Riding on tarmac - shoeless

C

ceristan

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Hi everyone. I am moving my horse to a livery yard about 3 miles from my current yard. I have ridden my horse without shoes for the last 5 years in fields. The reason for my post is that I have a dilemma. Do you think my horse can be ridden the 3 miles on tarmac without risking any soreness to his hooves? I want to move him next weekend and this would involve riding him to the new yard, otherwise I have to wait 5 weeks to move him (that's when a friend is available with their horsebox to transport him) It seems a long time to wait when I'm keen to move him and the journey is only 3 miles. He has good strong hooves and I would walk him all the way. I don't want to shoe him as when I get him to the new yard I'll be riding on bridle paths and fields.
 
I think your horse will be just fine, 3 miles is not that bad, if your horse is used to being barefoot and has good feet it will be fine.
It is stony ground that is more problematic but flat tarmac should be fine
 
As a 'one off' 3 miles is really not that far, especially if you are only walking. I would have thought he would be absolutely fine.
 
I do a lot of roadwork with my barefoot horses - tarmac is a great surface for transitioning from shod to barefoot. If your horse has been without shoes for five years then he should have reasonably healthy feet though if you've only ridden him on soft surfaces they won't be as strong as they could be - think of his feet like your hands. If you spend your life working in an office the skin on your hands will be soft. If you then spent a day working outside lifting bales of hay, sweeping, digging or whatever, you'd very quickly get blisters. However if you continued to work outside for a few weeks the skin on your hands would toughen up. It's the same with horses' feet. However you only have 3 miles to cover so he should manage just fine. I'd encourage you to get him out working on as many difference surfaces as you can once you move - the harder his feet work the stronger and healthier they'll get.
 
Three miles is not that far and your horse should be fine.
 
I have both of my horses shoeless and they easily do that amount of roadwork with no ill effects whatsoever, my farrier is all for (sensible!!) roadwork with an unshod foot as it keeps the hoof healthy and trimmed!!
 
As others have said, it shouldn't be a problem. It MAY be a problem if you repeated those three miles every day for the next week after years of working only on soft surfaces. A healthy barefoot needs work on a variety of surfaces to stay healthy, and it will be an interesting exercise for you to see how your horse wants to self-trim! But as with anything a gradual build-up is essential, so if possible do get out and about after the move with caution.

Good Luck! Hope the rest of the move goes well.
 
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