so... do I take his shoes off?

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JenHunt

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I am considering taking Ron's back shoes off next time the farrier comes (the 11th). Farrier doesn't want me to take all the shoes off at once, partly as it's taken him so long to get the front feet right.
He's a pretty tough horse, he's only getting speedibeet and alfa a oil with a cup of balancer - so I don't think I need to worry about the sugar content of his diet. Plus, his feed will reduce to nothing but balancer as the grass comes through.
Our fields aren't stony, and most of where we hack is smooth tarmac or good tracks - not much gravel or rubble. At the moment his work load is not too high, and is easy enough to adjust according to how he's feeling.
to add to the complications... my sister is back from Uni on the 15th, and I would really like to ride with her, maybe go do exciting things rather than just hack. Plus, I'm hoping to do a few one day events in the early part of the season (before it gets too hot for him).

Part of me thinks he'll be fine - he doesn't normally notice when he pulls shoes off and has to go a week or so without.

Part of me thinks he'll be footsore for a few days - he hasn't ever lost a back shoe, and they are white feet where his fronts are black. How long would you expect this to continue?

Part of me worries that he'll be crippled by not having them on. :( And our farrier isn't the easiest to get appointments with (very busy), so it could be 3 weeks without shoes in the worst case scenario (normally we can get him in ten days).

What do you guys think?
 
I'd try it and see how he does.
We have 2 with only fronts and we are constantly monitoring their feet, ready to put the backs on again if farrier thinks it's necessary. Mind you, I hope they don't need them, as those 2 girls frequently wave their back feet at each other!
We did try the Appaloosa with just fronts but although she has good feet, it didn't suit her, so she is now shod all round.
 
It took my section d gelding a few months to sort himself out. He's still abit footsore now but we have a lot of stones. He only had the shoes on for 6 months and was barefoot when I had him. He was shod on the front for abit and then I took them off in October.

Try them off - the worst that could happen is that you put them back on!
 
As a committed barefooter and competitor/hunter, I would advise you not to barefoot a horse which you intend to compete this summer season. You might lose your season completely. If you are prepared for that, go ahead, otherwise wait until there is less at stake that you would enjoy too much to lose.

Contrary to what is normally written by "experts" there are a fair proportion of barefoot transitions where the horses have MORE trouble on the back than the fronts. I have owned two which have been booted behind and not in front.

If you do go ahead, note also that there is an anecdotal record of many barefoot horses having issues with alfalfa.

Whatever you decide, have fun this summer!
 
thanks folks.

We only ever do a couple of ODE's purely to force me to do some schooling with him after hunting finishes - if we don't do them it's not the end of the world. Plus, I'd rather have him sorted to hunt next season as per usual (albeit with fewer shoes to lose!).

I think I'll give it a go - as one of you pointed out, the worst that happens is they go back on.
 
A couple of thoughts for your consideration:
1. black vs. white feet = myth, afik
2. you mostly seem to think he'll cope fine, and the only way you'll find out is by trying.
3. is right now the best time to try, given your timetable for the Spring? Is there a more convenient time during the year?
4. if he copes, there's no reason you can't do exciting things (other than hacking) without shoes. But given your farrier's lack of availability, are you willing to adjust your riding plans, should he take longer than expected to adjust?

Good luck with your decision! :)

Edit: Ah, I see I'm behind the times already! Good luck, again! :)
 
Mine was ok but I had to let him go on the grass verge where I could. He is a lot better now but not keen on gravel and I just bought him a pair of Boas so we can go on 2hr + hacks cos he gets footsore on a long one. 100% on grass, in school, smooth tarmac etc.
You can use keratex to harden them up. Also the frog needs time to grow and change shape and it looks horrible when it sheds! I thought his feet were falling to bits! Yuck!
 
LaurenM your horse should not be footsore after six months even on stones. I hope you are using boots on him. If not, or if you want to work out why he is still footsore, have you taken a look at his diet - particularly restricting his access to the spring grass during daylight hours? If you cannot stop him being footsore with diet changes, and can't use boots, please shoe him again, it's not right for him to remain footsore.
 
Couple of things which I think ate worth mentioning.

People have often referred to their horse being footsore and when I've had a quick look I've noticed that they are referring to the way their horse picks his feet up over stones or gravel which is present on a tarmac surface.

Basically the horse is feeling the stones which it is putting its foot on and as there is no give in the ground the horse picks its foot off of the stones and sometimes gives a little stumble like movement . This in itself is not being footsore.

Thrush may be present in the foot which cannot be seen or smelt because it is encapsulated. Thrush like this can cause the horse to be footsore and needs treatment. Shoeing a horse in this condition is not curing the problem only masking it.
 
cptrayes said:
LaurenM your horse should not be footsore after six months even on stones. I hope you are using boots on him. If not, or if you want to work out why he is still footsore, have you taken a look at his diet - particularly restricting his access to the spring grass during daylight hours? If you cannot stop him being footsore with diet changes, and can't use boots, please shoe him again, it's not right for him to remain footsore.
Click to expand...

The stones he walks across are an inch wide (on our driveway) - sometimes they catch him that's all. He's not hacked, just schooled in a sand school. My fault - I didn't explain myself but Andy has said what I meant.
 
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We took Andy's off the other day and there is no difference in him at all. We hope to take front ones off aswell but our farrier (and my mum) are very anti him going barefoot, not sure why as he hasn't given me a valid argument yet.

There is no harm in trying, if he's not coping ring the farrier up and ask him to put them back on.
 
I took the shoes off all three of mine several years ago (not all at the same time - as I acquired them), before I was aware of any of the barefoot literature, so they had no special transition or anything. None of them really noticed, they just carried on working.
If summer is your quiet time, do it now, then you should be ready to hunt again, or at least have very much healthier feet that you can shoe to hunt.
 
It can take a bit of sleuthing to find the perfect balance for an individual horse. Many barely notice that their shoes are off - although the rider might notice that the gait is less jarry and there is more spring to the horse's step.

But horses that have dietary issues can be footy at times - and this is where the sleuthing comes in because they are all different.

As one poster mentioned alfalfa can be a problem for some, others are fine on it.

For my own horse which has both EPSM and arrived with chronic laminitis I can get her 95% with a low sugar, soaked hay, no grass diet. The final 5% arrived when I started feeding her activated charcoal (Fine Fettle Feeds).

Now she stomps over builders rubble like it wasn't there - which is good, but now I have no fail safe method of stopping her in one of her bouncier moments. I guess I'll have to work on the schooling..........
 
None of my horses have shoes now......one had hers taken off last year and was fine- no difference (IDx)

One has never had shoes at all ( Arab) and hacks out on all surfaces- TBH I never really think about the fact he hasn't got shoes on. Only time I did pay the fact attention was when my mates TB was slipping down the tarmac road and we were fine and dandy;)

The highland had his fronts off 7w ago ( never had backs on) and he is fine as well- farrier is due next week to trim and balance, highlands hooves have cracked a little where the nail holes were but other than that he's fine.

I find feet much easier to look after with no shoes.....soil doesn't seem to get compacted and makes picking out easier. The horses move more freely too.

They all live on hay, smidge of chaff and a scoop of pink powder.......pretty cost effective too:)
 
Absolutely agree with Andy pointing out that feeling stones on a hard surface is not "footie", it's actually sensible.

I never can understand why people who are anti barefoot thinks it's better for a horse with a half in shoe to tread on a one inch stone and not feel it, than it is for a barefoot horse to feel a stone and remove his foot from it before it hurts.

OP you have it right then, if hunting is your priority. I have a barefoot hunter. If the backs go well and you hope to hunt with no fronts either, give yourself three months before the opening meet. You may not need that long, but best to be on the safe side. Good luck!
 
Absolutely agree with Andy pointing out that feeling stones on a hard surface is not "footie", it's actually sensible.

I never can understand why people who are anti barefoot thinks it's better for a horse with a half inch shoe to tread on a one inch stone and not feel it, than it is for a barefoot horse to feel a stone and remove his foot from it before it damages him.

OP you have it right then, if hunting is your priority. I have a barefoot hunter. If the backs go well and you hope to hunt with no fronts either, give yourself three months before the opening meet. You may not need that long, but best to be on the safe side. Good luck!
 
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that's all brilliant info - thank you everyone! I'll let you know how we get on!

He's got good feet generally - hard and not crumbly or soft or brittle. And now the farrier's got the front ones into the shape they should have been all along they're a good shape and size for his conformation. And as I mentioned, he's not a wimp by any means so I'm pretty certain he'll be fine!
 
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