who competes barefoot?

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Dora5

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As title really. I've recently had my boys shoes off as his feet are not very good currently and he isn't holding shoes on one of his fronts and I'd like to do some ODE's this summer again and wondered who else competed barefoot
 
I hunt, have hunted four, and have evented to novice on two horse, be100 on another, and be90 on another two (just to show you its no fluke :) )
 
We are competing at 65cm but training 95 cm.. He gets super excited out and doesn't like to stop.
He is ridden 5x week and ridden on everything from sand to gravel with no problems. I tend to look for nicer footing when taking him xc and during xc training but even if we don't quite get there, it's not a big deal.
 
1 ex racer competing BD novice/elem, schooling adv med, and hacking out on roads with no prob.

other horse (also an ex racer) doesnt hack (due to brain not foot issues!) but is competing adv med/PSG and schooling GP :)
 
I was a BD last week and was amazed at how many horses are now barefoot :) We were discussing diet/shoeing practises etc and how they've changed as people have got skinter (!) and actually how its brought horses back to a more natural diet/management than previously!
 
Kal currently competes with no shoes on behind (has bar shoes on in front b/c of navicular) . . . he copes fine if the ground is good and not too slippy, but if he continues to do well out and about, we will consider putting shoes on behind so that we can stud him up/give him a fair shot.

However . . . I'd rather not.

P
 
I'm not currently, but have competed SJ and unaff eventing barefoot up to 1m. I didn't have any grip issues, despite the horse being a loon.
 
KatB said:
We were discussing diet/shoeing practises etc and how they've changed as people have got skinter (!) and actually how its brought horses back to a more natural diet/management than previously!
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I find that an interesting comment as I've definitely found the management/transition much more expensive out of, rather than in, shoes!
 
Well yes, horses with "special" requirements are needing more support, so it's definitely not always the cheaper option, but I noticed a lot of horses who are mainly arena bound are now unshod, whereas a couple of years ago, any working horses definitely "needed" to be shod... maybe it's not the cost saving, but either way, it's not a bad thing that people are becoming broader minded :)
 
KatB said:
Well yes, horses with "special" requirements are needing more support, so it's definitely not always the cheaper option, but I noticed a lot of horses who are mainly arena bound are now unshod, whereas a couple of years ago, any working horses definitely "needed" to be shod... maybe it's not the cost saving, but either way, it's not a bad thing that people are becoming broader minded :)
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But maybe a bit sad that more people are arena bound? I mean fine if horse is unable to cope without a fence to keep it in, but I feel many are restricted to an arena due to lack of hacking, or the rider being too nervy. For most horses I can't believe that just arena work is good for them mentally :o
 
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have mine barefoot, purely from a money perspective! I might try taking his shoes off this winter and see how I get on, but I can't/won't restrict his work because the ground is too hard etc, and he can be a bit of a delicate flower :rolleyes:
 
Dora5 said:
So do people find that you have enough grip xc without shoes and studs?
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A barefoot horse has better grip on surfaces than a shod horse. So in my case, over here 99% of the time I find I have plenty of grip.
Of course there is the occasional time where I wish I had studs available but most of the time I am fine. My boss doesn't even think of studding his horses until they are at 2*.

I don't know what footing is like over in the UK though, so I can only comment on what is done by me and the people I know over here. :)
 
Friesian was never shod for 20 years and competed in all disciplines but at a low level, including TREC. Lots of roads around where I am too.

Daughter's pony competed BE/PC Novice eventing unshod.

Currently TB (ex-racehorse) unshod behind and young ISH shod all round.
 
OP, I don't compete a lot, mostly due to horse not being quite ready yet, but I do plan to event eventually and we do hack over varied ground, go sj on different surfaces, xc schooling, school and jump on a surface and do quite a bit of walking on concrete all without issue. Infact we had a few good gallops out hacking last week through mud and over all sorts of terrain you'd expect to find quite slippy and both of mine (TB's) were super, no issues with grip at all.
 
We have a number of barefoot horses on the yard

warmblood stallion - hunting and advanced dressage
new forest pony - hunting and medium dressage
connemara pony - hunting and eventing BE90
connemara pony - showjumps up to 1.10m

I work at a show centre and I'm noticing increasing numbers of barefoot horses competing here.
 
I would really like to have mine barefoot. Tried with no back shoes on, but even tho she wasn't footsore at all; all the work we were doing meant she was not growing any & that made her sore. she has very very flat front feet though. I hope to take her back shoes off this winter & see how she goes hunting wise
 
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