Time to give in and out shoes on

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StoptheCavalry

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My horse has been barefoot since I've had him (about 2 years) with no real issues. However since moving to a new yard at the end of this year this is our first summer on stonier tracks. My poor boy was a little more hesitant than normal on Friday and Saturday I actually got off and walked him home. So I've made the decision to have front shoes put on him, it was awful to see him so sore.

I was wondering, now I'm going to have front shoes on him will I be able to just take them off in the winter or should I expect once they're on they will have to stay on? I think he must be grass sensitive as its only since they've been turned out in the summer field I have had issues
 
StoptheCavalry said:
My horse has been barefoot since I've had him (about 2 years) with no real issues. However since moving to a new yard at the end of this year this is our first summer on stonier tracks. My poor boy was a little more hesitant than normal on Friday and Saturday I actually got off and walked him home. So I've made the decision to have front shoes put on him, it was awful to see him so sore.

I was wondering, now I'm going to have front shoes on him will I be able to just take them off in the winter or should I expect once they're on they will have to stay on? I think he must be grass sensitive as its only since they've been turned out in the summer field I have had issues
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Why don't you just get some hoof boots for his fronts, then you can take them on and off whenever necessary.
 
To be honest I don't think they would stay on, he has an odd action in front and having seen a fellow livery struggle with hind boots twisting off I don't think they will work for him. He has a very narrow chest, I am sure people may be horrified by his conformation.
 
If they twist then they most likely don't fit properly. Just giving another option. My narrow chested tb has a close front leg action and over tracks.. She walks trots and canters in hers with no issues whatsoever. At the end of day its your choice, just though I would throw that out there! :)
 
Shoes are not the devil. If you need them you need them.

Ive got one fully shod and one fuly barefoot and if either needed the other they would get it if it helped them or was whats best for them regardless of what folk thought :)
 
I have considered the boots but for a number of reasons I have decided shoes to be the best option. One reason obviously being his odd action the other being that we have quite Stoney tracks from the yard to the field and he is obviously quite foot sore so I think he could do with 24/7 help rather than just while being ridden. Thank you for your input though, boots work great for another livery just not sure they are for us.
 
I really wouldn't want to restrict his grazing. There are 5 horses on our yard all of which live out together during the summer. My horse has terrible separation anxiety and so I wouldn't feel comfortable separating him from the rest for and length of time.
 
Don't beat yourself up OP. My mare was bare for nearly two years but we moved to a new yard with stoney tracks and she was the same a you describe, so I had her shod.

I have no regrets and she was much more comfortable immediatly. If anything, I feel bad that I took so long to make up my mind and that she'd soldiered on as she did bless her x

Should the need or chance to go barefoot come around again she would be as I've saved her Renegade hoof boots, but for now it's shoes.
 
It was so awful seeing him struggle yesterday and he's such a trooper so kept going but think it would be unfair to ask him to continue struggling just for the sake of staying barefoot. Since I got him I had always said if he needs shoes he will have them and we have come to a time when I think he needs them so shoes he will have :)

Once the sugars in the grass have settled down and softer ground is upon us would it be a feasible option to take shoes off for winter? Or once they're on will they need to stay on to avoid having to start the barefoot transition process over again?
 
I'd certainly be restricting the grass to be sure that the footiness does not develop into full blown laminitis.
 
I don't think there is anything wrong with popping shoes on for the summer then taking them off in winter. Don't feel guilty about it, so long as your pony is "footy" rather than laminitic.
 
StoptheCavalry said:
Once the sugars in the grass have settled down and softer ground is upon us would it be a feasible option to take shoes off for winter?
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Many owners find this to be the perfect answer when they have a sensitive horse.

There are tricks to help our horses cope with the sugars at this time of year like

  • Turnout at night
  • muzzling
  • feeding a balancer high in copper, zinc and magnesium
  • feeding gut aids like yea sacc
  • feeding charcoal
  • feeding bicarb and salt

But at the end of the day, exercise is the most important metabolic aid and if you can't exercise the horse because it's sore, then shoes can be the best answer. There's no shame in doing the best for your horse and making him more comfortable and capable of working.

StoptheCavalry said:
Or once they're on will they need to stay on to avoid having to start the barefoot transition process over again?
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I wouldn't keep them on all the time.
Traditionally we used to 'rough off' horses and remove the shoes for a spell. The loss of this practice in the last 20 years has led to a sharp increase in pathologies (such as navicular/tendon, ligament and joint problems) despite us having some of the best trained farriers in the world.

If you routinely remove the shoes for a spell when the sugars in the grass are more manageable, you will find the hooves recover much more quickly than they do when the shoes have been on back to back long term.

It's about striking a balance.
 
I have considered a muzzle but in all honesty I was seeing what I could get away with him. He lived out all summer at my last yard but he was only ridden on roads on in the school so he never had to contend with the Stoney tracks like I do here. He's in a field with 4 others 1 of which is barefoot. We have sectioned the field off so not to let them gorge too much on the spring grass. He is still on his normal feed with pro balance supplement and additional mag ox but will certainly try to include the other supplements :) I had thought last week things had settled down after initially getting a bit of white line separation but clearly I was wrong. In an ideal world I would like him barefoot all the time but really if he has to have shoes on a few months of the year he would be much happier that way than being separated from his friends (in fact and no exaggeration he would probably kill himself trying to get back to them)
 
Sorry I can't quote I am on my phone. Thank you everyone for you're advice and support. I have never felt so bad feeling him hobbling along, he did get surprisingly better once I was off, maybe I should lay off the cakes :) I was very careful with his weight before going out into the summer field and cut his feed back a month before to ensure he didnt become too chubby. He is in lovely condition at the moment but he has obviously become quite bruised and sensitive. I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on him to make sure it doesn't turn into anything more sinister
 
That's fair.

Often the options to reduce the sugars enough to keep a sensitive horse BF on the average livery yard are unfair on both the horse and owner.

I certainly wouldn't advocate extreme measures just for the principle of BF.

Regarding diet OP, Pro Balance + will provide the copper, zinc and magnesium you need. I feed it but I do also add yea-sacc separately.

Some BF owners have found bicarb and salt can help at this time of year - and it's cheap.
 
Oberon- I actually think I have yea sac so will add that in tomorrow. What quantity of bicarb and salt should be added? I checked his feet over and everything looks good in his frogs although will keep an eye out and give them a preventative scrub just in case. I took his feed to him today as I didn't want him to have to hobble across the stones back to his stable so couldn't have a proper inspection this afternoon.

Because of all the horses living out and his terrible anxiety issues I couldn't separate him and don't feel I can ask someone to bring their horse in to keep him company. I have always been so smug that he is so normal and uncomplicated and it comes back to bite me in the bum. Going to see how he is over the next few days and make sure it's not just one bad bruise before making a snap decision but as long as he is comfortable shoes or not I'm happy. Don't want to force him to make do for another few months just to satisfy me wanting him to be barefoot.
 
The salt is a dessert spoon.

Bicarb - you'll need to check with the peeps over on the Phoenix that use it, I'm not sure. Let me know when you find out as I'd like to know myself :D
 
The best way of controlling grass intake and keep movement going is the track system aka paddock paradise. It is the best thing we have done with our land - horses have lots of room to gallop and play around the perimeter track and the middles are divided up and grazed in rotation....our next step is to put river pebbles around the drinking troughs and in the depressions that get muddy....if we had stoney tracks around I would install a stoney section as well so the hooves get conditioned to the type of terrain they are being ridden over!! If yard owners realised that this system confines the grass damage to a limited area they might be more acceptable of the practice!!
 
It would be lovely to have PP. I can't see many livery yards offering that though, cost of fencing etc just for a handful of bunny hugger types :p
 
Just offering my support OP, I am in the same position that I have asked the farrier out this week to put front shoes on. Mine has been great all winter but now the ground is harder and the grass is through he is struggling. He is off grass during the day and after the rain I took him off all together for a few days as the lambing shed was finally empty!
I have tried hoof boots but his big front feet don't feet any except Boas and they are getting harder to find, and the final issue is he is going to my neighbour's for the summer as I am now too pregnant to ride and for his long term health I would rather he was being exercised with shoes on than doing nothing, barefoot at home.
 
I cant see our farmer going for paddock paradise especially as it is only me and one other that have tried to be barefoot. I can see this being the perfect solution if you have your own land or majority needing this but for us I just don't think it would work out. I have read a bit about it though and it does seem really great if you can get it right.
 
BWa said:
Just offering my support OP, I am in the same position that I have asked the farrier out this week to put front shoes on. Mine has been great all winter but now the ground is harder and the grass is through he is struggling. He is off grass during the day and after the rain I took him off all together for a few days as the lambing shed was finally empty!
I have tried hoof boots but his big front feet don't feet any except Boas and they are getting harder to find, and the final issue is he is going to my neighbour's for the summer as I am now too pregnant to ride and for his long term health I would rather he was being exercised with shoes on than doing nothing, barefoot at home.
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Zak has been foot perfect all winter, I was the envy of many with my hard rock crunching feet so feel a bit demoralised now it has all gone belly up. But like you say I would much rather he had shoes on in work than no shoes doing nothing. I know I am lazy with him and there are probably other things I could try but the excellent thing about zak was him being low maintenance and I LOVE the yard I am on now and it is so easy going and relaxed. I could spend the next few months trying different options to not have shoes on all the while I have a very fit, very bored, very sore horse doing nothing.
 
Don't beat yourself up as I had shoes put back on my endurance horses this year after two years of being barefoot. I realised that I wasn't enjoying them as much as I should as I was constantly worrying about whether to boot or not.

The day they were shod was horrible, I felt sick and miserable but I have to admit after a couple of days of them wearing them, they were so much better and a lot more forward going so now I feel guilty battling on for so long.

I tried most things but the only way I could have kept them barefoot was to keep them off grass 24/7 which meant keeping them stabled for this period. This is totally unatural so I decided shoes would be the better alternative and I'm glad I did.

At the end of the endurance season (about September / October) they will be having them off again until about February or March next year. My farrier said their feet shouldn't be compromised at all in this time especially if they get a break from them. He also said he doesn't understand why more people don't take their horses shoes off in the winter just like in the good old days!
 
Mitchyden said:
Don't beat yourself up as I had shoes put back on my endurance horses this year after two years of being barefoot. I realised that I wasn't enjoying them as much as I should as I was constantly worrying about whether to boot or not.

The day they were shod was horrible, I felt sick and miserable but I have to admit after a couple of days of them wearing them, they were so much better and a lot more forward going so now I feel guilty battling on for so long.

I tried most things but the only way I could have kept them barefoot was to keep them off grass 24/7 which meant keeping them stabled for this period. This is totally unatural so I decided shoes would be the better alternative and I'm glad I did.

At the end of the endurance season (about September / October) they will be having them off again until about February or March next year. My farrier said their feet shouldn't be compromised at all in this time especially if they get a break from them. He also said he doesn't understand why more people don't take their horses shoes off in the winter just like in the good old days!
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Thank you, I think I was a little too cocky about how great his feet were, this is clearly pay back. I was gutted to not ride this weekend, I had made plans twice to go on the Saturday and Sunday and had to cancel both times as his feet were bad. Glad to hear I can take his shoes off and give him a break though, I have no problem with him having shoes on but I had always said if he needs them he will have them and in winter he doesn't.
 
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