to shoe or not to shoe, that is the question!

Firehorse

Firehorse

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my pony has fronts on at the mo. he had them when i bought him nearly 5 yrs ago, so i've kept him that way. we do a lot of hacking and do a fair bit on roads and stoney tracks and in summer we go to the beach, pebbles and then sand. he has always been very careful about picking his way thru stones or moving to the side if grassy. he also goes very carefully in his field when it is frozen and hard. at the moment with all the wet and especially the wet chalk on the Downs, he is slipping a lot with his back feet and i am worried he will injure something. he can also have stupid moments out hacking and completely forgets its slippy underfoot if he thinks it's time for a blast. he's coming up for 18, not old i know but does hve a little stiffness in his hocks, which i mostly notice during winter.

i'd decided last year when it was wet, that certainly as he gets older, i'd hve hind shoes put on him to help him feel more comfortable. and now i'm thinking it might be time to at least try. i know without a doubt he will feel more secure as his front shod feet never slip. i'm not sure if i will do it jst until the ground dries up or keep them on permanently. i think if i find him better over the stoney ground, i may jst keep them on. but then i think am i being too soft? lol.

anyone else done similar??
 
It's unusual he is slipping more when he is barefoot as I've found with mine that they are a lot more surefooted without shoes. What is your pony fed on? He shouldn't really be footy. Has he ever had laminitis?
 
NellRosk said:
It's unusual he is slipping more when he is barefoot as I've found with mine that they are a lot more surefooted without shoes. What is your pony fed on? He shouldn't really be footy. Has he ever had laminitis?
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he has never had laminitis in the time i hve had him or the two years his previous owner had him. he lives out 24/7 and gets simply jst balancer throughout the good times, happy hoof + balancer when the grass is sparse and fibrebeet + balancer throughout winter with haylage. he does drop a little condition in winter. just this past week his girth has gone up one extra hole but there is very little in the field right now.

it's his bare back feet that slip in mud. his shod front feet will slip on drains but they are avoidable. he also tries his best to get off the stoney tracks that we hve to use and tip toes thru frozen mud.
 
My horse had trouble with hard ground he couldn't get traction, once his feet started comming right (very contracted, under run) and he gained concavity he became non slip :)
 
I just need to know general opinions so that I can go ahead and write about these opinions and their impact on horse welfare. It's my job to write about why and how and back it up with research, I just need public opinion as part of assignment, thank you for completing it!
 
louparkinson said:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/23PLTSQ

Please could anyone interested in the subject of shoeing or not shoeing, do this survey for me! It's for part of my university course, could really do with other people's opinions! Thank you
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First, it's a bit rude to post your survey on random threads by other people, rather than starting your own. Second, it's not well-designed: you don't give enough information about what the survey is for and where it's being evaluated, for what course, etc. The questions assume that the person answering is coming from a shod background (very little information is obtained about demographics, other than sex and age bracket), leave out any consideration of alternative hoof protection, allow for only one horse, and some questions may be completely irrelevant for certain horse owners. I suggest you go ask your lecturer to show you how to design a better survey. Sorry to be so cranky about it, but we see too many of these on this forum at this time of year.
 
louparkinson said:
I just need to know general opinions so that I can go ahead and write about these opinions and their impact on horse welfare. It's my job to write about why and how and back it up with research, I just need public opinion as part of assignment, thank you for completing it!
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Why and how what? Why people decide to shoe or not shoe, and how they implement this decision? I don't think your survey is sufficiently nuanced to give you any sort of valid data.
 
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