insist it suits every horse which I don't believe to be the case from my experience

I had a much loved Welsh cob who was always much happier with shoes than without. this was irrespective of diet, exercise whatever. tried going shoeless 3 x times.he couldn't cope and I wouldn't put a horse who felt how he did about it again. longest he went without shoes was 8 months many years ago, had blood in the white line when trimmed to re shoe.

can never get my head round the evolution didn't give my horse shoes argument,as far as I can see evolution didn't give horses tarmac road surfaces or hairless apes sitting on them either.

fwiw I now have a Fell pony who has never been shod and quite happily trundles along the stoniest going. trimmed by my farrier and fed and kept the same way as my old boy was. in my view current pony isn't barefoot she just isn't shod!
 
I don't think op is trying to start a fight. I think it is just due to the sheer volume of threads of barefoot and barefoot trimmers etc.
It was always called unshod until recently where it is now barefoot.
I think the biggest advantage is cost and therefore I will have any horse not in much work unshod.
However everyone stating they never had shoes in wild why now. Well just common sense is in the wild they are not on roads for hours after end. They are not being ridden therefore no added weight. They are not being schooled and jumped for say an hour most days on sand or whatever surface which wears down the hoof also. We put the horse into a completely different environment so we can't expect them to cope with everything in the same way as they used to in the wild.
Therefore the majority of competition horses will have shoes, leisure horses not. However exceptions for both. It's very much what suits both horses and owners just as long as its not to the detriment of the horse
My horse has shoes , my daughters pony does not and my youngster does not but shall see how he is once in ridden work.
 
I'm sure it's not an obsession for people who keep their horses I that way :)

HOWEVER I totally understand why you would use that word in relation to these boards, as sometimes when you log on every other thread is about barefoot and it can sometimes seem to take over a little.
 
three of four of mine do none to little work so dont need shoes
fourth one doesnt need shoes for up to 2 hours road work Yet, she does a few pleasure rides at the minute if she needs shoes to go further she will be shod if not she wont. She certainly doesnt need shoes for x country, dressage and showjumping or even showing but the fashion there is for shoes so I will have to see about that.
She is farrier trimmed as necessary often only every 12 weeks to keep her feet balanced she wears them evenly most of the time but can stub the toes a bit
 
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