Shoeing youngsters

checkmate1

checkmate1

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I will be backing Indie in a few weeks, this will involve me walking her inhand to the arena I will be using which is a 5/10mins walk into the village. By mid march hopefully I will be riding her down there and hacking out. I don't know when/if I should shoe her as I keep getting different advice (I will ask farrier when I see him). Her feet were awful when I got her at almost 3, shes now rising 4, feet are good but chip easily when I lead her out regularly on road and at the moment shes getting quite footsore on road (as most of time shes on soft muddy field or soft stable!). What do you/did you do with you youngsters feet, I was going to shoe her when I start hacking her properly, but people have told me I ought to leave it entirely til shes 5? Thanks for reading all this!!!!
By the way shes 16.1 MW WBxTB, quite clumsy.
 
I keep them unshod while i do basics of backing etc as it hurts a little less if you fall off and get kicked... prob not true but this is just what ive always done!

My current mare got a bit foot sore when i started hacking her out more often so i put fronts on her! she is still only in fronts (a year later) as she is fine! BUT she will be having backs on next as she will be doing XC so need it for the studs! If she wasnt eventing id keep her only in fronts as thats what suits her!

Id just avoid walking on stones etc until as you say, you are hacking out more regularly... then go for fronts and see how she is. Most farriers dont like doing all 4 1st time anyway... But yeh have a chat with your farrier as they know best!
 
Agree with above. Generally no shoes whilst doin basic, as hopefully it might stop them bein too playful!!! Then do fronts and then all 4, when feet/work requires it.
My rising 4yo was broken last summer and still dosen't have any shoes on, though still on holiday. Havin fronts put on at begin of march then prob backs to the time after as hopefully he'll be out competeing.
 
My youngster will be 5 this year and he still doesn't have any shoes because I don;t see the point of paying for them if he doesn't need them. He has a set of old macs that he wore when he first started hacking and I still use them occasionally if I'm going to do a lot of roadwork, but on the whole he's perfectly fine without shoes.
 
My 4 3/4 yo has no shoes. Her hooves chip but farrier says thats just cosmetic and is normal for unshod hoof. She gets abit footsore in high summer but Boa boots do the trick then, and winter she hasnt needed anything.

I ve got no plans to shoe her unless she tells me she really needs it. If we can get away with it, she'll stay unshod for good. At present she is wearing in tandem with growth as we are doing quite a bit of road hacking and farrier (who comes to shoe my other boy) has cost me precisely £0.00 for her all winter as she hasnt needed anything other than him looking and checking them while he's here :-))

its a bit of a one way street (or at least hard to come back from it) so I would leave it as late as possible, but get them used to the farrier.
 
If she's getting footsore on the roads then try shoeing the fronts. I never have the backs done until they are fully grown as I find they over reach badly etc when they're still growing. In general when I have youngsters in I leave them unshod as long as possible to give them nice hard feet. My TBx is still unshod and like haffieliesel I got some hoof boots for her when we go on the roads.
 
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