Shoes off for winter??

[kinnygirl1]

So my pony is shod in front only but has pulled a shoe in the field 3 times since his last shoeing (poor farrier is on speed dial). Not sure whether its the mud or high jinx. My farrier has always said he has good feet and would cope barefoot but the reason he has shoes on is that I did quite a bit of road work in summer but cos of the dark nights and poor weather have barely touched a road since his last shoeing. Is it worth having a go at having them removed for winter? I know there a few people on here who know a lot about being barefoot. Thanks for reading.

 

[jmb]

My pony is barefoot in winter and copes fine, she is also capable of living barefoot all year round but like you I do a lot of roadwork so I get her shod during spring until the end of my competition season. Usually shod march- October. She is ridden a bit through the winter and copes fine barefoot in the sand arena or field and has even been for short hacks round the block. Just be aware that some ponies may be a bit 'feely' on the ground when they first are barefoot if your farrier thinks its ok then I would do it - will save you a lot of money too!

 

[ThePony]

Don't see why not tbh!
Is he sore when he looses a shoe? If so then I would take a good look at his diet as that will help him enormously. You might decide come spring to leave him like that anyway as with careful build up of work then is no reason that his feet would over wear with alot of road work (both ours hack in excess of 12 hrs a week when we actually have some light - with no worries at all!).

 

[Alphamare]

It's always a good idea! Horses used to have a break from shoes.

 

[kinnygirl1]

Thanks all you guys... Well, my lovely farrier came today and replaced the lost shoe free of charge... had a quick chat with him again about barefoot and he thinks that pony would manage fine so at my next shoeing due we are going to pull shoes and see if we can get through to spring. He was not footy at all on the pulled shoe but farrier said sometimes it can take a few days to tell if they have any probs or soreness. Pony is on a forage only diet with just a handful of cool fibre for his vits and mins as he is a very good doer. Could possibly add a touch of biotin to help his feet?

 

[coss]

As pony is usually ok with lost shoe you should be fine. I find horses are less footy in the winter due to lack of grass sugar - but can be tender when the ground is really frosty/hard and rocky (usually they'd be finding it hard to walk on the ground with shoes too though)
Definitely worth trying and helps when its snowy as feet less likely to ball up. Good luck!

 

[cob&onion]

My 2 ridden horses are barefoot - the TB has been out of action since may and has had hers taken off, shes coped really well. The cob has never been shod and was barefoot but only in light work, shes turned away. When the cob and tb come into work they will have fronts only
Theres tonnes of great info and advice about going barefoot on here, search past threads