Why does a horse need shoes?

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lilyoftheincas

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Sorry, I know that this thread has been done to death, but I was wondering what kind of things a horse *needs* shoes for? Does it need shoes, for example, to go on the roads or to go to shows? This isn't a shoes/barefoot debate thread by any means, I'm just wondering :confused:
 
Some Horses can do everything barefoot. It all depends on the Horse.

However some need to be shod, because either they have crappy feet or their workloads demands them.

I don't care if a Horse is shod or not, as long as the Horse is happy and comfortable carrying out the work asked of it.
 
This is the thing, we have stuck shoes on for the last 100 years whenever a problem appeared, then before a problem appeared, then when our farrier turned up.
In Ye Olden Days, horses had to work every day God sent, so it was essential they could work day in day out, no one understood the ins and outs of nutrition and so on, only native ponies were left to themselves, pack horses were asked to walk over very rough roads, and so farriers were asked to shoe them, as they could not be left behind to recover. Same thing with war horses, they had to keep going.
Leisure horse can be given proper training and proper trimming and nutrition, so most do not need shod, but as soon as a problem occurs, farrier and vets say, shoe them, and the sypmtoms will disappear.
 
usually because the farrier says it does :D! Injury, conformational fault of the limbs/hoof, genetic conditions. I wouldn't say for competing... purely because I dont think they NEED shoes to compete but some rules say you have to perhaps. Certainly, I am against studs as are some farriers but competitors are adamant it's required... there's plenty that will say shoeless is better!

They certainly dont need it for roads. Especially seeing how amazingly well tarmac'd roads are these days :)
 
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I would never shoe a horse behind if it is to be broken in, and nowadays, I would never shoe it in front either, instead, I would feed for strength and exercise for strength.
I can't tell you how many perfectly good hooves I have seen farriers stick iron nails and steel shoes into.
I see many unshod hooves which are mis-shapen because the owner does not have a farrier trim them. In young animals this leads to conformation faults which can never be undone. In older animals it can lead to ligament damage, and in extreme cases the animal has to be put down, this is total ignorance and neglect.
When I worked in a large stud [Newmarket] we had a great farrier, who checked every single mare, and foal every month. He was in great demand locally, as he was an expert in his field. he would visit every week and we had quite a few foals with deformed legs, which he sorted out.
 
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Mine does every thing without :D competes, jumps, hacks, pc, rc and all sorts of other stuff he has never needed them so has never had any put on and I'd like to keep him that way.
 
Simple answer, when the work they are doing causes them to wear down the hoof faster than they can grow more hoof.

Or when they need stud holes fitting.
 
dafthoss said:
Mine does every thing without :D competes, jumps, hacks, pc, rc and all sorts of other stuff he has never needed them so has never had any put on and I'd like to keep him that way.
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I agree, if a horses needs shoes then fine...but if they're happy doing their work without then why bother?
 
LaurenBay said:
Some Horses can do everything barefoot. It all depends on the Horse.

However some need to be shod, because either they have crappy feet or their workloads demands them.

I don't care if a Horse is shod or not, as long as the Horse is happy and comfortable carrying out the work asked of it.
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Someone with a bit of common sense here and no trumpet to call a stupid cause.
Well said LaurenBay. ;)
 
rhino said:
I guess most people don't ride their cats and dogs. Or keep them in fields... :confused:

Not sure I see the comparison?

Or you could say, why do most humans wear shoes?
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Calm down dear, it was just a silly musing!!! :D

Saw a dog t'other day as big as a pony... not sure what it was.. deerhound maybe? I reckon a small child could ride that!!! :):)

What's the point in keeping them in fields? What a waste of land??? Certainly not poo-picking cat-poo. That's got to be the worst poo in the world. Or maybe foxes poo could be worse. I'd need some sort of mega-fence just to keep my cat IN a field. It jumps like a stag!!!

Saying that, foxes live in fields. Literally IN fields.... :D:D:D

Humans wear shoes because of cat & dog-poo and just in case of fox-poo. I only wear shoes if in danger of these types of poo.
 
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tallyho! said:
Calm down dear, it was just a silly musing!!! :D

Saw a dog t'other day as big as a pony... not sure what it was.. deerhound maybe? I reckon a small child could ride that!!! :):)
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:D :D Sorry, just anticipating the BUA propaganda machine going into overdrive...

Actually my little mongrel dog wears boots when it's icy/snowy, she is super sensitive to the salt/grit that is put down.
 
tallyho! said:
Why don't cats n dogs need shoes?
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My dog does needs shoes ;)
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LaurenBay said:
Some Horses can do everything barefoot. It all depends on the Horse.

However some need to be shod, because either they have crappy feet or their workloads demands them.

I don't care if a Horse is shod or not, as long as the Horse is happy and comfortable carrying out the work asked of it.
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absolutely:) mine are all currently shoeless and that's fine with the amount of work they are doing, the new boy is possibly going to need fronts as he really doesn't cope with the stony farm track and i can't avoid it if i want to hack off the farm!

of course the barefoot taliban will now tell me that he could go barefoot if i did x y and z and how i'll only be masking the problem of his footiness with shoes;) trouble is instead of prompting me to investigate and pursue keeping him barefoot, the preaching has actually put me off the whole 'barefoot movement'!:(
 
tallyho! said:
^^ bless!! Such a cute little thing. Why the shoes Oberon?
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She has CDRM which makes her scuff her back paws and trip over her worse leg. The shoes protect her from wearing down to blood (which she did once) or bruising her paws when she folds them under while she's walking. They've made it possible for her to continue going out in her last months :)
 
Miss L Toe said:
This is the thing, we have stuck shoes on for the last 100 years whenever a problem appeared, then before a problem appeared, then when our farrier turned up.
In Ye Olden Days, horses had to work every day God sent, so it was essential they could work day in day out, no one understood the ins and outs of nutrition and so on, only native ponies were left to themselves, pack horses were asked to walk over very rough roads, and so farriers were asked to shoe them, as they could not be left behind to recover. Same thing with war horses, they had to keep going.
Leisure horse can be given proper training and proper trimming and nutrition, so most do not need shod, but as soon as a problem occurs, farrier and vets say, shoe them, and the sypmtoms will disappear.
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It's a heck of a lot longer than 100 years the first shoes date from the bronze age.
 
Oberon said:
I'm sorry you feel that way.

I certainly never intend to sound preachy?
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you are not the worst;) i will continue to keep them all barefoot as long as they are comfortable, i'm not rushing to put shoes on just to prove a point:) 3 out of the 5 have managed barefoot without problems so i have been lucky as i don't make any special effort, :o the tb doesn't have the best feet and as i said the track is a killer for him, the youngster hasn't done enough work yet to say if he will cope or not but his feet aren't brilliant:(
 
I personally have fronts on my cob x tb as she started going lame when ridden bare foot. Would have loved to decrease her work load and play around with her feed to help strengethen her hooves. Her feet arent the best either.
But given the fact she was newly broken and had come to me grossly fat, she needs the exercise to keep her trim.
 
rhino said:
:D :D Sorry, just anticipating the BUA propaganda machine going into overdrive...
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Oh, what's BUA please? :D

In answer to the op... I have no idea in all honesty. :o

ps. Oberon I think I'm one of the preachy ones not you. Your posts are always informative and balanced imho.

Whatever you believe, so long as you understand what you are choosing then it's up to you in the end. Owners are the ones who are responsible for their horses.
 
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amandap said:
Oberon I think I'm one of the preachy ones not you. Your posts are always informative and balanced imho.
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I think preachiness is in the eye of the beholder - if you're genuinely interested, you'll read posts as informative, if you're actually not that bothered, you'll read them as preachy.
 
Because I squash it and road work,stony ground(we have lots of flint that does slice and dice). Understood it was to do with roads being surfaced that in particular caused problem. If I didnt do road work and stoney ground I would probably not shoe.

I suppose why do I have shoes on?..for same reason. Despite my efforts and I have a good diet etc my finger nails have always been prone to spllitting..genes!
 
JFTD said:
:eek:

Do you mean I shouldn't take the Wolf pup showjumping at the weekend? I know he isn't 4 yet, but he's real mature for his ae :cool:
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My fudgie won a horse and hound showjumping championship at less than 2 years old :eek: :eek: :eek:

amandap said:
Oh, what's BUA please? :D
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Barefoot Über Alles, and their catchy 'we must keep the barefoot movement going at any cost' aim :D :D They pre-date the barefoot 'taliban' although a lot of the hysteria and emotive posting remains the same :)

I'm not bothered by 'preachy' posts anyway, I just don't like theories being claimed as 'fact' when they are, well, just theories :confused: I have huge reservations about some of the mineral supplementation being bandied about on here and the reasoning behind it appears to be badly and incompletely thought out. Just my reasoned opinion.

PS amandap I actually like your posts and don't find you closed minded in the least :) I have also had some interesting discussion with another poster on here who has kindly given her time in giving me possible advice regarding my old boy :D
 
[QUOTE

of course the barefoot taliban will now tell me that he could go barefoot if i did x y and z and how i'll only be masking the problem of his footiness with shoes;) trouble is instead of prompting me to investigate and pursue keeping him barefoot, the preaching has actually put me off the whole 'barefoot movement'!:([/QUOTE]

Me too - it really puts me off!!
 
rhino you disgust me. I would have thought you of all people would know better than to showjump your dog at the tender age of 2 :mad: I have no choice but to jump mine now otherwise he'd never be ready for the 4 year old futurity classes :cool:

Never mind. When they're old and crocked, we can just bute them up and continue riding them into the ground. They won't mind :)
 
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