Thinking of going barefoot

[Clairlyagenius]

Hi all!
I'm thinking of having my 6 year old Irish Draught Mare go barefoot, so I'm hoping you can tell me if it might be suitable for her!
During the summer, she's out in the field the whole time, in winter she's in the stables, on either straw or shavings (she ate the straw the first year, so went to shavings, and we're gonna see if she's wised up this year), stall is concrete floor underneath.
Mostly we do arena work, sand arena. Weekly we go hacking on the beach, lots of walk and trot in the dunes, and then a gallop/canter along the shore. The beach does have some stones peppered in the sand, will this be an issue?
Some of the yard also has gravelly bits, kind of like 804 for construction.

She generally has good feet, so I'm hoping it can work for her as I've read it's actually better for grip/shock absorption etc.
Any tips/tricks/general advice appreciated!

 

[CastlelackSportHorses]

I have just put my 6yr old warmblood barefoot, she was never shod behind ever so it helped.
But I have invested in scoot boots for her fronts as we do a lot of hacking on the road, she will hopefully continue showjumping on a surface without boots in time.
She lives out in field all summer, and winter she is in at night and out on pea gravel pens during the day.

 

[FitzyFitz]

I wouldn't worry too much about hacking barefoot on sand unless you do absolutely miles and miles, then it might be a tiny bit abrasive, just keep an eye on her feet and how much they are wearing. Stones in the sand are generally not an issue as they sink when stepped on.
Generally they grow the amount of hoof they need if their work is consistent, but sometimes in wet winter weather the wear beats the growth. You shouldn't need boots for beach/arena/dunes really, and frankly the risk of grit rubbing would be more of a worry for many styles.

Barefoot is much better for shock absorption, sounds like you won't have much trouble in that setup/work level. Keep a close eye on her feet for thrush as thats often the actual cause of any footinees. It hides in narrow frog grooves, isn't always super obvious.

 

[winnie]

I would definitely give it a go. From all you've said you shouldn't have any problems. As you say, better for absorption and grip. And remember, if you really aren't happy, you can always put shoes back on.

 

[Arzada]

During the summer, she's out in the field the whole time, in winter she's in the stables, on either straw or shavings (she ate the straw the first year, so went to shavings, and we're gonna see if she's wised up this year), stall is concrete floor underneath.

What turnout/free time does she have in the winter?

 

[twiggy2]

The 2 most I portent things are a good trim and diet.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

I have just put my 6yr old warmblood barefoot, she was never shod behind ever so it helped.
But I have invested in scoot boots for her fronts as we do a lot of hacking on the road, she will hopefully continue showjumping on a surface without boots in time.
She lives out in field all summer, and winter she is in at night and out on pea gravel pens during the day.

How do you find the scoot boots? Do they fall off easily?
Also curious! How come she doesn't need them for the back feet? Is it because she just used to being u shod on those?

 

[CastlelackSportHorses]

How do you find the scoot boots? Do they fall off easily?
Also curious! How come she doesn't need them for the back feet? Is it because she just used to being u shod on those?

She is very comfortable in the scoot boots hacking on roads, will test them in fields this evening and let you know!
Yes I think her hinds are just super hard as she was never shod behind.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

I wouldn't worry too much about hacking barefoot on sand unless you do absolutely miles and miles, then it might be a tiny bit abrasive, just keep an eye on her feet and how much they are wearing. Stones in the sand are generally not an issue as they sink when stepped on.
Generally they grow the amount of hoof they need if their work is consistent, but sometimes in wet winter weather the wear beats the growth. You shouldn't need boots for beach/arena/dunes really, and frankly the risk of grit rubbing would be more of a worry for many styles.

Barefoot is much better for shock absorption, sounds like you won't have much trouble in that setup/work level. Keep a close eye on her feet for thrush as thats often the actual cause of any footinees. It hides in narrow frog grooves, isn't always super obvious.

Nah we wouldn't do miles! Normally we're out for about an hour or so at a time
Makes sense about the stones sinking!
What would I be looking out for with thrush?

 

[Clairlyagenius]

What turnout/free time does she have in the winter?

She gets out in the round pen during the day with one other horse pal, then around 4-5pm she comes for in hand work, or riding, and usually comes in around 6 or 7pm for feeding. The fields just turn to mush so they can't go out in them in winter

 

[Clairlyagenius]

The 2 most I portent things are a good trim and diet.

I've asked around and the farrier I normally get does do barefoot trims too
Then for feed in the winter, it's ad lib haylage, and 2 scoops of gain stud cubes, handful of alfa a oil fibre feed, and a big dollop of Carron oil!

 

[Landcruiser]

Why is she on the Gain Stud cubes? They contain both molasses and alfalfa, both best avoided for healthy hooves. They seem to be for breeding and growing stock?

Ingredients​

Oats, Wheat feed, Alfalfa, Maize, Soya bean meal, Beet pulp, Sunfl ower meal, Molasses, Wheat, Soya beans toasted, Barley, Soya bean hulls, Soya bean oil.

Nutritional Information​

• DE MJ/kg : 12.5
• Protein % : 15.0
• Oil % : 5.0
• Fibre % : 9.5
• Vit. A iu/kg : 15,000
• Vit. D3 iu/kg : 2,000
• Vit. E iu/kg : 400
• Ca mg/kg : 1.7
• Cu mg/kg : 50
• Se mg/kg : 0.4

Daily Feeding Guide​

	KG	KG Feed Level
Weanling	200	2.0-3.0
Yearling	325	3.3-5.0
2yr Old	450	4.5-6.8
Stallion	500	5.0-7.5
Mare Pregnant	500	2.5-5.0
Mare Lactating	500	5.0-7.5

 

[CastlelackSportHorses]

@Landcruiser Whats your opinion on Agrobs?

 

[Landcruiser]

Agrobs is good stuff. I fed it for a good while 'till my local feed store stopped keeping it.

 

[paddy555]

Why is she on the Gain Stud cubes? They contain both molasses

oh dear, all mine get molassed sugar beet and have done for years.

I haven't found diet to be that important. To me the trim is everything.



I'm not sure why stud cubes would be needed except for breeding stock.

Sand does wear feet. I set up my tracks with sand one year and had beautiful mustang rolled feet however they had plenty of foot so I would just keep an eye on wear to start with.
The main problem you may have is boots. Irish draft sounds like large feet. Boots sizes and varieties are great for normal sized feet but larger ones do sadly miss out badly on boot choice.

 

[paddy555]

re thrush this may show you the back of the foot. That foot is very contracted and poor.

someone tighten those rug straps for heaven's sake!!

If your horse is just coming out of shoes then fungal infections are pretty likely. I have found the most effective treatment to be copper sulphate. (about 3 treatments about 3 days apart not forever)

 

[FitzyFitz]

Nah we wouldn't do miles! Normally we're out for about an hour or so at a time
Makes sense about the stones sinking!
What would I be looking out for with thrush?

thrush is black crumbly stuff usually alongside the frog in the grooves, usually smelly. BUT it can sometimes be hidden, if the horses frog has a narrow crevice/crack in the middle rather than an open thumbprint shape, assume theres thrush in there. If it's already open and healthy and the surrounding sole is solid and dry you're golden.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

Why is she on the Gain Stud cubes? They contain both molasses and alfalfa, both best avoided for healthy hooves. They seem to be for breeding and growing stock?

Ingredients​

Oats, Wheat feed, Alfalfa, Maize, Soya bean meal, Beet pulp, Sunfl ower meal, Molasses, Wheat, Soya beans toasted, Barley, Soya bean hulls, Soya bean oil.

Nutritional Information​

• DE MJ/kg : 12.5
• Protein % : 15.0
• Oil % : 5.0
• Fibre % : 9.5
• Vit. A iu/kg : 15,000
• Vit. D3 iu/kg : 2,000
• Vit. E iu/kg : 400
• Ca mg/kg : 1.7
• Cu mg/kg : 50
• Se mg/kg : 0.4

Daily Feeding Guide​

	KG	KG Feed Level
Weanling	200	2.0-3.0
Yearling	325	3.3-5.0
2yr Old	450	4.5-6.8
Stallion	500	5.0-7.5
Mare Pregnant	500	2.5-5.0
Mare Lactating	500	5.0-7.5

Oh I didn't know that!
I have her on them, as I want to build her up a bit, because she does a good bit of work and, while she isn't underweight, I felt like she could use the extra calories! That's just what I was recommended to put her on by the feed representative dude.

 

[Clairlyagenius]

oh dear, all mine get molassed sugar beet and have done for years.

I haven't found diet to be that important. To me the trim is everything.



I'm not sure why stud cubes would be needed except for breeding stock.

Sand does wear feet. I set up my tracks with sand one year and had beautiful mustang rolled feet however they had plenty of foot so I would just keep an eye on wear to start with.
The main problem you may have is boots. Irish draft sounds like large feet. Boots sizes and varieties are great for normal sized feet but larger ones do sadly miss out badly on boot choice.

Yeah stud cubes was just the recommendation from the Gain representative dude, to help build her up.. I don't think she's really put on much though anyways
She does have big feet! Not like, dinner plates or anything, she's a light enough draft, but a lot of the tbs and other horses at the yards feet look tiny to me by comparison

 

[daffy44]

oh dear, all mine get molassed sugar beet and have done for years.

I haven't found diet to be that important. To me the trim is everything.



I'm not sure why stud cubes would be needed except for breeding stock.

I totally agree with this, I've had a variety of barefoot horses over the past 18yrs and they've been fed different things according to work, weight etc, and whatever I've fed doesnt seem to have made a diference to their feet, for my horses the excellent and regular trims have been so much more important, and (I think) the key to keeping them sound, healthy and active.