Thinking of taking shoes off and which boots?

[CobsGalore]

My horse had front shoes on when I bought him last year, so I have just carried on putting fronts on him.

Tbh, I'm not sure why he has shoes on the front as he has good hard feet and his hinds look brill. My farrier only needs to tidy up his hinds and he says they are pretty much self trimming?

I have been thinking for a while about taking his fronts off too and have a few questions -

Which boots are good? We do a fair amount of road work so would definitely want him in boots to start with.

Does he need to go on a special diet before taking them off? At the moment he just has lo cal balancer and some magnesium.

Is there a better time of year to do it? If so, when?

Thanks

 

[SuperH]

My Section D is not shod at the moment, I had fronts on her last summer but decided she doesn't need them so took them off in the autumn. I don't give her any feed other than hay. I am going to give her a mineral lick though as I noticed this week she is keen to lick me.

I don't boot mine, she has excellent feet and although we cover a lot of rough ground she shows no sign of discomfort. She doesn't do that much work at the moment though so I will keep an eye on her when we start to increase work load. If she wears her hooves down too quickly I will front shoe again.

My last one had shoes every 4-5 weeks - just because we did so much road work they were worn away. She would never have gone without shoes.

 

[laura_nash]

Sounds like a great idea to at least try him without, you don't want to be shoeing for no reason.


Which boots are good? We do a fair amount of road work so would definitely want him in boots to start with.


Very difficult to answer as different boots suit different hoof shapes, types of activities, individual horses etc (bit like saddles). After trying many different kinds I use Swiss Horse Boots and am very happy with them. The Saddlery Shop (online) do an advice and try before you buy service if you send measurements etc, though only for the boot types they sell.

Always a good idea to try / hire first or get second hand if you can't get anyone out to fit some (some trimmers do offer this). Don't try and buy boots before taking the shoes off, you need to get accurate measurements, plus you may find he doesn't need them at all. Also, don't get carried away as the boots you get initially will probably not be ones you use long-term (if you need any long-term). A lot of horses feet change shape over the first year so they may not fit in a years time, and some horses need pads in the boots initially and some of the better tight-fitting boots don't take pads. If you sign up for http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/ (not a bad idea anyway if you are taking the shoes off) there is a "The Boot Bible" sticky with lots of reviews and experiences of different boots.

Road work is actually good for unshod hooves (within reason) so if he seems comfortable don't boot up for all roadwork as a matter of course (initially booting for every other / longer rides can work well to allow the growth to catch up to the wear level and give you re-assurance).


Does he need to go on a special diet before taking them off? At the moment he just has lo cal balancer and some magnesium.


Since you've said he has good hard feet and his hinds are brill I would say no. If you have problems, that is the time to look at diet.


Is there a better time of year to do it? If so, when?


The wet (plus the extra stable time because of it) has caused problems for a lot of unshod horses this winter, but usually winter is a good time because you avoid the potential problems with grass sensitivity. Not that all horses have trouble with grass, but a lot do. Plus if you wait for summer (avoiding the spring grass) you may have rock hard ground to deal with (you never know!). I'd say if his feet look good now, then its as good a time as any.

 

[CobsGalore]

Thank you for so much brilliant information

Farrier is due our in a week or two so I will speak to him about it then.

In regard to road work, is it just the case of building it up? Starting off doing short rides and just seeing how he gets on? I suppose there is only a need to get boots if he is struggling?

 

[SuperH]

Yes I would start gradually and see how it goes, that's what I will be doing with mine if it ever dries up enough to ride properly...

 

[Kikke]

I swear by my renegade hoof boots.
Go in all paces on all terrain and in 6 months have not had one slip, shifted boot or lost boot. Very very happy with.
Have a look at www.hoofbootique.co.uk
They will help you as much as you need and can even hire boots for a couple weeks to try before you buy!
Good luck

 

[Kallibear]

Don't rush off to get boots. He quite possibly won't need them.

What do his fronts look like? Some horses have good feet despite the shoes and just don't notice if you take them off. Others have weak heels, rubbish frogs, thin soles etc and need a lot of help to repair the damage.

Road work is fabulous for feet. The smooth flat hard surface builds up their feet really quickly. It'll be sharp stoney ground and loose chips on the road he'll find hard initially. The more road work you do the better, you just need to build up fairly gradually if he's got slow growing feet. It can take a month or so for the feet to start growing faster to match growth. Just play it by ear.

He's doesn't need a magical diet, just one with no sugar (molasses or lush green grass) or starch (cereal feeds). There's a good all round supplement that should give him all the vits and minerals called Pro-Balance that's cheap and convenient (have a look on ebay). It could replace the LoCal if you wanted. There are more complex minerals available for those specifically lacking something but if he's happy and sound as he is there's no need to start messing about.