should I shoe ???

posie_honey said:
you seemed to miss the ;) at the end - in forum speak that implies it to be taken lightheartedly - similar to the :rolleyes: although that tends to get peoples backs up so i do not use it - obv the ;) can also be misinterpreted
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I'm sorry Posie-honey but there are a number of posters on this site who deliberately post very inflammatory things to get an argument going, and put smilies on them so that they can say "but they had a smiley", as if the ensuing bad feeling has nothing to do with them. I can't tell the difference between you and them.

You did give a number of sensible suggestions, as you said, but you have also used one completely outrageous statement about considering farriers evil (which you later qualified), the statement that I quoted to someone who was criticising you for wanting shoes on to compete your mare, (which was never going to do anything but cause a fight) and a lot of sarcasm to me, (which I did not feel I deserved) all of which left me simply not knowing whether you were trolling or not.

I am glad that you have set the record straight and wish you every success with your mare this season.
 
I have a middleweight cob and Ive had my mares shoes off for 18 months, during the transition process i bought some Old Macs G2's and they were a god send. We do mostly lane and roadword and she is fine unless we go on alot of gravelled surfaces where she can get a bit footy but i plan my ride as to whether i'll put her boots on or not. Ive had her Old Macs for 18 months and they are still going strong and still wear them out if she is a bit foot sore (thats not very often). I have been putting naf rockhard on her soles for at least a month and i think it does the trick. I would stay shoeless and get the yards farrier to give them a trim. My mare trims her own feet down due to alot of roadwork so never needs a trim but i do get him to give her a once over when he comes to the yard. Goodluck
 
cptrayes said:
Any horse can be shoeless.
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There seem to have been quite a lot of these shoes/barefoot threads on here lately and it got me thinking about barefoot as a possibility for my mare. Now, she has had shoes on for ten years and today when she was being shod and she had them off to be trimmed she was reluctant to walk forward (on smooth concrete) to steal my apple. So at the moment her feet must be quite sore without shoes. She had them off last autumn for a week when she had an operation and walking from her stable to the trailer (over gravel) took ages and was really difficult for her.
I've read a little bit about it and apparently to go from shod to barefoot makes their feet much healthier (she is already on the very low sugar laminitis diet so it's certainly not her diet hurting her) but she would need some sort of adjustment period. How long do you think this would take and what does it entail? Because of the way we are treating her spavins the vet doesn't want her out of work at all (as in, for example, I am going away for a couple of weeks soon and I have to arrange for her to be ridden rather than let her have time off in the field). Could she have an adjustment period which is managed by riding/groundwork on a soft surface or using hoof boots? At her age (early twenties) is it worth changing what she is used to? She is sounder than she has been in years when shod so perhaps I should keep her that way. At the moment I am throwing ideas around rather than making actual plans in any case.
Please excuse any really ignorant statements I may have made. I am learning. :D
 
The transition from shoes to shoeless for me personally wasnt that bad as i bought a pair of old mac G2's and used them to break her in. Putting them on and off was easy enough but it took a longer process tacking up due to having to clean there hooves before putting boots on and then making sure theyre on correctly. I also bought gaiters which helped with the boots. I changed her feed with something that was high in biotin and i also feed rosehips along side her daily feeding routine. I have now purchased naf rockhard and found that to be absolutely briliant. In a nutshell they say it takes 9-12 months for a new hoof to form and a horse to be sound but for me its only now i can say we've cracked it and thats 18 months on. We now ride without the boots (unless i know where riding wheres theres alot of gravel or stones) and shes very sound. She never needs a trim but does have them checked when the farrier comes. It does take time but what works for one may not work for another so goodluck.
 
Unbalanced I had a horse who was similarly sore without shoes and it was several months before he was comfortable without boots on, but he was capable immediately in boots.

I would, though, be wary of changing anything with a mare the age of yours if she is currently sounder than she has been in years. In your situation I don't know what I would do, because my friend's 25 year old benefitted greatly from having her shoes off, but you have a lot to lose if your mare finds it difficult. On the other hand I suppose you can always shoe quickly again if your mare can't manage boots, so why not try if you can afford to have the boots on the shelf if you stop using them quickly.
 
BLIMEY . Thanks OP for your post, it has certainly got people fired up, but WHY?

It has got soo personal , honey I think makes sense as do soo many other people who if they were not soo aggressive would have made a much better argument.

Just MO but there we go :)
 
cptrayes said:
Unbalanced I had a horse who was similarly sore without shoes and it was several months before he was comfortable without boots on, but he was capable immediately in boots.

I would, though, be wary of changing anything with a mare the age of yours if she is currently sounder than she has been in years. In your situation I don't know what I would do, because my friend's 25 year old benefitted greatly from having her shoes off, but you have a lot to lose if your mare finds it difficult. On the other hand I suppose you can always shoe quickly again if your mare can't manage boots, so why not try if you can afford to have the boots on the shelf if you stop using them quickly.
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Thanks for answering. Like I said, there have been a lot of thought provoking posts on this lately so my thoughts are being provoked. If I find that come the autumn I am riding indoors rather than doing roadwork maybe I will try her without hinds. As you say, she can always have them back on again. Plenty of time for thinking and reading rather than instant decision making though and always interesting to have people's input :)
 
rosie-ellie said:
The transition from shoes to shoeless for me personally wasnt that bad as i bought a pair of old mac G2's and used them to break her in. Putting them on and off was easy enough but it took a longer process tacking up due to having to clean there hooves before putting boots on and then making sure theyre on correctly. I also bought gaiters which helped with the boots. I changed her feed with something that was high in biotin and i also feed rosehips along side her daily feeding routine. I have now purchased naf rockhard and found that to be absolutely briliant. In a nutshell they say it takes 9-12 months for a new hoof to form and a horse to be sound but for me its only now i can say we've cracked it and thats 18 months on. We now ride without the boots (unless i know where riding wheres theres alot of gravel or stones) and shes very sound. She never needs a trim but does have them checked when the farrier comes. It does take time but what works for one may not work for another so goodluck.
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Wow. And it was so easy for me to transition my pony from barefoot to shod when I bought her, took about ten minutes (she was an ex-broodmare), just because that was the done thing rather than because I'd researched it or had an actual reason like some of the other people posting on this thread.
Were you able to keep your horse in full work - hacking, jumping, schooling -with the boots on while you were doing the transition period or were you limited for all or part of it? Was she in any pain at any other time? I would be worried that my pony would be footsore say being turned out. Could she wear the boots for that? Excuse my questions if I am being ignorant. Thank you! :)
 
I do wonder why some people think roadwork = bad for barefoot horses. It does the hoof a lot of good to have access to different terrains, hard and soft.

Do people keep their barefoot horses on surfaces of cotton wool or something?
 
hi
seems you have started quite a discusion :p

i think you should carry on and see how she does with out shoe's if she's been unshod for two years her feet will have toughened up

i find mine is fine on the road with no shoe's but we have a lot of stoney/flinty tracks and i doubt any unshod foot would cope well around here ,so it depends on the ground your riding on really

have you thought about just shoeing her in front as i find some cope well with just front shoe's on :)

worth asking your farrier if he will come to your new yard ,he may be passing and call in there is no harm in asking.
if he won't i'm sure the yard farrier will fit you in when he's there anyway

enjoy your horse whatever you decide :)
 
What a debate! Similar to one I got in earlier, on a similar post!! There seems to be a big debate, whether to shoe or go barefoot and everyone's so passionate and both sides are always right!!! I don't like the comment though that all horses can go barefoot. Like I said in a previous post, my tb had his shoes whipped off (for a break whilst I was pregnant). Within 24 hours I had them put back on as he was so foot sore, he wouldn't leave his stable. I know many people would say that he needed time to get through the transitional stage but I was not willing to make him suffer in pain, I would have been cruel to my horse, bordering abuse!! My other horse however is barefoot and copes very well and did do from day 1. I think it's down to the horse and the work they're doing, for safety. No one knows their horses as well as their owners so I think it's down to each individual as to what's best for their horses! I can't stand people who don't know me or my horses infleuncing, patronising or forcing their views upon me, or other sensible members on here who are genuinely asking questions because they need guidance, not a lecture.

I just hope that people don't start thinking that going barefoot is a new trend and follow, not really knowing what they are doing and making the horse suffer if they aren't suited!?
Before I get shot down by the barefoot brigade, I am a vegan hippy at heart, have pink hair and wear cheese cloth. Although I do own leather tack, sorry!
 
joeanne said:
Oh behave yourself! If shoeing were bad for horses nobody would do it!
People like you ought to grow up!
OP do you think your horse needs shoes?
We have one that is out doing roadwork almost daily, yet does not need shoes, and another that rarely goes out on the roads that requires shoes.
I would keep an eye and if you feel he does need shoes you can book him in.
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*Applauds*

Totally agree, some horses do very well without shoes, others don't, you know your horse OP, suck it and see, if you think he is struggling then shoe him.
 
unbalanced said:
Wow. And it was so easy for me to transition my pony from barefoot to shod when I bought her, took about ten minutes (she was an ex-broodmare), just because that was the done thing rather than because I'd researched it or had an actual reason like some of the other people posting on this thread.
Were you able to keep your horse in full work - hacking, jumping, schooling -with the boots on while you were doing the transition period or were you limited for all or part of it? Was she in any pain at any other time? I would be worried that my pony would be footsore say being turned out. Could she wear the boots for that? Excuse my questions if I am being ignorant. Thank you! :)
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Unbalanced
Hi I bought my old macs 18 months ago from the saddlery shop, you can test the boots before you buy them and they are very helpful. I tried various ones before I decided upon these. She now only wears them on the front over stoney surfaces and her back ones are OK. I took her shoes off October because I don’t ride as much through the winter and it would give her all winter to start the transition process. She had them off in the stable and field but gradually built up the time she wore them out because they needed to break in (Soften up). We Started off with half hour one week to an hour the next etc. I bought gaitors and they helped and the boots never rubbed her. She hunted the winter just gone with just the front ones on and they never came of or rubbed through all the mud. When schooling her if its either on grass, sand or rubber based surfaces she doesn’t wear them. If I feel the ground is a bit hard I used to put them on if schooling, she does jump during her schooling sessions and they are fine to jump in. They advised not wear them 24 hrs a day but to break them in they can be worn out in the field and to stop footiness. I hope you understand my rambling if not let me know and I'll try to answer a bit clearer.
 
joeanne said:
Oh behave yourself! If shoeing were bad for horses nobody would do it!
.
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But even good farriership recommends a regular break from shoes and not shoeing back to back, the reason for this is that hooves should have a period to recover from the detrimental effects of shoes.
 
angelish said:
i find mine is fine on the road with no shoe's but we have a lot of stoney/flinty tracks and i doubt any unshod foot would cope well around here
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Mine would :)

I hack on stony tracks and I drag hunt where I have to canter/gallop up farm tracks made of hardcore - bits of broken brick and concrete and allsorts.

I go to a lot of effort to give my horses as perfect a diet as I can, as perfect a way of life as I can and as much work as I can to keep them conditioned. I have two who are awesome in their ability to manage stony tracks. I also have one who has only been with me 5 months and is a previous laminitic who isn't quite there yet, but even he hacks without boots on, he just picks his way more carefully than the rock-stompers.

Not everyone has the time or the facitilies to do this, and that is no criticism of them. But if you have, then I have yet to find a horse I could not get rock stomping, and that includes racing Tbs, warmbloods, IDxs and Iberian , including one horse that two farriers told me would never cope without shoes and another one that was 24 hours from being put to sleep, who had feet when he arrived that I could bend with my fingers. It may take time, money and micro-management, but it can be done.

There are also thousands of horses in this country who could go barefoot with total ease, but whose owners just don't know that they could because their farriers either don't know themselves, or don't tell the owner if they do.
 
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