Shoes back on - experiences?

[Laura2013]

Has anyone on here had a horse barefoot and then put shoes back on? If so, did you notice the effect immediately?
Has anyone put the shoes on and the horse has found it difficult to adjust back? And if so, how long did it take for them to get used to them and were they then better than they were when barefoot?

Interested to hear peoples reasons for reshoeing and experiences of doing so.

 

[cptrayes]

I sold a barefoot horse who I had been doing affiliated eventing on. They shod him and when I saw him a year later be was unable to run that day because he had taken a shoe off in the trailer and his feet were in an appalling state.

I have also sold several other horses which were shod by their new owners where I know of no problems at all.

If you have a footie horse you should find it gives instant relief.

Most horses cope fine shod full time, but I believe that they are better off if you can give them twelve weeks out of shoes each year.

And it would be good if you are sure that you know what a good shod for looks like, and can recognise heels which are under running and long toes even when they have been chopped off, which are the commonest problems in shod horses.

 

[fattylumpkin]

I tried putting shoes my mare just after I bought her and she'd been barefoot for a couple of years They'd raked the trails around our yard so the paths were just a mass of huge, sharp granite chips and doing more than a walk on them was ripping her feet up and I was worried about bruising. I had to go with an unknown farrier because our regular had injured his back and was off sick. Unknown farrier arrived while I was at work and majorly botched up the job by trying to put on shoes that were a size too large so they were digging into her frogs! She just trimmed the frog to make space for the shoe! I was so angry I posted pics about it here on H&H and shoes came off straight away. Then I bought her cavallo hoof boots, but they didn't work so well for her and kept twisting.

By then our regular farrier had recovered and was back in work so I booked him to come put a full set of shoes on with ice studs and she went like magic, was very comfortable and had no problems. In spring when the snow starting melting it kept balling inside the shoe even with a snow sole under, so I decided I really wanted her to be barefoot and took the shoes off again. Farrier commented that she'd grown a lot of false sole. She was very ouchy on her feet again for awhile, but now she's over it and has shed most of the extra sole.

Edit: I prefer her to be barefoot as she's an ex-lami and I want to be on the lookout for any early symptoms which shoes might mask Once she's lost her last remaining fat pads and gotten used to being on grass again I might reconsider shoeing.

 

[Casey76]

I bought my old horse shod in front. He was later shod all round. I then took his shoes off (he needed no transition period), and was unshod for about 6 years. He then had shoes with rolled toes in front and raised heels for the hinds while a hock spavin stabilised (it was never medicated, just the shoes on); after a year the shoes came off after gradually lowering the heels.

Shoes or no shoes it never really made a difference for Pinto.

 

[Goldenstar]

I take the shoes on and off my horses all the time .
There's no issue with it they are shod one day work the next .
I usually take shoes off before they have a short break then just start work again gradually I am getting better and better at getting this right I have three in work BF ATM two will be shod in August and one in October they will then work shod until mid march then shoes off again .
The diet is a big thing two many shod horses have bad diets because the shoes mask the effects of it.
You need a good farrier who shoes well too support the heels and does not allow the toes to get long .
And IME you must shoes every five weeks .

 

[Sukistokes2]

I tried barefoot and it did not work out on one of my horses, I had the shoes popped on and he was fine. No issues. He is now retired, he will stay in shoes until the ground is softer and then I will try him again, hoping he will cope in the field. It will be one of the factors that decide how long he is retired.

 

[EllenJay]

I had my boy barefoot for a number of years, but when he got lammie and rotated pedal bones couldn't cope without shoes, so had to be shod. The immediate relief from pain was so apparent. Before I had the shoes put on, he couldn't walk coming back from the horspital he jogged up the road.

Sometimes shoes are not the work of the devil and do actually help.