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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
   
Location: Phoenix | My horse has had shoes his whole life. But these last 3 years when I haven't been riding, he's had them pulled for the most part. I'm now in Arizona, and I don't haul many places at the moment (and probably won't for at least another year). He's in a stall that stays dry, and the arena is nice sand and the only thing of concern is we go riding out in the desert on trail rides. But the footing for the most part is really good.
He's currently barefoot and his feet have held up pretty well. I just can't decide what to do. I want shoes so I don't have to worry about his feet falling apart and it's because he's always been shod. But I don't want shoes because he seems to be fine, it's cheaper, and I like the idea of the barefoot horse. But I don't know much about feet and I'm worried of his feet chipping....gahh. What do you think? |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | Just shoe it!
LOL
Actually, I'd see how it goes. You can always add shoes if he starts to get sore feet or chips too much. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | I agree. If all goes well barefoot then do that. If your horse ends up needing shoes then put shoes on. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | If he seems to be doing ok, his feet holding together, no soreness, stay barefoot!! |
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| I have a 7 year old that has never been shod. Last year I started hauling him and figured that eventually I would have to put shoes on him but we went all summer and his feet stayed great and he had absolutely no ground trouble. I was tickled! I plan on keeping him barefoot as long as I can, hopefully forever. All my other horses we have always put shoes on whether they needed them or not so this is my first barefoot experience, however, I'm not totally convinced that every horse can get by without shoes. Many need them.
I would suggest waiting and see how things go. You can always have him shod if you need to down the road. |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| If you don't want his feet to fall apart...leave the shoes OFF.......I will never understand the obsession with shoes. In my experience, shoes weaken the souls and in many cases ruin what would be excellent feet. Horses frogs are designed to expand and contract with the impact of the ground....pumping necessary blood through the hoof and hoof wall...with shoes on, they simply can't do that. We run all of our horses barefoot and the only time we ever put shoes on is if there is an absolute issue (such as a wide vertical crack).......knock on wood we have never had a horse take a lame step. You will find many different opinions on this subject..do your own research and leave him barefoot and see what happens. Keep him trimmed and he will do awesome. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Driving nails into a hoofwall is a necessary evil at best... See how he does without.. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | i would keep him barefoot unless they start to chip or he starts getting sore. i only have 1 horse that wears shoes right now and she only gets them on the fronts bc they dont hold together well. i would also suggest finding a good farrier that does a lot of work on barefoot horses..i believe they need shod a little differently and they can help keep the foot in good shape.
Edited by lexyy12 2014-12-30 8:03 PM
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Expert
Posts: 2122
Location: The Great Northwest | You will need a farrier that under stands how to trim to go bare. They make a good boot that is very easy to put on or take off called a Renegade when you need to boot on certain occasions. Good Luck! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| banjomia - 2014-12-30 9:40 AM
If you don't want his feet to fall apart...leave the shoes OFF.......I will never understand the obsession with shoes. In my experience, shoes weaken the souls and in many cases ruin what would be excellent feet. Horses frogs are designed to expand and contract with the impact of the ground....pumping necessary blood through the hoof and hoof wall...with shoes on, they simply can't do that. We run all of our horses barefoot and the only time we ever put shoes on is if there is an absolute issue (such as a wide vertical crack).......knock on wood we have never had a horse take a lame step. You will find many different opinions on this subject..do your own research and leave him barefoot and see what happens. Keep him trimmed and he will do awesome.
I agree with this |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I think I'll try and keep him barefoot. He wasn't getting fed the best for the last couple of years so I worry about his hoof structure but he's seemed to be OK so far (pretty good for a horse that's been shod his whole life). |
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Veteran
Posts: 294
| Ran barefoot all year and was in the 1D. End of season he started to get a little ouchy. I ended up putting fronts on. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Well I was thinking about going barefoot, but then I couldn't seem to find a trimmer that I can get a hold of. So then I decided to shoe him and have the guy that comes to our barn come out like he normally does and do my horse. Then I finally got some references for a trimmer so I think I'll try barefoot for now.
My only question, is if I go barefoot, and I decide that I need to put shoes on--can you just slap some shoes on or is there a transition process to have them shod again? Do you know what I mean? |
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Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | hammer_time - 2015-01-06 2:52 PM
Well I was thinking about going barefoot, but then I couldn't seem to find a trimmer that I can get a hold of. So then I decided to shoe him and have the guy that comes to our barn come out like he normally does and do my horse. Then I finally got some references for a trimmer so I think I'll try barefoot for now.
My only question, is if I go barefoot, and I decide that I need to put shoes on--can you just slap some shoes on or is there a transition process to have them shod again? Do you know what I mean?
It depends. If the horse is pastured on rocky ground the wall can be chewed up enough that while you can get shoes ON, There might be enough to keep them on but not enough to do any hard work like you would need for competition. |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | You can put shoes on at any time. No transision necessaary. Now to go barefoot again yea they will need to adjust. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Unless an issue presents its self and your horse needs shoes, he'll be much better off without. I wouldn't shoe him right off the bat. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I've got him set up for a barefoot trim on Thursday. He's kind of sore today....I think it's because he's long. He wasn't wanting to lope today and was acting ****y. Hopefully the trim helps. He was being an ass on our trail ride too on Sunday....crossing fingers this is what he needs.
Edited by hammer_time 2015-01-06 11:51 PM
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To shoe or not to shoe??