Whats better- Shoes or barefoot?

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Samantha008

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Cannot decide what to do with my mare.

Barefoot- more natural. Better for horse to stay sound. Cheaper.

Shoes- my horse trips alot and a rolled toe or natural balance shoe could help her. Cost more money. Wouldnt worry as much about terrain. Would stop natural growth of foot and can lead to problems like navicular (apparently??)

I just cannot decide. Both have good and bad points. My horse has fantastic feet, in very good conditions and are very hard as shes been out for 12 months barefoot but walked in hand on different surfaces to harden her feet. For the next 12 months horse will only be hacked and lioghtly schooled.

Please help. What do you do with yours and why?
 
In answer to your question, I think both have merits but it really does depend on the individual horse taking into account all the variables. It would be impossible to say shoe or don't shoe.

I am always tempted to go unshod until a horse needs shoes for whatever reasons. My farrier is my God as far as foot issues go, if he recommended shoeing then I know he would have the best interests of the horse in mind when he said that.

I do very little roadwork at all, none of mine are shod (Good! Because 10 x $70 every 8 weeks would be crippling:eek:) mainly because most are broodmares and there is absolutely no need to shoe them, as far as I know none of my horses have ever been shod.

If in regular work only one of the riding horses (flat feet) would need shoeing in my Farrier's opinion. I really dislike hoof boots with a vengeance and would rather shoe than ever consider using them.
 
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I think you are going to get so many opinions on this subject that it really is a decision only you can make depending on how your horse lives what you feed it and the work you do.

Ben is barefoot, 20 years old and has excellent joints, quite flat footed but is booted in front. I don't have any problems with boots, the've been a godsend to me :)

I like the fact that for most of the time he doesn't have shoes on. My other pony is just a field ornament so no need for shoes anyway.
 
I would love to keep my horse barefoot but having done some research I don't think the transition period would be fair to her. She is 21 years old and currently wears eggbar shoes for laminitis (possibly caused by concussion as it certainly wasn't caused by her diet!) and has lateral extensions on her hinds to help her spavins.
Just prior to this bout of laminitis she was the best she'd been in a couple of years, having been treated for the spavins and fit and in medium work which is what she needs. If I took her shoes off I'd need to at least greatly reduce the work to allow her to cope with the transition period.
She is just coming back into work this week from laminitis, walking only and with shoes we have finally got her right. I just can't bear to make any changes and risk it. If I had a different horse I would love to do barefoot and I try to give my current horse a lot of the benefits of the barefoot lifestyle (I try to have her walking as much as I can, and she gets the low sugar diet anyway), but at her age I think I am discovering if something ain't broke don't fix it.
Good luck deciding what to do with yours.
 
Depends on the horse, the person who will be trimming, the conditions the horse is kept in and what the owner can do to help. In the situation you describe I'd be tempted to try barefoot and use boots if the horse got footy.
Mine are all barefoot. Because they are fine that way and I have confidence in my trimmer.
 
If your horse has already been barefoot for 12 months personally I would try her barefoot and see how you go. You can always put fronts on later if you find you need to.
You need to read up about diet for the barefoot horse as this is really significant to keep the feet healthy and strong.
My mare is barefoot all winter, but she has just fronts on in the summer simply because I hack on a very stoney track and I do not do it enough to get her bare feet accustomed to it so I choose shoes for the summer.
Ask your farrier to put a barefoot roll on your horses feet, this will help with action and prevent splitting.
If your horse is tripping I would look as to why? Are the toes too long? Has the horse got arthritic changes in the joints and may therefore benefit from a joint supplement? Shoeing a horse will not help prevent tripping.

You cannot generalise and say one or other is better. Barefoot is clearly more natural, but there may be a host of reasons for a horse being shod. Some horses are unable to go barefoot (you have to remember it is man who breeds horses with poor feet - these wouldn't survive in the wild), due to confirmation or workload etc.
 
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I have one barefoot and one with fronts. both were barefoot but my mare was really struggling with our stone tracks around the yard and i could not find a hoof boot to fit her, she has wide feet so i await the release of the easy boot glove wide!
My tb is barefoot and will stay this way while he is still sound! he has navicular and bone spavins and was intermitently lame with shoes on. He wears easy boot gloves.
 
She trips as shes a recovered wobbler. Its not more noticeable than other horses any more, but ive always been told by my farrier that rolled toe shoes help!

He suggests that she stays barefoot, and if she gets footy well put all her shoes back on. Ive never had a barefoot horse and i love the idea of it but in practice im not sure how practical it is.

I dont like just fronts, its my own preference though. I dont know why i dont!

Hmmm its just a big decision to make :) Shes going to stay barefoot for now, its very stoney around us so well have to see how she goes!! I also dont like the hoof boots. Would rather she had actual shoes i think :/

Thanks
 
Ironically it is easier to have a shod horse, because you are not constantly worrying about their feet!

For long term health and soundness then barefoot is best, if you horse has good feet and can easily cope with the amount of work you aim to do.
 
I havnt found any thing my boy cant do that a shod horse could. I am lucky though as he dosent need any special managment to stay comfortable bare foot. If its any help my boy hacks round gravel pits twice a week, over large stoney tracks and has never been uncomfortable so it is do-able.
 
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Barefoot isn't easier... neither is it more difficult, but you can still do as much as a shod horse. Mine dressages, xc, hunts, hacks on all terrain mostly.
 
Lana my 5 y.o stopped tripping when her shoes were taken off. Zara, my horse with a bone spavin has just started work after 9 months off and she also doesn't trip anymore now she's barefoot!
 
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