Time to take his shoes off?

MrA

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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Ale has been shod in front for many years now but his feet are very prone to crumbling.

I've got him on a good supplement and moisturiser and they seem to be improving at long last.

I have always wanted to go barefoot all round but obviously my old farrier was a bit against this and as he was sore without it made sense to just keep shoeing rather than look at barefoot and boots.

He is due to be reshod in a few weeks and I now have a choice. Ring my old farrier and get him out to trim backs and he shoe fronts. Or get the barefoot lady out, remove his fronts, trim his backs, cleantrax and see how we get on.

I've made my mind up already but it's always interesting/ reassuring to hear your thoughts and opinions on these matters.
 
By all means give it a try Ale, you've nothing to lose and if it doesn't work you can always go back to shoes if he ever needs them.
I tried for quite some time to keep Belle shoeless, sadly she just doesn't grow enough hoof quickly enough to maintain a shoe less life, her hooves are rock hard, farrier sweats when he's trimming them but as almost all of our hacking is Road work it just wasn't working, she didn't seem totally comfortable even booted on all four feet so I made the decision to go back to shoes and she's never looked back, I do understand that shoeless is best for them but in her case it wasn't working.
Give it a try and good luck :)
 
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I have toyed with the idea of removing Bens front shoes and have done lots of research in this. I have decided that I will continue to use my normal farrier for trims but Ben will 'self trim' his own feet to a certain extent. The vast majority of problems I have read about are due to barefoot trimmers taking off far too much foot and causing huge problems. My farrier and vet both agree that barefoot is the way forward for us, just as long as one of the so called barefoot experts does not touch his feet!
 
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He had his front shoes off for about half a year when he did his check ligament. He was fine in the field but was a little footy on stoney ground which I booted for. I eventually shod him again on the advice of my farrier.

I know this trimmer is good, I know some of the horses she does and they all have fabulous feet.

Ale pulled his front right shoe off 4 weeks in a row, can't really do more damage than that. He's currently wearing different size front shoes because he tore off so much hoof in the process.

Ale won't be being worked for a while so I think it's the perfect time to give it a go.
 
If you are turning him away with no work then I would get your farrier to take them off and trim and let his hooves recover - are you giving him any suppliment to help - just reread post and can see he on something - if its not making a difference then maybe a rethink - its not always about the shoes v trimming , the right diet and foot products can make the difference - you can always try front shoes again when you put back in work if even once his feet have improved he needs some extra help - all ours are barefoot, Tess was shod and we transitioned her years ago but with good Native Cob feet is was never really going to be a problem for her, saying that if any of them needed to be shod to improve their ridden life it would not be a problem, for us - might be for farrier with tiny feet though!
 
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Absolutely go for it..... and don't worry or stress about the decision you make! Horses aren't born with shoes and if he is currently out of work he doesn't need them. Good time of year too as the ground will start softening in the autumn, giving him plenty of time to condition before spring.
 
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Go for it!!! Not all farriers are anti barefoot. My pony has never been shod and she has always been trimmed by a farrier.
He should be fine in his field barefoot, but you can pick up second hand part worn boots off Ebay if he needs them later. Better to buy second hand at irst as you can try for size/ fit and suitability.
I use boots all round for longer hacks as it is very stoney round here, if I am doing a shorter rides I just put fronts on.
Low / no sugar is main diet change for barefoot ponies.
 
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Its the perfect time to do it while he's idle, then as you bring him back to work slowly that will give his feet time to adjust, if it doesn't work you put shoes back on but given all the changes you've made he's in with every good chance :D
 
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Using our trimmer was the best thing I ever did. She is the only person (four farriers and her) to keep her sound.

It is essential to have the right person, be it farrier or not.

Agree with picking up boots second hand, though you don't save that much sometimes but they hold their resale if they aren't trashed. My favourites are old Mac originals but only because madams feet are very round.
 
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Thanks everyone, I'm feeling pretty excited about it all to be honest.

Will definitely get some boots to use if need be and will obviously take her advice. I'm wondering if it would be best to take them off in the field? Otherwise he has to cross a gravel tarmac area and then a road to get to the field.. I'll ask her anyway.

But hopefully he won't be too sore given that we are removing the shoes instead of him pulling them himself. He's just got to be comfy enough to walk the field to munch at the moment.

I think now is the perfect time too :D
 
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I agree this is a really good time to try it. I had Raf shod many years ago after an EP didn't work out too well for us, for the reasons MP has mentioned.

I've always thought I'd like to get Raf barefoot again but I just don't want to miss out on a whole season of riding while he transitions. If he was off work for any reason I'd definitely give it a try. Good luck!
 
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Have you actually asked your farrier why he thinks he won't cope without shoes? A lot of farriers are perfectly happy not to shoe in a lot of cases, but there are horses that they don't think will be comfortable unshod for various reasons. Before doing anything I'd ask him & maybe save you & Ale some trouble.
 
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I agree that discussing this with your farrier is wise and I think that it is worth taking some to really think about why you want him barefoot and what you want his feet to look like.

Last week I went to a vet talk about feet, and he showed some slides of a wild mustangs feet. It showed how the frog was lower and wider than a shod foot, and that recent advances in mri treatments had showed that this kind of frog protects against navicular and the digital cushion tendon (may have the name slightly wrong).

However, some horses for a variety of reasons have collasped heels and this can put extra strain on the joints and make the lower legs straighter than they should be. In these cases, remedial shoes are used to remedy the problem. He did say that some horses with collapsed heels will pull off front shoes more easily because the farrier needs to put more length on the shoe to try and distribute the weight evenly.

If your farrier has told you that Ale needs shoes, I really would have a conversation with him and understand his viewpoint now.
 
Mary Poppins said:
I agree that discussing this with your farrier is wise and I think that it is worth taking some to really think about why you want him barefoot and what you want his feet to look like.

Last week I went to a vet talk about feet, and he showed some slides of a wild mustangs feet. It showed how the frog was lower and wider than a shod foot, and that recent advances in mri treatments had showed that this kind of frog protects against navicular and the digital cushion tendon (may have the name slightly wrong).

If your farrier has told you that Ale needs shoes, I really would have a conversation with him and understand his viewpoint now.
Click to expand...

I agree with speaking to your farrier about taking ale barefoot. However and I know Sox is a completely different case to ale. But Farriers have told me sox wouldn't go barefoot due to him having thin soles and him being a tb. However due to lameness and the type of injury sox has ( soft tissue) I went against farrier advice because various types of shoes with and without pads haven't helped him. Considering my farrier was very against taking his shoes off. 6 weeks later my farrier was very surprised in a good way how good soxs feet were( he was expecting stumps!).

Like I say I agree with others about speaking to your farrier and also the reasons why you want to take him barefoot fully. I still use boots which are a life saver ( Cavallos)
 
My farrier wants to keep him shod in front because he will be sore without his shoes (to start with)

Ale is in a vicious circle. The nail holes make his feet crumble, so he frequently loses his shoes, when he shoe comes off so does part of his hoof. Meaning nail holes have to go higher up the hoof, more crumbling etc.

Ale is barefoot behind and his feet are lovely, and not at all crumbly!!

I want him barefoot because I want to get rid of this nail hole circle. I've always wanted him barefoot. He's not in work now so seems silly to keep him shod. I didn't like my old farrier but I very much liked the trimmer I had down is another good reason
 
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I would agree there if he were mine. Id like to give his feet chance to get some good regrowth and eradicate those nail holes if they are causing so much damage while you are in a position to do so. While I was hunting for hoof boots, I did come across some Gel ones that were deemed suitable for turnout. I cant mind their name but i thought they sounded interesting!
 
But it is important to understand why the farrier thinks barefoot will make him sore. Is there something about the shape of his foot? Is the frog too high or too low? Is the central point (where the horse distributes his weight) even or is it too far forward or back?

Feet are very complex and you need to understand what is wrong with them before you can make them better. His feet should not be crumbling at all, so it seems there must be an issue somewhere. Taking his shoes off will not automatically solve the problem, you need to understand what his feet are like now, what you want them to look like, and exactly how the farrier or trimmer is going to achieve it.
 
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While I think it's useful and important to ask why he needs shoes also bare in mind that each and every horse is different.
My current farrier would happily support me if I wanted to take Belle shoeless, hers always come off over winter anyway as our roadwork is very limited through winter, he says she should be fine without them, she has great feet, tight white line, hard as rock, but Belle has other ideas.
It is very obvious to both myself and my farrier that she feels much more comfy with shoes, so what everyone may think can only ever be a guide.
Like I've already said @Ale you've absolutely nothing to loose by trying.
 
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