Shod vs barefoot

Both mine are barefoot - one retired, the other is in full work, hacks jumps etc and has good feet, however I'm not a member of the barefoot clique, if he ever needed shoes/studs he'd have them. Until he does I'll save the money for the new boots I want:)
 
both of mine are fully shoed (mare will go barefoot when she gets to 6 months pregnancy) i have an amazing farrier and they are sound with them on so thats the way i like it.
 
No shoes as my farrier says they do not ned them:)
A little cautious of saying barefoot as i do not yet understand it and not had time to look into it.
Had horses doing everything without shoes for 27 years no probs but had the same super dooper farrier for that time.:D
 
I don't think it is a straight choice, different horses have different needs based on their type, their foot health, their workload - in fact little winds me up more than the 'there is only one way' brigade

I have a barefoot youngster and a barefoot in foal mare, as well as a riding horse that is shod all round. The mare will have fronts on when she comes back into work because she needs them
 
barefoot where poss, my pony girlie (7, bought at 3) has never been shod and hopefully never will be. My big chap was shod when we got him and hes continued to be shod and has never had any probs. horses for courses!
 
Have been barefoot for a year now. Would never want to see another set of shoes nailed in to him. He went barefoot due to a diagnosis of collapsed heels and low grade changes to the navicular. He now competes barefoot in dressage, showjumping, showing and is usually placed on most outings. For hacking he wears old mac hoof boots all round.
 
My mare is shod all round. Have tried with no shoes and just front shoes but she is crippled and cant walk on hard ground without them. So being shod suits her and thats how it will stay until she is nearly ready to foal!!!!
 
We have 3 horses, arab x is barefoot, hooves are as hard as nails, she does everything from long hacks on roads to SJ and xc. Older mare is only shod infront. My lad is currently unshod as he only does a small amount of hacking on roads but has had fronts on before. My farrier is brilliant doesn't see the point of wearing shoes for the sake of it. Although I do get them trimmed by him every 4 weeks to keep them in shape.

Liz
 
berry said:
My mare is shod all round. Have tried with no shoes and just front shoes but she is crippled and cant walk on hard ground without them. So being shod suits her and thats how it will stay until she is nearly ready to foal!!!!
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Um, so is she going to be crippled while foaling?
 
my tb has shoes, he has straight bar shoes in front and lateral extensions behind at a lovely £95 a set. my new mare is barefoot but is foot sore infront on the tracks so she will have fronts on in 6 weeks. i would love them both to go barefoot but the tb has conformationaly bad feet and goes lame when unshod. and i mean hopping!
 
my 3 are naked footed.
farrier does them every 5-6 weeks.
one is being backed, one is out competing showing/novice dressage once a week, the other mare is semi retired.
had shoes+studs on the 6year old last year for competing on grass as she had no grip and was slipping. seems ok this year so not put them on.
 
2 barefoot youngsters and my mare has shoes on, want to keep youngsters without shoes, would love to go barefoot with other one but farrier says she wouldnt cope so not going to risk it.
 
My Welsh cob has only got fronts on, he has to have shoes because he has really soft hooves, the laminae just splits apart and then the horn just turns under, so he really needs shoes, we tried lots of supplements and keratex hoof hardener but shoes work best...

My daughters pony has lovely hard feet but gets a bit footy when her feet have just been trimmed, I asked the farrier about shoes and he said she didn't do enough work to warrant them so I bought a pair of Easy boots for the front and so far they are working well.

We have had others in work with no shoes and they have been fine, it is definately what suits your horse, at that time and what work they are doing... but barefoot can be just fine...

Dizz4
 
i have no shoes on my cob and the farrier says he doesn't need them, he is worked 6 days a week and does fine. He even had a hoof injury and still does not need them. I agree with most on here, if he needed them he would have them but until he does (if ever) i will trust my farrier's opinion.
 
All of mine are barefoot and i am proud to have the most wonderful barefoot trimmer work with my horses. All of them have lovely hooves and i am really happy with them. Our welsh pony is in work, ridden most days by my children and is also being trained most days to drive at the moment..never had any concearns about her feet.

Im not saying barefoot is for all horses by any means but it suits mine just fine :-))

Ang x
 
Unshod because none of them have EVER been shod and most of them don't work anyway. If a horse was better off with shoes, then it would be shod, I don't have a problem with shoes at all.

Tried a 'barefoot' trimmer once, he crippled my horse, wouldn't have another one on the property if I was paid, whatever qualifications they held.
 
I prefer whatever suits the individual best. Currently have 6 unshod and 2 shod.
 
Our Section B had never been shod in front when we got him - we had back shoes off and he stayed unshod for next 7 years. No probs whatsoever - hacked out on roads, farrier trimmed (sorry but wouldn't trust anyone else). Not sure why he had backs only - usually it's the other way around.
 
The Appy is shod all round, we did try without shoes for a while, but the combination of neck injury and no shoes led to uneven foot wear. Neck is now sorted, but we have kept her shoes on. Big mare has fronts only, the retired mare is without shoes as is the pony. All trimmed by farrier, always will be.
 
My new 4 year old heavyweight IDx cob is barefoot and I am hoping to keep him that way, he is seeing a barefoot trimmer in a few weeks for advice as to his suitability to stay barefoot. My mature Gypsy cob gelding has had all his shoes taken off as he has started tripping in the past year rather alot and I am unhappy with how his toes have become so long despite having been in NB shoes. He is currently sounder without shoes. I am hoping the barefoot trimmer will be able to help him. Both are predominantly hacking horses. I had a TB/ID that developed navicular syndrome years ago and had to be PTS at the age of 9. I am not really in favour of shoes unless you have a superb farrier, I ve had excellent farriers where I used to live but where I live now I have been very disappointed with the general standard hence my interest in barefoot trimming.
 
Barefoot. It's cheaper and less damaging. And it's usually easier, thought if you're not got a straight forward horse it can take a lot of time and effort. I think it's worth it for the significant health benefits but I can understand why many people can't be bothered. I have three horse in my care, all barefoot. One is just a baby, one is a small hunter type (welsh X) who does the common riding and one is HW hunter who's busy trying to be a dressage horse.
 
Storminateacup said:
I do wonder if my big horse will be able to cope weightwise without shoes but if hes never had them, then like yours Kallibear, I ve got to give him the chance to see if he can grow a really good hoof.
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Think about it logically ;) If he's shod then all his consderable weight is going to concentrated into just the hoof wall via the shoes. That's not much area for a big heavy horse. And he WILL grow stronger better feet with work - the more work the foot does, the faster and stronger it grows.

If he's barefoot then his weight is split between frog, the sole callus (the thick rim of sole round the inside of the wall) and walls. As the weight is meant to be. Depending on the shape of his feet, it can be more than 50% on the sole callus and the frogs. THAT is why shoeing can be so damaging to feet - they're not MEANT to carry their entire weight on the walls.
 
Unshod for two years while I believed that some horses can go barefoot and some can't, barefoot for the last year while I'm learning that all horses can go barefoot given the right diet, environment, exercise, and trim, and always from now on, I'm learning so much about the health of my horses and how their hooves can reveal what's going on good and bad! If my horses are healthy they can do anything I want them to bare, if there is something physically or nutritionally wrong it will probably show up in their hooves, and I can try to do something about it sooner rather than later. It's so old it's new again.
 
My boy has never had shoes, and the farrier told me last month that his feet are growing at the exact same rate that they are being worn down, which is what you aim for I think. I believe that barefoot starts with diet, so I try to get this right, and the rest just seems to have clicked into place. Feet First (book by Nic Barker) is my bible. If at any stage he does struggle, hoof boots, or as a last resort, he will have shoes if the farrier says he now needs them. Nothing set in stone, but I'm very happy atm. sm x
 
Kallibear said:
Think about it logically ;) If he's shod then all his consderable weight is going to concentrated into just the hoof wall via the shoes. That's not much area for a big heavy horse. And he WILL grow stronger better feet with work - the more work the foot does, the faster and stronger it grows.

If he's barefoot then his weight is split between frog, the sole callus (the thick rim of sole round the inside of the wall) and walls. As the weight is meant to be. Depending on the shape of his feet, it can be more than 50% on the sole callus and the frogs. THAT is why shoeing can be so damaging to feet - they're not MEANT to carry their entire weight on the walls.
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Yes I see your logic and the biomechanics therein, I will be going for unshod with my youngster anyway. I ve seen too many lameness problems directly linked to shoeing that its really put me right off one with NS another with Pedal Oestitis. Hoof boots are the other alternative and in a modern world I do not understand why they are not more popular. After all look at the technology in running shoes for humans to avoid concussion to the joints.
 
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