Would you shoe these or persist with bare foot

[MrsNorris]

This is really interesting - I've stopped my farrier trimming mine as he would insist on trimming the sole. He hasn't worn shoes for a few years, nor has he had any cereals or molasses in his diet (and very little old grass) but his feet look really flat. Haven't got any pics handy although I might be able to take some soon - I have set up a maze in his field so he has to walk more on the current hard ground to stimulate his soles and frogs. How long before I see any difference, do you reckon, in other words how long before I have to find something else to help? He has had methionine in his diet all winter and is always on magox.

What breeding is your horse JillA? Mine also has flattish fronts and my trimmer says its quite normal for horses with a bit of draught blood in them (mine's a heavy cob of indeterminate breeding). Mine is sound over all ground with massive frogs and lands heel first, so I'm not concerned about it, just assume its how he's made.