Why do we shoe by default rather than necessity?

I always used to shoe my horses and not even question it but back then I didn't even know there was an alternative!

When I started competing endurance I started meeting people - lots of people! - who were doing the same rides I was doing but without shoes. Not only that they were doing these rides much faster than I was! How could that be, I asked? Surely hard working horses doing lots of road work and going over stony/flinty/rocky paths need shoes? What magic are these other riders using to keep their horses sound? And as I did longer and longer distances and started wearing my horse's shoes out in 3 weeks, resulting in more and more nail holes and weaker and weaker feet I decided to find out more.

Once you do the research you start to explode the myths - you can't do lots of road work unshod (wrong!), you can't compete endurance unshod (wrong!), horses need shoes to grip (wrong!), white feet are too soft to go unshod (wrong!) etc etc. I decided to give it a go but was quite prepared to put his shoes back on if it didn't work.

Haven't looked back since! All my horses are now barefoot. I can now ride faster and further than I did before and they are all happier and healthier. It's not always easy and certainly isn't done to save money but in the long run it is soooo much better for me and for them. I wouldn't ever use shoes again and have to say if I ride other people's horses that are shod it feels very very odd!
 
mrdarcy said:
i always used to shoe my horses and not even question it but back then i didn't even know there was an alternative!

When i started competing endurance i started meeting people - lots of people! - who were doing the same rides i was doing but without shoes. Not only that they were doing these rides much faster than i was! How could that be, i asked? Surely hard working horses doing lots of road work and going over stony/flinty/rocky paths need shoes? What magic are these other riders using to keep their horses sound? And as i did longer and longer distances and started wearing my horse's shoes out in 3 weeks, resulting in more and more nail holes and weaker and weaker feet i decided to find out more.

Once you do the research you start to explode the myths - you can't do lots of road work unshod (wrong!), you can't compete endurance unshod (wrong!), horses need shoes to grip (wrong!), white feet are too soft to go unshod (wrong!) etc etc. I decided to give it a go but was quite prepared to put his shoes back on if it didn't work.

Haven't looked back since! All my horses are now barefoot. I can now ride faster and further than i did before and they are all happier and healthier. It's not always easy and certainly isn't done to save money but in the long run it is soooo much better for me and for them. I wouldn't ever use shoes again and have to say if i ride other people's horses that are shod it feels very very odd!
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agreed!! :)
 
mrdarcy said:
Once you do the research you start to explode the myths - you can't do lots of road work unshod (wrong!), you can't compete endurance unshod (wrong!), horses need shoes to grip (wrong!), white feet are too soft to go unshod (wrong!) etc etc. I decided to give it a go but was quite prepared to put his shoes back on if it didn't work.
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i agree about the roadwork- my horses were always fine on the roads barefoot- it was getting to and from the roads we had issues with!

the white foot = weaker horn myth was blown out of the water years ago as far as i'm aware?

regarding grip, that is the reason shod my 4yro. after watching him hit the floor very hard due to losing his front feet i rang the farrier and had front shoes put on. he was much happier working on long grass straight away.

could you advise what i could have done differently to keep him barefoot and stop him losing confidence?



i understand that horses can work hard without shoes- i disagree about the grip having ridden a lot of horses barefoot, shod and with studs but i digress.

to the people who work their horses 'properly' without shoes- do you think the majority of owners on normal livery yards can privide the dietary and lifestyle requirements for most horses to work barefoot?

i understand my horses get sore barefoot due to things like sugar levels in grass but what do i do about it?
not turn them out?
get a turnout pen?

i can't agree with the first option and don't see many livery yards allowing me an acre or 2 to turn into a dirt pen.

genuinely interested to know what can be done about sugar sensitivity in this situation as clearly would rather not be paying for shoes every 6 weeks if it can be avoided!
 
millitiger said:
to the people who work their horses 'properly' without shoes- do you think the majority of owners on normal livery yards can privide the dietary and lifestyle requirements for most horses to work barefoot?
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there Millitiger! My horses are all very successful barefoot, but I'm lucky in that I do rent my own land, so can keep my horses in the way I prefer and in a way which works well for barefoot horses.

Should I ever have to move to a livery yard (god forbid!), I would still definitely endeavour to keep my horses barefoot, but I can fully understand that the set-up of many livery yards is simply not condusive to a barefoot lifestyle and why it doesn't work for all - not for want of trying!
 
siennamum said:
I am shoeing my youngster at the end of this month. He has been on and off in work for 6 months or so, he is crippled on the stony tracks round us which limits our hacking, otherwise I would save myself the money. I'd love to avoid paying for shoes, no choice unfortunately.
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Have you looked at hoof boots?
 
When I started riding ~30 years back, all the riding school horses bar a few were ridden without shoes.

Back then, that is what it was, a horse without shoes, not the panacea of barefoot.

My horse is currently shod on the front only (4 point shoes), as she had a bad injury that led to a crack right up to the coronet band prior to me buying her. When I got her, the crack was maybe half way up her foot and about 2 inches wide at the bottom. She was shod from just before she was 4, she has never had back shoes on.

She has recently been to the referral vet and he commented on what lovely feet she had :) (my local vet had said the same) and he said he sees some bad feet coming through the practice. In his discharge report, it was mentioned that we would have to keep an eye on her back feet and shoe if necessary. I'm hoping it won't come to that, we hack on roads and rough(ish) terrain and she has never had any problems.
 
Good question!
There are quite a few things that could and should be "normal" to go without-many do not need rugs(esp fly rugs),clipping,shoes,feed,a stable,a noseband...will stop now or it will become a huge list :p

As others have said,it should be a case of using and doing things your horse needs and not what is "done".
 
I really think many horses are still shod as a matter of course.

Partly I think its because owners of youngsters dont want to leave it until they are older in case they are then difficult and their farrier wont put up with it.

Partly because many adult owners esp older ones may have learned to ride on horses in a school where they did a lot of work day in day out and so might have needed shoes.

And partly because its a carry over from almost all horses (maybe not ponies) being shod because they were working horses, pulling carts on cobbles, pulling carriages, hunting on slippy mud etc etc. So the culture of horse=shod is there.

Also peer pressure and the fact that barefoot means you have to pay a bit more attention to the hoof rather than it being all down to the farrier.

My 7yo has never been shod as I got her unbroken. Shes done an endurance ride on Scottish stony hill tracks with no boots and was sound as a pound at the finish.

My rising 18 yo IDxTB was always shod as he was shod when we got him at 6. But have recently taken his back shoes off to see how he does.

I have no problem with shoes as long as they are needed (eg for studs in tight turning fast competition or for horses who do not manage barefoot), but Im very pleased that the tide seems to be turning and that shoeing is becoming an 'if they need it' rather than a default assumption.
 
soloequestrian said:
If 'bare' became the default setting, and shoes were only used as neccessary and then taken off again when not (eg a horse competing on surfaces in the winter wouldn't be shod), would we have a healthier set of horses out there?
What do you think?
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I totally agree. I often think why on earth have they stuck shoes on a horse that does not even need it. Some cannot cope without, we all know this, but that could be mostly due to poor foot care and shoeing previously? A theory of mine :D
I do not understand why some think its natural to shove some shoes on a horse, some never need them. If young horses were given a chance I bet lots would cope well enough.
Most of our horses were never shod as they did not need them, only the TB mare had shoes on at times.
It is only in more recent years my current mare has worn shoes, I used to keep her barefoot as she came that way to me and coped perfectly well without.
There are even top horse men and women who leave their horses barefoot and compete at top levels so it just goes to show.....
 
I hate this misconception. Shoes are normally only put on a youngster as and when needed and certainly it is not the norm to put them on before the horse has been backed!!

Also there have been many times when i have suggested no shoes (or more importantly a break from shoes) and the owner has refused. I HATE that farriers are always blamed for this ''idea'' that we only want to shoe horses and that all horses need shoes. Why do you always assume its the farriers going around just slapping on shoes willy nilly? Hoof care is done at the owners request always, we can only make recommendations. Recommendations about hoof care, feed, shoes, no shoes, boots, shoeing or trimming intervals etc but it is ALWAYS down to the owner.

I do whats needed for every horse and if an owner wants shoes even after bieng presented with all the options then shoes it is.

Oh and just for the record neither of our mares has shoes on.
 
millitiger said:
i agree about the roadwork- my horses were always fine on the roads barefoot- it was getting to and from the roads we had issues with!

the white foot = weaker horn myth was blown out of the water years ago as far as i'm aware?

regarding grip, that is the reason shod my 4yro. after watching him hit the floor very hard due to losing his front feet i rang the farrier and had front shoes put on. he was much happier working on long grass straight away.

could you advise what i could have done differently to keep him barefoot and stop him losing confidence?
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Honestly without seeing his feet at the time I couldn't say. I find their grip so much better barefoot but only when they have got really good concavity. Without the concavity (or sometimes with the way people trim - farriers and barefoot trimmers both) you do lose grip - but with concavity and a good steep mustang roll you should have all the grip you need. It's what I've found anyway.

to the people who work their horses 'properly' without shoes- do you think the majority of owners on normal livery yards can privide the dietary and lifestyle requirements for most horses to work barefoot?

i understand my horses get sore barefoot due to things like sugar levels in grass but what do i do about it?
not turn them out?
get a turnout pen?

i can't agree with the first option and don't see many livery yards allowing me an acre or 2 to turn into a dirt pen.

genuinely interested to know what can be done about sugar sensitivity in this situation as clearly would rather not be paying for shoes every 6 weeks if it can be avoided!
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It's not easy and you've totally identified the main issues. But it is possible. Most yards have starvation paddocks for lami cases so you can ask to turn out onto them rather than the normal grazing. Other livery clients usually clamour for the fields with the most grass so you can make yourself popular with YO by opting for the fields with poorest grazing.

I also think that until people ask for things nothing changes. How much easier and cheaper would it be for YO's not to have to have lush fields and use tonnes of fertilizer each year? In fact if YO's could be persuaded to set up Paddock Paradise systems round the edges of their land they'd find it a far more efficient use of the land. You can keep more horses per acreage (therefore make more money!) and use the centre of the fields currently grazed to make hay/haylage (meaning having to buy less in - saving money!). But it is a leap of faith as, like competing barefoot horses, setting up a Paddock Paradise is so far away from how we traditionally keep horses. Paddock Paradise liveries yards are starting to spring up around the country... one by one... just as there are more and more barefoot horses out there competing. Like everything these things start small, start to snowball and one day become the accepted norm. Not saying it will happen quickly but it is happening. In the meantime we all do the best we can, make compromises and thank Easyboot for continually improving the design and fit of hoof boots!
 
My welsh C, just turned 5, came to me barefoot, was kept barefoot until a few months back, from the road work we'd been doing, and work in sand school, i was told by 3 different farriers, she was short of foot, and needed shoes as she went lame, they put shoe's on and with a couple of days was fully sound!
 
I think a more accurate reflection these days would be that people shoe their youngsters as and if they 'need' it (need in inverted commas because barefoot enthusiasts may argue they don't), but people whose horses are shod are perhaps are more likely to keep them shod, than to reconsider if their horse can cope barefoot, or to give them a break from shoes for health reasons - most if honest would probably take shoes off in off peak season primarily for the cost savings.
 
TheFarrier said:
I hate this misconception. Shoes are normally only put on a youngster as and when needed and certainly it is not the norm to put them on before the horse has been backed!!

Also there have been many times when i have suggested no shoes (or more importantly a break from shoes) and the owner has refused. I HATE that farriers are always blamed for this ''idea'' that we only want to shoe horses and that all horses need shoes. Why do you always assume its the farriers going around just slapping on shoes willy nilly? Hoof care is done at the owners request always, we can only make recommendations. Recommendations about hoof care, feed, shoes, no shoes, boots, shoeing or trimming intervals etc but it is ALWAYS down to the owner.

I do whats needed for every horse and if an owner wants shoes even after bieng presented with all the options then shoes it is.

Oh and just for the record neither of our mares has shoes on.
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Crumbs, I touched a nerve there! As I said earlier, I probably didn't put it well in my first post - I meant that the tradition that before you start work as in hacking, you put shoes on. I didn't say anything at all about farriers, and all the farriers whose work I have thought good have always been supportive of taking shoes off, and in some cases have encouraged (or even forced!) owners to let horses have breaks. It seems like everyone who has replied to my post has thought carefully about their reasons for shoeing, but I know there are a lot of people out there who think working horse (however much) = shoes, and it's so ingrained that they wouldn't even think that it needed thinking about. I've also come across at least one farrier who recommended shoeing a perfectly sound and happy unshod horse, who was only in light work, so they are out there. There was also a post in Vet the other day where a vet had recommended shoeing an unbacked 3-year old, for no good reason, which rightly caused outrage among forum members.
I wonder if the day will ever come when the Worshipful Company is of Trimmers and Farriers? At the moment it seems like farriers and trimmers are at war rather than trying to work towards the same goal.
 
[I wonder if the day will ever come when the Worshipful Company is of Trimmers and Farriers? At the moment it seems like farriers and trimmers are at war rather than trying to work towards the same goal.[/QUOTE]

I should imagine that this would only happen when trimmers have to undergo the same length of apprenticeship and the same standard of examination.

Ours are shod or unshod according to need, one shod, one fronts only and two unshod. Three in work and one retired. One was unshod for about 18 months, but required shoes again.
 
Where my horses are concerned shoeing is for the best.

Elouise (my 16.3 TB ) has wonderful feet, but due to suspensory ligament damage in her off hind and slight arthritic changes in both hind feet, she has to be shod all the way around to support her. When my vet deemed Elouise 'sound' to ride (gentle hacking) he said that my farrier would be my 'best friend' from here on in :D

Bozzy Boo (cobby type heinz 57) hadn't been shod for over 2 yrs when I got him and coped quite well. He hadn't been ridden over rough ground though and when I took him out he started to get slightly footsore as our farm track is very stony and not something he had been used to. Therefore I have him shod in front over the spring and summer months when he's ridden regularly to take the pressure off.

My New Forest, HoneyPony (R.I.P) was never shod and took everything 'literally' in her stride :D
 
It seems that with some of the more zealous barefoot advocates, farriers are unfairly being labelled as professionals who blindly slap shoes on anything that can hold a nail. With my youngsters and the cobs, neither farrier or I have ever questioned their need for shoes, we took it for granted that no shoes was the ideal. My WB X TB's just couldn't do the work without shoes, so rather than persist with having them off work, they were shod after much consideration.
 
When I had my pony as a child in the 60's he was shod because that's what I was told you did with horses.The Farrier never once suggested I didn't need shoes on him (Why should he?There was more money in shoeing)All the books talked about shoeing I never saw any that didn't so I shoed
When I got my mules they didn't have shoes.The Driving people said Blue would have to have front shoes (No one mentioned back shoes I think they'd seen her kick! ;) )She used to drive me to work up to five times a week sometimes,five miles each way and still doesn't have shoes.
 
yorksG said:
[I wonder if the day will ever come when the Worshipful Company is of Trimmers and Farriers? At the moment it seems like farriers and trimmers are at war rather than trying to work towards the same goal.
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I should imagine that this would only happen when trimmers have to undergo the same length of apprenticeship and the same standard of examination.
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A few very good points made so far on this thread! I do understand the suspicion many have towards trimmers, since there is not currently a universally accepted qualification and registration process in this country. However, there are plenty of trimmers who have undergone very rigorous, long training to get their qualifications, and who undergo CPD---just not, usually, inside the UK. For clients, it can accordingly be very difficult to judge if they are dealing with a "hack with a weekend course", as I've often heard it put, or with someone who has spent years of dedication acquiring proper training. I believe that most reputable trimmers are very much in favour of instituting recognised qualifications in the UK, and want to be in co-operation with vets and farriers.

I have encountered farriers of different types: those who seem open to ideas, evaluating them on their own merit, and those who have "their way or the highway". I think it's a feature of every profession.

One thing often forgotten by the average horse-owner, who is not necessarily an academic researcher, is that both farriery and veterinary medicine are professional qualifications, not academic research qualifications. Thus, while there are certainly people in these fields who are involved with research, the average practitioner is not, actually, going to be on the cutting edge of research. While a certain amount of CPD should be expected, it's actually quite unfair to expect that every vet is up-to-date on the most cutting-edge, developmental techniques out there, etc.

Having come from a country where widely-divergent styles of horse management exist side by side, I came to the conclusion fairly young that many of the things we do, we do because of tradition, not necessarily because they are the most effective method in the current situation. I was actually really really surprised at the amount of resistance I encountered here to the idea of keeping a horse in work, unshod. Conversely, in my upbringing, we would never ever have turned out a horse that's shod behind with other horses---it was seen as an invitation for broken legs! Here, it seems to be perfectly normal. Accordingly, very few horses were shod behind.

I think the biggest obstacle to keeping horses unshod/barefoot in this country is management, as others have said. The climate in conjunction with lushly-seeded fields is actually quite hostile to keeping a horse sound without shoes, and so, it becomes much easier to mask low-grade foot pain by shoeing, than to sort out the problem through long-term micro-management of diet and exercise. Instituting a "paddock paradise" track system on a livery yard in a very muddy sort of area is an expensive, complicated proposition.

When I got my pony nearly 2 years ago, I decided to keep him barefoot. To those of us who are members of that Sinister Barefoot Cult (see siggy!), the distinction is one of management: "shoeless" is a horse that doesn't have shoes, whereas "barefoot" implies that the owner has become obsessive about the relationship between management and hoof health---it's a philosophical distinction, really.

Where I lived in Canada, keeping a horse barefoot was easy: the climate was much drier and the summers much hotter, and the grass was simply not good enough to give concern for laminitis. Here, I'm constantly fretting about my whale-pony's circumference, and moving him in and out of pony jail (the restricted grazing paddock). When he became very uncomfortable on his feet in June, very respected professionals told me that he needed shoeing. I read the clues about LGL, however, decided that his grazing mask was a failure, confined him to pony jail yet again, and already overnight he was more comfortable. As far as he is concerned, "hard ground" is a myth, given a constant exercise regime over varied ground: it's grass, grass, and only grass that causes footiness. When his diet is right, he's sound and footsure on all terrain, and when we get it wrong, he starts being cautious. Rather than cover up what is clearly a metabolic problem with shoeing, I prefer to work at the management until I've got it right. I believe it's in his long-term best interest.

I think one of the biggest foes of progress on this issue is people on any side of the argument waxing polemical. What is often needed is a little more respect in the discussion...which is not always easy, granted!

In the spring, I attended a lovely seminar. It was given by a researcher on wild horse behaviour and hoof growth, hosted by a barefoot trimmers' collective, and attended by many farriers (as well as other people with equine interests). The discussion was professional, respectful, and rigorous. And the lunch was first-rate, too! :)
 
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:echo: TheFarrier. In fact our farrier says the same - it's the owners. Particularly when they're just getting refits time after time after time and the shoes have naff all wear, the horse clearly isn't doing enough on abrasive surfaces to warrant foot protection of any kind.

Ours are only ever shod when they need it and they go without the rest of the time, I'm old fashioned in that regard. Currently I don't have any with metal shoes, just one with glue on boots. And that's another thing - alternative forms of hoof protection and glue have come on no end over the last few years so there are so many more options over and above the choice being no shoes or nailed on metal shoes.
 
jinglejoys said:
When I had my pony as a child in the 60's he was shod because that's what I was told you did with horses.The Farrier never once suggested I didn't need shoes on him (Why should he?There was more money in shoeing)All the books talked about shoeing I never saw any that didn't so I shoed
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I've been pondering this too after what TheFarrier said. Although, as I said before, I've always been supported by farriers when I've taken shoes off, I was never once recomended to take them off as a break when I was a teenager and doing a lot of learning about horse keeping.
 
mrdarcy said:
Honestly without seeing his feet at the time I couldn't say. I find their grip so much better barefoot but only when they have got really good concavity. Without the concavity (or sometimes with the way people trim - farriers and barefoot trimmers both) you do lose grip - but with concavity and a good steep mustang roll you should have all the grip you need. It's what I've found anyway.
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he had/has excellent concavity- more so than my tb who has better balance than him without shoes (still not good enough for her to event imo so she wears shoes and studs too).
he has lovely feet of the correct shape, no cracks or weaknesses but was unsure on grass and suffered sugar sensitivity.

mrdarcy said:
It's not easy and you've totally identified the main issues. But it is possible. Most yards have starvation paddocks for lami cases so you can ask to turn out onto them rather than the normal grazing. Other livery clients usually clamour for the fields with the most grass so you can make yourself popular with YO by opting for the fields with poorest grazing.

I also think that until people ask for things nothing changes. How much easier and cheaper would it be for YO's not to have to have lush fields and use tonnes of fertilizer each year? In fact if YO's could be persuaded to set up Paddock Paradise systems round the edges of their land they'd find it a far more efficient use of the land. You can keep more horses per acreage (therefore make more money!) and use the centre of the fields currently grazed to make hay/haylage (meaning having to buy less in - saving money!). But it is a leap of faith as, like competing barefoot horses, setting up a Paddock Paradise is so far away from how we traditionally keep horses. Paddock Paradise liveries yards are starting to spring up around the country... one by one... just as there are more and more barefoot horses out there competing. Like everything these things start small, start to snowball and one day become the accepted norm. Not saying it will happen quickly but it is happening. In the meantime we all do the best we can, make compromises and thank Easyboot for continually improving the design and fit of hoof boots!
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we have no starvation paddocks as we have no kids and therefore no ponies- my 2 are on the barest paddocks we have.
i have an excellent YO but asking her to rip up all of her fencing for me may not go down too well! :)

i did look into the boots for my 4yro but as he isn't allowed to compete in them (BD/BE) it wouldn't have helped unfortunately.

my horses always have 12 weeks in winter without their shoes and all of the big eventing yards i have worked on have done the same- shoes off and out in the field so i am not sure it is as unusual as the OP suggests.

the same with people shoeing youngsters 'just because.' i have seen the absolute opposite and not just with my horses but at yards i have worked at and my friends who run breaking/ producing yards.
 
soloequestrian said:
I've been pondering this too after what TheFarrier said. Although, as I said before, I've always been supported by farriers when I've taken shoes off, I was never once recomended to take them off as a break when I was a teenager and doing a lot of learning about horse keeping.
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Me either. A few years ago when I first started thinking about barefoot I asked my then farrier (who is an excellent farrier btw) if I could go barefoot with my gelding. He shrugged and said although he had excellent feet as I wanted to do endurance there was no chance he could do the amount of work I needed him to do and stay sound for a bit longer. So I listened to him and the horse stayed shod. We've just completed our second barefoot season and the horse goes faster and is sounder than he was before - so the farrier has certainly been proven wrong in this case.

I've nothing against farriers and there are plenty of great ones out there who are taking the time to investigate barefoot and the advancements in hoof boots - in fact most of the people I trained with started out life as farriers! There are farriers doing the background work, including into diet, and helping their clients to go barefoot. Great! But not enough of them. I meet lots of different farriers out competing endurance (we have a farrier's check at every ride!). I would say 9/10 have no idea about the hoof boots I use (Easyboot Gloves) - which is crazy, as surely being hoofcare professionals, they should be up to date on all the latest hoof boot developments so they can recommend them to their clients. Even worse probably 6/10 show absolutely no interest at all in the hoof boots. They don't even pick my horse's feet up to have a look - why are they not more interested? They could be selling these boots to clients! I'd be really interested to hear from the farriers on here why so many of their colleagues show so little interest in learning about hoof boots?
 
This I do understand. My horse is currently unshod, but he is not 100% comfortable on the roads and paths anymore without shoes, so I am debating putting them on as in the winter he mainly hacks. The field his is in now it on a hill, but a damp field, and so he is always on 'soft' ground. This is making him not want to walk on hard ground.

BUT

I also know that on slippery ground a naked hoof has more traction than a shoe - and also that a naked hoof is less likely to get compacted full of snow etc - and with a grass kept horse that is a problem.

My boy is also downward, and I have found that having front shoes improves his way of going, but I had persevered with barefoot for almost 3 years now (6 years on and off). And whilst 60% of me would love him to stay barefoot, I think that he is going to have to have front shoes.

But I agree - - they should be left unshod unless there is a real need to have them shod.
 
Well I have always had shod horses, then bought a barefoot Highland who managed just fine without them, so continued on the barefoot path.Bought the newbie.He had fronts only on and I tried him barefoot.He really didn't like it, so the fronts went back on.He was going to a hunter trials.Instructor BE accredited eventing coach advised studs so shoes were put on all round.Going to continue as back leg twisted slightly.Perfectly sound and passed a five stage vetting like that BUT farrier thinks that remedial back shoe fitting will help correct it.
 
I must say I have liked this discussion.No slagging off.No fanatisism.It seems most people are open to different ideas and are just trying to do what they feel best for individual horses.
 
TheFarrier said:
we can only make recommendations. Recommendations about hoof care, feed, shoes, no shoes, boots, shoeing or trimming intervals etc but it is ALWAYS down to the owner.

I do whats needed for every horse and if an owner wants shoes even after bieng presented with all the options then shoes it is.
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Not wanting to slag farriers off but i have had bad experiences

I'm sure if you had been my farrier I would have a much more positive view but unfortunately this has not been my experience.

I have used 4 different farriers with my horse and have never been able to discuss nutrition, boots, hoofcare and shoeing intervals.
When my horse's feet were clearly deteriorating and he was pulling shoes fortnightly, I asked what could I do to help. Should i supplement etc - just got a shoulder shrug.
I dragged my horse up and down in front of them to see how he is moving but they were not interested and were more than a little miffed if I trotted up after shoeing and pointed out my horse was sore, was told it was to be expected in a tb.

Eventually he had soft tissue damage in the back of the foot (dsil, ddft, collateral ligments) and got to the point where he was not even staying field sound. 18 months of remedial farriery etc had not helped and i was considering pts.

I read about the research project at Rockley and asked my farrier about it, and he wouldn't even look at what it was and discuss it.

My current farrier who is trimming for me is a little more interested in what I am doing but it is more a case of me telling him what I am doing in terms of food and exercise and he sees the effect.

I have been at 2 livery yards and have friends at maybe 4 or 5 others in the area. I don't know a single person who turns away without shoes routinely though i remember this happening when i was a child, hunters went out for the summer, show ponies and competition horses in the winter. Now alot of horses work 52 weeks of the year unless they are injured.

Some of the owners are first time owners as adults and may not even be aware that there are other options so could benefit from a farrier taking the time to talk to them about it but I've never known it happen.

Talking to people after mine came back barefoot and sound I'd say there are alot of people who do shoe without thinking about whether it is necessary in their case and lot of myths and preconceptions.

Incidentally - I am finding him much more sure footed in mud and grass without shoes - with shoes on he was like bambi on ice at the first drop of water.
 
I had never considered taking a horse's shoes off before - as others I had been brought up with horses being shod because horses wore shoes, end of.

A few years ago I took my flat footed TB 'barefoot' - I researched as much as I could and tentatively asked my farrier - he was great about it, and over time my TB was bare all round and coping well - hi did get footy at times, which was probably due to grass, so I discovered hoof boots and we were unstoppable after that! When I sold him he had fantastic feet, very strange for a TB according to the people around me! lol

I am just venturing into unshod with my new cob - he has been a bit footy behind (and has just been put into a paddock with lots of grass - I am at livery, so don't have much choice about fields) - so I have got some boots for his backs and will assess the situation again next farrier visit and possibly get the fronts off and use boots all round.

I imagine I shall get sniggered at when people see my horse wearing his hoof boots though *sigh*
 
soloequestrian said:
One of mine has four white socks, right up to his knees and wears black Boa's to hack sometimes. He always looks like he has made a huge fashion faux pas.
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LOL - my TB used to look like coco the clown in his! I have a photo of him somewhere with his boots on and he was wearing a pair of knitted ear covers as well and looking very dozy - its hilarious, he looked liked he wouldn't been out of place at the beach giving rides, not a wetherby's registered TB!
 
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