shod horse...going barefoot in days???

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horseandshoes77

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Ok well my dales was turned away at the end of oct just because of lack of stable grazing where we were...anyway...i had farrier take his shoes off in nov....my daughter still wanted to ride him on weekends...not far but where we are we have a road or two and the bridleways are tarmac in someplaces etc...some stone and basically doing a 1 hr hack would entail all sorts of terrain.....well hes been shod for the past 4 yrs without a break but does have good feet...iv not fed him anything specifically for feet etc....hes been hacking out every weekend for maybe 1-2 hours and 1 day a week with me and i can honestly say even over the stones etc hes been fine...hes cantered over fields etc trotted over the rough and hes managed no probs...so im thinking why am i paying for shoes as hes coping fine....and if i keep him bare foot will i need to adjust diet etc...just if hes ok now after being shod for 4 years plus...will i need to adjust anything ? iv read lots of the barefoot threads and it seems horses need dif diets and trimming etc...any thoughts appreciated :)
 
If he's doing everything you want without shoes on I would say it ain't broke so don't fix it. If you have any issues in spring when the grass comes through then you should look at additional magnesium oxide and I would also strongly recommend yeast. You may also need to restrict his grazing during daylight hours. But it sounds like you have one of the many horses who never miss their shoes and leave us all wondering why we have been told for decades that you can't hack a horse on roads or stones without them.
 
horseandshoes77 said:
Ok well my dales was turned away at the end of oct just because of lack of stable grazing where we were...anyway...i had farrier take his shoes off in nov....my daughter still wanted to ride him on weekends...not far but where we are we have a road or two and the bridleways are tarmac in someplaces etc...some stone and basically doing a 1 hr hack would entail all sorts of terrain.....well hes been shod for the past 4 yrs without a break but does have good feet...iv not fed him anything specifically for feet etc....hes been hacking out every weekend for maybe 1-2 hours and 1 day a week with me and i can honestly say even over the stones etc hes been fine...hes cantered over fields etc trotted over the rough and hes managed no probs...so im thinking why am i paying for shoes as hes coping fine....and if i keep him bare foot will i need to adjust diet etc...just if hes ok now after being shod for 4 years plus...will i need to adjust anything ? iv read lots of the barefoot threads and it seems horses need dif diets and trimming etc...any thoughts appreciated :)
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If he's sound then that is great and you have been blessed with an easy one!


But, i would caution that spring grass could soon cause him to go footy. Some people shoe at this point, but if you wanted to remain barefoot that is the point at which diet really plays an important role and you turn to the barefoot taliban for advice :) Or, prepare yourself now by providing the basic diet of low sugar and starch, high fibre and appropriate minerals.

I'm sure others will be along soon to advise.

Trina x

ETA- they already have whilst i've been typing!
 
I'm sure cptrayes will have more experienced advice for you but it seems to me your pony is self trimming his own feet, the varied terrain has done the trimming for you. If he's comfy and not footy at all, carry on as you are for now.
Only time you may have to watch him is when the spring grass comes through, if he goes footy, then you may have to modify some things. If his weight is ok and not over, no lumps of fat or cresty you may get away with your current regime, especially with the great exercise he is getting, the more he does the stronger his feet will get.
Good for you - that's another set of hooves in comfy slippers 24/7/365 ;)

We seem to be rushing to congratulate you all at the same time;)
 
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can i just add...after reading comments i maybe have been feeding feet without realising lol...all of mine get fast fibre...a small scoop of chaff and high fibre nuts...i add brewers yeast and mag ox and msm....plus 365 vitamin ...obviously my dales must have pretty good feet ill try and get some pics tomorrow but i ask because my youngster was also turned away at same time and same feed etc...only she gets suregrow too...but farrier said she had very strong feet...and uptil last summer when she was backed(put shoes on ) shes walked that terrain and when i rode her on first hack it was on that terrain and she was fine...so im really thinking of doing the barefoot with both if them and eventually maybe my eventer ! So sorry for the waffle but if the 2 can manage is there anything i should change and how should i introduce the tb to it...shes on a similar diet too...she has good feet but shes never been barefoot ! ty very much for any help x
 
trina you are probably right...but i had no idea lol...although i would love anyones help on the tb..well ish but mainly tb...farrier says very good strong feet but shes a chestnut mare who is as sensitive as they come lol... does anyone think she would cope....i guess from replies i should keep barefoot and assess in the spring? but got to admit i got a major shock how well hes coped...and today for instance the ground has been hard and rocky and snow fall etc...i struggled on shod horse...the dales managed fine !
 
horseandshoes77 said:
trina you are probably right...but i had no idea lol...although i would love anyones help on the tb..well ish but mainly tb...farrier says very good strong feet but shes a chestnut mare who is as sensitive as they come lol... does anyone think she would cope....i guess from replies i should keep barefoot and assess in the spring? but got to admit i got a major shock how well hes coped...and today for instance the ground has been hard and rocky and snow fall etc...i struggled on shod horse...the dales managed fine !
Click to expand...

You could post on here with a new thread title, like 'help me take my tb barefoot'
and i would also suggest you look at the uknhcp forum (google it).
They are very friendly and helpful and there is a wealth of knowledge :)



Trina x
 
We've got a lovely pony on loan that spends some time with no shoes on and fronts if needed...

During the summer she really straightened/filed down the front hooves so we had those shod as she was really busy and there's a fair amount of road work needed to get to the nicer hacks... As soon as the weather started to interrupt the time my lad could spend riding, the shoes were hardly worn so farrier (new guy) agreed it was a good time to leave them off... Her hooves are fine all round and wearing nicely with the turnout terrain and some lighter hacking... :)
 
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