What's with this whole "Barefoot" trend?

Trifein said:
So I've noticed a lot of people going barefoot with their horses on the forums recently. May I ask why? :)

Not that I have anything against it, only because all of mine are without shoes and have been for a very, very long time.
Just absolutely baffled to why it's a big trend all of a sudden?
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Why does anyone pay £500 per annum , and ask horse to wear crampons? most people are brought up to accept it as the norm.
 
Hairy Old Cob said:
Where does this whole bare foot thing come? from I was always brought up that Horses were SHOD or UN-SHOD not barefoot as the y have Hooves Not Feet?
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I think BF came from the US where the whole working without shoes thing got going , and it does get used to differentiate between horses working without shoes and those just turned out.
People have always called hooves feet at times No foot no horse is a very very old saying .
 
I got into "barefoot" after my horse was diagnosed with hind limb PSLD, bilateral spavin, navicular and arthritis in one hind fetlock last October. I was advised to PTS or keep her as a field companion. She is now hacking out and starting schooling and I am hoping to start some unaffiliated dressage with her over winter (once I stop riding like a complete numpty!). She is sound and has really good hooves now.
 
Bought my boy barefoot 3 years ago and that's how he's stayed. Never had problems or been sore so didn't see the reason to put shoes on :)
 
risky business said:
I think it's just simply people are more open to try things and change things a little more these days, especially with the Internet and info you can find to :)

Although I am pro barefoot I don't like the pushy brigade you find that try to force it on everyone :o
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Its not always being pushy [imho] it is because some people are very anti and they give sound reasons why their horse could never be barefoot, so in response they are told that their reasoning in incorrect, and how to do it if they want to give it a proper trial. Telling people how to do things is never popular, as most people making statements assume their opinion is correct, as I do now!
 
Yay! First time in my life I've ever been trendy............

Only not really - I've had barefoot horses for 17 years or more.

It's not trendy - its just the internet has made it a bit more 'visible'.
 
It is brilliant to see so much more coverage in the media (notably Horse & Rider and Local Rider mags that I have seen). My last horse was shod (although briefly bare, but I was uneducated about it at the time), but my new horse is bare; I first researched the welfare benefits and looked at all the modern research as far back as when I was considering buying him; I am determined to make it work for his long term soundness and health (if it does suit him and promotes good health, obviously - I realise all horses are individuals!!) He's Draught so not the easiest but it is all looking positive! It does take time after being de shod for the feet to turn around and rehabilitate.

I am booting, and have found Trelawne Equine very supportive on all matters, eg not just hoof booting, diet and trimming as well: www.trelawneequine.co.uk

I agree that calling it a trend may put people off, but at the same time it is certainly a movement that's becoming more popular, eg at my yard of around 15 horses, 3 or 4 are bare.
 
As people see people making it work more will try it so I think more and more horses will be in work without shoes .
But it does take a bit of effort at first and can be daunting when your vet is very anti it .
 
My mare was shod as a four year old but developed laminitis so shoes were removed, she is now 19 and has not worn shoes since she was about 6. My cob was unshod until he was 5 and then he was shod to sell? I bought him at 5 and he has been shod since until my farrier suggested about 3 months ago that he didn't really need shoes as I am not riding him enough so they were removed and he is fine without them so will not be shod again. I also have two miniatures which are not shod obviously as their feet are too small!:)
 
Trifein said:
So I've noticed a lot of people going barefoot with their horses on the forums recently. May I ask why? :)

Not that I have anything against it, only because all of mine are without shoes and have been for a very, very long time.
Just absolutely baffled to why it's a big trend all of a sudden?
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Three reasons.

1. More and more people are realising that horses which farriers are saying will never cope without shoes not only can, but have better feet as a result. One person in a yard does it, and then the others see it can be done, and numbers grow exponentially and it begins to look like a trend. I don't care if it's a trend as long as horses who don't need shoes don't have them nailed to their feet. And owners aren't fooled by ignorant or greedy farriers into paying for unnecessary shoeing.

There were always horses with good feet working without shoes. Not many, but some. What is the new trend is realising that nearly all feet improve out of shoes and that many, many of the horses who don't look suitable candidates to farriers are actually the very ones who need to do it most.

2. It is looking more and more and more likely that the best way to cure navicular and caudal hoof lameness of all origins is to remove the shoes and give the horse the right work to stimulate the back half of the foot. There are now dozens of people on this forum and tons more elsewhere who have horses that have been saved from retirement or worse by a barefoot rehab. Rockley Rehab Yard has succeeded in markedly improving every single one of over 50 rehabs that have been through their yard and restore over 80% of them to previous performance levels including jumping and hunting.

When you see a thing like that happening, you have to question whether it was the shoes that caused the problem in the first place, given that it seems to easy to create huge improvements by removing them.

And that is the second thing driving the trend, the growing concern that shoes are actually damaging horses.

3. The recession! It costs less for most people.
 
Just had a thought, dangerous, I know! Maybe something to do with horses/ponies living so much longer, in general, these days. Perhaps in the past shod hooves lasted as long as a shorter living horse?
 
my dales went from full set shoes to none...he was great over all ground thought brill....then when we started to get him fit for the summer season...well his hooves just couldnt keep up and so i put shoes on...they will come off again in winter months when we dont do much...but i think we are blessed with miles and miles of bridleways but they are all hard stoney ground and so hooves wore down quick...have a great farrier who is not anti barefoot and he agrees that during the fittening and eventing months shoes are the best option...not really interested in trend etc just whats best for the horse !
 
Janah said:
Just had a thought, dangerous, I know! Maybe something to do with horses/ponies living so much longer, in general, these days. Perhaps in the past shod hooves lasted as long as a shorter living horse?
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Good one! I hadn't made that connection. When I was a lass, a horse over 8 was formally described as "aged" and any RC horse over 10 was worth a lot less money. And it was impossible to insure a horse over 15. Can't imagine that now!!
 
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horseandshoes77 said:
my dales went from full set shoes to none...he was great over all ground thought brill....then when we started to get him fit for the summer season...well his hooves just couldnt keep up and so i put shoes on...they will come off again in winter months when we dont do much...but i think we are blessed with miles and miles of bridleways but they are all hard stoney ground and so hooves wore down quick...have a great farrier who is not anti barefoot and he agrees that during the fittening and eventing months shoes are the best option...not really interested in trend etc just whats best for the horse !
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Was the horse ever sore? A lot of people give up because the feet get so short and it frightens them, but barefoot feet look very short compared to shod feet. If the horse was not sore, he did not need shoes.

Alternatively, if he was sore, he may have coped if you had been able to increase his work more slowly. Of course that may not have been possible for you, but it is a suggestion for other people in a similar situation. I have to start getting my hunter fit a months before his body needs, to get his feet to start producing enough growth to match the extra wear that he is going to get when he hunts.
 
Hmmm, twenty odd years fago when I had horses in the US, we didn't call it "going barefoot", we called it "Pulling their shoes off/going unshod" It wasn't a huge transitional thing, or a trend. It was an economy thing. They needed shoes sometimes, and sometimes they didn't. But they sure could go without and still do some work.

Now I have a horse that according ot my farrier could happily go with fronts only - so this winter that's what we're going to try. It's mainly to save me a bit of money, but if there are other benefits for us both, I'm happy enough.
 
Trend or not it benefits the horse and that's what i am interested in.
I actually stumbled into it. I took my horses shoes off, i had 2 horses, while i was having my kids and while they had a few years out of work i started to do a bit of research about keeping them without shoes when i started to work them again. I found loads of info out and i have never put shoes back on my horses. I now have 4 horses and i won't be putting shoes on any of them, i will use hoof boots if i need to use something to protect the hoof. It also means that i can afford to keep the extra horses as shoes cost a fortune.
 
cptrayes said:
Good one! I hadn't made that connection. When I was a lass, a horse over 8 was formally described as "aged" and any RC horse over 10 was worth a lot less money. And it was impossible to insure a horse over 15. Can't imagine that now!!
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This ^^^
It was the same for me :o.
Back then, most horses did an awful lot more roadwork than I see anyone I know doing now. BUT, the roads were so much quieter and safer then. People used to hack to shows, often a good few miles there, compete then hack back. Nowadays, it's the done thing to transport horses, even to the wee local show just down the road.
Even as little as 10 years ago, I never thought twice about driving the cob I had for 10 miles, doing a wedding or gala day then driving him the 10 miles back home. I also hacked him for miles on main roads. I have ridden and driven him in the centre of Edinburgh !
The pony I have now has very good feet, and I don't plan to have her shod. I've had unshod horses in the past, because their workload didn't justify putting shoes on them. The cob above was only shod when he was doing a lot of driving, but I have done dressage, jumping and XC plus hacking on him without shoes. He's 17 now and as fit as he was as a 6 year old.
I wouldn't say that barefoot is becoming a trend as such, but more that people are realising that their horses might not actually need shoes.
I've always known myself, for as long as I have been around horses, that the blood circulation in the hoof capsule is better in the unshod hoof due to the pump action the frog provides. :)
 
horseandshoes77 said:
my dales went from full set shoes to none...he was great over all ground thought brill....then when we started to get him fit for the summer season...well his hooves just couldnt keep up and so i put shoes on...they will come off again in winter months when we dont do much...but i think we are blessed with miles and miles of bridleways but they are all hard stoney ground and so hooves wore down quick...have a great farrier who is not anti barefoot and he agrees that during the fittening and eventing months shoes are the best option...not really interested in trend etc just whats best for the horse !
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Have a look at the Rockley Farn hunting records, all their horse are bare but some need more management than others. All get mins and vits to support their needs.
 
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