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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
 
Location: IL | I'm really having a hard time deciding what to do here. Both my mares require shoes on their front feet but my farrier has said that they can go either way on rears. Obviously not paying for hind shoes would save me money but, first and foremost, I want to make sure I do what is best for my horses.
I know a lot of it depends on the individual horse but how would you decide to put or not put shoes on the hind feet? What things should I consider?
My Paint mare is a 4x4 turner and my OTTB mare is still in training so we will just be seasoning/exhibitioning most of the summer.
Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?
Thanks! |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
  
Location: Bandera, TX | If they wear the heels even and are not to hard on their suspensory I would consider no shoes. I haven't had a horse meet those parameters in a couple of years. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I've had horses that ran great barefoot in the rear. I left my gelding bare for several months after a stifle injury and while I think it helped prevent re-injury of his newly healed stifle, ultimately he got foot sore, which caused some other problems. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 762
Location: NC | For a long time i only had fronts on my older gelding. Well last year his hind end started slipping out a bit when just riding and we made the choice to put 4 on him. It helped him tremendously. My youngster was barefoot till she started hauling more and then got fronts on.Just recently put hinds on for grip since she pushes off hard. It really depends on the horse |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | to me it would be like running with one shoe on and one shoe off......never did it with any of my horses...shoes all around or barefoot
m |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | can you go one round of just fronts, and then one round of all four? to compare how well they run on different arena types? I had a horse that I had just fronts on and we put rear shoes on and it felt like he was carrying another person in the back! He was running weird with all four and ran better with just two. Just a thought for you! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2258
| I typically like them shod all the way around but have one mare that we started running only shod in the front. She is hard to shoe the hinds because she is stiff behind, anyhow last year she ran better than she ever has and we left her that way this year and she has continued to run faster than last year. So it works for her. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | Crowned Image - 2014-05-01 3:21 PM can you go one round of just fronts, and then one round of all four? to compare how well they run on different arena types? I had a horse that I had just fronts on and we put rear shoes on and it felt like he was carrying another person in the back! He was running weird with all four and ran better with just two. Just a thought for you!
Actually that is a really good idea! I think thats what I will end up trying! Thanks for the suggestion!  |
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  A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | Mine are fronts only. He's used to being barefoot and he likes to sit and slide around the barrel. I would be afraid he would catch at the wrong time with shoes on the back and I would end up with a very lame horse.
So I choose not to risk it |
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | mruggles - 2014-05-01 3:12 PM to me it would be like running with one shoe on and one shoe off......never did it with any of my horses...shoes all around or barefoot
m
I agree. The best farrier I know told me that if a horse only has front shoes they won't use their hind end as well and their front end more since that's where the protection is. I tend to agree and shoe all the way around or barefoot all the way around. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 494
| Last year I only had fronts put on my mare til July then we leased her out to run at some pro rodeos. The lady put back shoes on her and was placing 3rd/4th at rodeos. Got her back home, took the back shoes off and set an arena record then a few wks later was .1 off of another arena record. Placed at large barrel races in the top 1D all weekend that fall. No back shoes for us. |
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 Legal Beagle
Posts: 2809
Location: Central Okla. | After YEARS of shoeing my old gelding on all 4, I told my shoer about how badly the horses rear end always slipped out from under him when running barrels. He suggested we do the front only. The horse has now been that way for several years and does alot better. He ropes and barrel races. We can't go completely shoe-less becuase his feet can't handle it, thin hoof walls, etc.... His back feet just aren't as bad as his front. So, it depends on the horse.
Edited by Pebbles! 2014-05-02 3:42 PM
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | My gelding needs front shoes for a soundness issue. I started off leaving him barefoot in the hinds, but on some ground he really slips. I put back shoes on him for traction and I really like how he feels with back shoes. He doesn't slip nearly as often. So he will always get shoed all the way around.
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 475
Location: Alabama | My farrier suggested back shoes last year after watching my mare run at a show. She picked up 1/2 second. |
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 The Worst Seller Ever
Posts: 4138
Location: Oklahoma | Mine go with fronts only unless they require back shoes.
My mare got to requiring injections every 3 months, I pulled the back shoes and can now stretch them 6-9 months depending on how much she is hauled. I don't put them on colts until I see what type of turn the colt will have and if they need the extra support.
Weirdest thing I have seen is ropers only shoeing the back.. I am not sure I can ever get that to make sense in my head.
Edited by clover girl 2014-05-02 4:40 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | clover girl - 2014-05-02 4:39 PM
Mine go with fronts only unless they require back shoes.
My mare got to requiring injections every 3 months, I pulled the back shoes and can now stretch them 6-9 months depending on how much she is hauled. I don't put them on colts until I see what type of turn the colt will have and if they need the extra support.Â
Weirdest thing I have seen is ropers only shoeing the back.. I am not sure I can ever get that to make sense in my head. Â
I have to agree with you on that! Only shod in the back seems odd to me, but to each their own I guess. Haha! I'm going to talk with my farrier on Tuesday when he comes but I'm thinking if I can I may leave my Paint mare with front shoes only. I ran we for a couple years in fronts only, then switched to rears shod also, and I really didn't see much of a difference. As for my mare in training, I'm thinking I'll just do fronts with her until we start addin some speed. |
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 Peecans
| clover girl - 2014-05-02 3:39 PM
Mine go with fronts only unless they require back shoes.
My mare got to requiring injections every 3 months, I pulled the back shoes and can now stretch them 6-9 months depending on how much she is hauled. I don't put them on colts until I see what type of turn the colt will have and if they need the extra support.Â
Weirdest thing I have seen is ropers only shoeing the back.. I am not sure I can ever get that to make sense in my head. Â
Ive seen this a lot acatualy, and never found it strange because reiners will put small sliding plates on the hind when they are young and just learning to stop and leave the front bare.
The theroy I guess for the rope horse (and I see it in head horses more) is that when they really drive around the courner and use thier hind end some would slip I touch so the hind shoes will help them keep the traction, and front shoes are not really needed. The one heel horse stoped so hard and had hock troubles, so the shoes he had on the back let him stop and slide if you will without jaming his hocks as hard or pourer footing.
? Just what ive been told and it does make sence to me.
Im more of a all or nothing kind of person if your competing though, but lots of people are sucessful with shoes on just the front or back. At the end of the day its what ever your horse needs and works best in, no matter what it is! |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I have front shoes only on two of my horses right now, but will probably end up putting back shoes on Chance when he comes back to running because he needs the extra grab on rodeo ground. On the deeper jackpot ground, he does quite well without back shoes.
We're trying barefoot behind on Clifford this time to see if that helps him slide on past the barrels. He's been setting early and the deep jackpot ground we've been going to just grabs him and holds him right there. I'm not sure what the results will be when we finally get to run somewhere again.
We did these shoes 2.5 weeks ago and at the rate the EHV-1 stuff is going, I will have just saved my shoer some work and me some money this cycle. LOL. I'm not entirely sure that either of them will run before their next reset, in which case we'll do fronts only again. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 383
| no shoes - it is so much nicer for the horse and they can handle the ground so much better - just invest in some cavellos or some kind of slip on boot so when you get some where and theres a ton of rock and gravel you can protect- no shoes no doubt |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | Thanks for all the responses everyone! Love hearing everybody's reasonings and theories as to why they do what they do! |
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