Shoes v hoofboots

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jules34

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I have a bit of a dilemma and thought I'd see what feedback I can get from you guys...

My mare has never had shoes (she's 11) - her feet are great. However, where I ride there are a few stoney tracks and she can be very pottery (not sure of sp!) on them, but if we canter along the beach, she actually chooses to canter on the stones rather than the sand - you'd think if the stones hurt her when she walks, they'd hurt even more when she's cantering/trotting??? I have some hoof boots for her which are great. She's not pottery in these at all. YO and her friend think I should put front shoes on her, but wouldn't she still feel the stones? They think she will go much better if she had fronts on. In the summer when the ground is hard, she's worse. In the winter when the ground is softer and muddier she is much better.

So do I carry on with the hoof boots in the summer, and see how she goes, or bite the bullet and put shoes on??? I want to build up her fitness and I obviously don't want her to be uncomfortable. My farrier is very good, but everytime he trims her feet she is sore for a few days afterwards - think he might take a bit too much off???

Have you had any experiences of barefoot and then shoes? Did you decide to put shoes on and it worked? or did you regret it?

Thanks in advance :)
 
If the hoofboots work then why change? Do they do the job?

I have only experienced barefoot as an 'always has been' rather than taking shoes off. To be honest i think shoes pretty much ruin the feet and make it much harder to go back barefoot. I personally prefer barefoot as long as the horse suits it and isn't in pain or discomfort as i think it is less stresfful to the joins and keeps a healthier ballance.
 
Maybe ask your farrier? He's probably the best one to know! :) Personally I'd go with shoes - to me they seem more natural, and do work very well for most horses. Although saying that, I haven't really had much experience with hoofboots. Shoes do help prevent bruising, and I know many horses who just have fronts on because they only occasionally do road work, but need a bit of cushioning in the field and out hacking through the woods etc.. :) xx
 
id get another farrier to trim her.. or ask your just to shape them rather than take alot off, see if shes still sore. I wouldnt put shoes on myself if she goes fairly well without and the only problem you have is a stoney track, you can just use boots when needed
 
On my farrier's advice I took one of my boys shoes off for about four months previous winter. Initially used Boa boots then Old Macs. Old Macs were brill. They were fine but after losing a Boa boot during a canter, I was more wary about the boas. However, shoes were back on Easter time and he was much happier hacking out on stony paths etc...

Ask your farrier for advice. Weigh up how often you ride, how long for, what ground conditions are like with you and the terrain, add that to what you want to do over the summer then I'm sure you'll arrive at your answer.
 
Stick wiht the hoof boots if she is comfortable in them - then she has the benefit of her feet being bare and natural in the field, but protection when she needs it.
 
I hate hoof boots!
Hard to get on and off, slippy on some surfaces, stuff gets in them a rubs the horses foot, and fly off when doing faster work. I hate them speaking from experience. Overpriced and horses dont move as well in them too.
 
I adore the Old Macs my boy has! He was shod for years, then due to me being sidelined about 18 months ago I had his shoes off. He had fronts back on, but is a sod for climbing fences and pulling them off, so we went naked again. He wears Old Macs in front, and goes naked behind. The Old Macs have never moved or rubbed, and he is much more surefooted in them on our steep tarmac hills.
 
Thanks guys. I have Cavallo simple boots for her, and they have never come off her yet. I find them very easy to put on, and a quick brush off when I take them off and they're fine. They haven't rubbed either. She wore them down to the beach yesterday and went in the water with them on and they didn't rub at all.

I ride prob 3-4 times per week in the summer, and the only place that she walks a bit gingerly is on the stoney tracks. If I lunge her in the field or school her she is absolutely fine. Trainer I had last year said she looked fine barefoot, and farrier actually said shoeing is an unnecessary evil, so the longer I can keep them off the better. And if you think about it he would get more money out of me if she had shoes on so the fact that I have asked him regularly whether she needs them or not suggests to me that he thinks she's ok. I think I will ask him next time to just check them and not take anything off them and explain she was a bit sore after the last trim.

YO is adamant she should have shoes on (and so is her friend) and I'm not the most confident at standing up to them - I think they think I'm a bit wierd coz she has no shoes on! But I do like to be different! ;)
 
Stick to the hoof boots. They're working so why change? I would question why she is footsore for a few days after your farrier trims her - she shouldn't be sore after a trim but at least your farrier is supportive of you keeping her barefoot.

What diet is she on? Generally if they are a bit footy on stones it's down to too much sugar/starch in the diet... which can be from their hard feed or just from too much grass.

For people who hate hoof boots - have you tried any of the newer designs? Easy to put on and take off and stay put through whatever conditions and at whatever speed - including fast! I compete in hoof boots and love them.
 
At the time of her last trim she was getting very little grass, mainly hay. She is a very good doer and I was giving her 1 small feed a day in the evening which is probably sugary. I have looked into feeding her Simple Systems feeds before as I know they don't have molasses added and her current feeds do. I was feeding her 1 big scoop of Mollichaff and a small scoop of mix (just the local feed merchants cool mix). I give her linseed oil and I was giving her magnesium which def helped chill her out :)

She's now moved into her summer field where there is grass, which is quite short. I have read on HHO that if the grass is shorter it has more sugar in it??? Now she's getting more grass I give her a very small feed if I've ridden her, more as a reward TBH, as she LOVES her grub! But the last few times I've ridden her I've put her boots on and she's not been footsore at all... I think I will stick with them for a bit and see how we go...
 
I think I'd be a little concerned about her being lame after a trim. It would be worth your while finding a barefoot trimmer. I know many on here will shoot me down for saying that, but there is a big difference between a farrier trim and a barefoot trim. My mare was shod after an operation recently, having been barefoot for about 9 years. When the shoes came off I was shocked at the difference they had made to her feet - they just looked squished and the supportive parts of the sole had been removed to put the shoes on.
Mine all wear hoof boots for work on stoney ground, especially in the summer when tracks are dry and hard and the stones can't sink into them. If the boots work for you, don't put shoes on!
 
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