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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
 
Location: Lost in the swamps | Last year while in the process of training my gelding I had recently purchased I had to put front shoes on Due to a large quarter crack he developed in the spring. He's had front shoes since And I didn't want to take them off 1/2 into the show season. Now winter is coming and he's on a little break.so now I'm looking to take them off. He has great feet now. I'm in south louisiana, So we get a good bit of rain. He's not a 1-d horse, 3-4 d and his turn style is very up and round when he runs, no flattening out or gravity defying moves. he is not tender footed nor has issues that would require shoing other wise. Plus seeing quite a few barrel buddies that have 1-3 d horses that all run with out shoes makes me wonder. I feel like he really dosen't need them otherwise. Any special after care to help him thru this transition? Any advise I would greatly appreciate. |
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | I think that you should definitely try it. Here's my advice:
When you pull the shoes, only trim a little; you don't want him to be more sore than he has to be. Keep him on soft ground for at least a week, then about 2-3 wks after pulling shoes, trim as usual. If he is sore, find some hoof boots to help transition him. Then, and this is most important, TRIM REGULARLY every month. I don't like mine to go 6 wks if I am running them. 4 wks is plenty if you are competing on them. I don't like for them to get long or out of balance those last 2 wks. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2604
 
Location: Texas | When you pull the shoes, don't pare out any of the live sole. Most farriers like to carve out the sole, but that is counter productive. Leave the sole alone! And get you a pair of Easyboot Trail boots (easy on/off) in case you are somewhere that you need to warm up or ride where it is hard & rocky. Going barefoot is the best thing I have ever done for both my horses & myself. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | what does your vet and farrier think? I personally have two barefoot and have had no trouble in the arena that's for sure! |
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 Ima Cool Kid
Posts: 3496
Location: TN | Have 2 with shoes and 2 with out that I am running now. you can guess who has the best feet? working to grow out a better foot to remove the shoes off the the other 2 mares. I think Winter is best beacuse the ground is softer and no flys to stomp. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | I don't know where in Louisiana you are, but I'm in SE La. and have not seen a rock since I got here and have never seen the ground frozen. Like it was mentioned above,, leave the sole alone and make sure the feet have a balanced trim and the edges of the foot get an exaggerated rounding to prevent cracks from restarting. Good luck.. |
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas | TBone - 2014-12-01 4:13 PM
When you pull the shoes, don't pare out any of the live sole. Most farriers like to carve out the sole, but that is counter productive. Leave the sole alone! And get you a pair of Easyboot Trail boots (easy on/off) in case you are somewhere that you need to warm up or ride where it is hard & rocky. Going barefoot is the best thing I have ever done for both my horses & myself.
I completely agree with this... I have been going barefoot for at least 10 years. I trim my own horses and I never remove any sole or the any of the frog. I rasp their feet lightly every couple of weeks and I do it from the top, not the bottom of the foot. It really isn't rocket science and knock on wood, it has been great for me and my horses. Good luck with yours!
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Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | I have a brand new pair of Easyboot Trail boots that are too big for my horse. They are easy on/off and handy to have when you need to warm up where the ground is rocky or hard. I PMed you if you are interested in them. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 349
Location: texas | my mare is barefoot...
I pulled her shoes a couple of years ago, and never looked back, she hasn't taken a lame step....
when its too wet to ride here, which is solid black gumbo mud we ride in the rode which is asphalt and if its raining we walk the concrete under the awning....
her hooves are tuff....
good luck, IMO its less hassle.... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | Thanks for the replys!
Komet- I am just south of Lafayette,
I had him bare foot six months before I started barrel training. He did great. Worked great, he's not sensitive . Only reason I put shoes was because of the quarter crack he had developed. He is on pasture, no rocks, gravel or concrete to cross daily. Farrier came yeasterday pulled and did a barefoot trim, his feet look great! Walls where the old Nail holes are, are solid and thick. I already have him trimmed every 4 weeks because my other gelding grows a toe like I've never seen. no area of concern as far as thrush, which I fought for three months back in the spring on the feet with the shoes! And his hind feet always stay good and round never crack or chip. He has appropriate angles, which I check often, even after the farrier does his work. And he wasn't super ouchy after removing them, even with the ground being hard.but I am still givig him a few weeks off to adjust. Thank y'all for the advise and sharing your experiences with your own horses. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 150
Location: Northern CO | I try to let all of mine be barefoot if possible. Even my rodeo horses are barefoot as often as they can be. My husband is a farrier. He leaves them a little longer in the winter (frozen ground) or if we just pulled shoes. If they are a little tinder I will give a bit of bute if their tummies are ok with it. If you are worried about them being sore ask your vet what you can do to help them the first few days and if you are worried about running barefoot I believe you just have to try it and see if it works for you and your horse.
The easy boots are a great idea. Good luck and have fun. |
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 Off the Wall Wacky
Posts: 2981
Location: Louisiana | I've always had shoes on T-Bo because, well, that's just what ya do. I mentioned to my farrier as he was shoeing him last week, "You know, when I was a kid, we had shes on every horse in the barn. Just because that's what you did. Now, in our whole barn, only 2 horses have shoes." He looked at me and said, "You're right. People used to put shoes on everything because that was normal. Now, we pay attention to what they need." Then he went on to say that if T-Bo was his horse and he was running him, he would pull his shoes. He said he has great feet. That would also save me $60 every redo. ($100 shoe vs $40 trim) So I'm thinking when he gets long, I'll just have him pull his shoes and see how it goes. I won't have anything major until March or April so it won't be a huge deal if it's a flop and we need to put shoes back on. He pretty much said if you aren't cleaning their feet as you're going up the alley way they don't have much more traction than a barefoot horse. I'm going to try it out and see how he handles it. |
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Veteran
Posts: 120
| We run all our horses barefoot. The frog of the hoof is designed to expand and contract with the impact on the ground..this pumps blood through the hoof and keeps the hoof healthy. With a shoe on, this can't happen. I swear by keeping them barefoot. We have a mare that has been going down the road for 6 years and has never taken a lame step. She has been in every kind of rodeo ground you can think of. If they have good feet and there isn't a conformation issue or a problem to correct, why put shoes on them?
I also believe regular shoeing makes the hoof walls weak and more prone to cracks. We got a mare that had horrible cracks and her feet were shot from regular shoeing. We pulled the shoes and kept her feet trimmed and her feet are hard and stronger than they have ever been and she is a rope horse. Hasn't had shoes on for 4 years since we got her.
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Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | banjomia - 2014-12-02 4:48 PM
We run all our horses barefoot. The frog of the hoof is designed to expand and contract with the impact on the ground..this pumps blood through the hoof and keeps the hoof healthy. With a shoe on, this can't happen. I swear by keeping them barefoot. We have a mare that has been going down the road for 6 years and has never taken a lame step. She has been in every kind of rodeo ground you can think of. If they have good feet and there isn't a conformation issue or a problem to correct, why put shoes on them?
I also believe regular shoeing makes the hoof walls weak and more prone to cracks. We got a mare that had horrible cracks and her feet were shot from regular shoeing. We pulled the shoes and kept her feet trimmed and her feet are hard and stronger than they have ever been and she is a rope horse. Hasn't had shoes on for 4 years since we got her.
I disagree.. as long as you keep the nails in front of the point of the frog... the heels Will expand just fine. |
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