Buying a barfoot horse - advice please!

Fabio's Filly!

Fabio's Filly!

New Member
Oct 30, 2008
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Lincolnshire
We've just bought a horse that has been barefoot for years - feet are excellent actually! The lady we are buying him from mainly schools though and when she does hack its only across her fields. We'll be doing a little road work with him as most of our hacking you need to go on a road to get to.

So, question is - will he still be ok barefoot? It would be a shame to start shoeing him now when he's had no problems being barefoot for so long. I've never had a horse barefoot before though so don't know much about it!!
 
Increase the work gradually, if he gets a bit sore do you have an arena or a field you can ride in to alternate the surfaces you're working on ? If you do it gradually and he's been barefoot forever you shouldn't have many problems. If you do you can get boots to put on for hacking so you still won't have to shoe.

I've got a rising 4 year old, who's trimmed by an AEP. We're just starting ridden work, she has good, strong feet and I am expecting not to have to shoe her. We moved to a new yard a little while ago, a lot more gravel and concrete tracks and not as much sand (good for exfoliation). We did have about 5 weeks of her feet not being as normal, but the basic strength / condition did remain the same, she's now back to normal again, the hard tracks however never caused her any discomfort. I do keep an eye on her and if I were to see any discomfort I'd just work her in the school or in a field instead.
 
Most barefoot horses with good feet can do road work without too much faffing about conditioning for it. Just start with a shortish ride, half an hour or so, and build up if that's ok. You might have to build it up for a while before being able to do really long rides but some horses with good feet just get on with it and never need much faffing so you might be lucky. It depends on the roads as well, older more worn roads that are a bit smoother tend to wear the feet less than some newer ones.

It'd be worth you getting an EP out to give you advice on the feet and what to do with them, how much work to start off with etc. And there are quite a lot of hoof anorak websites full of useful info. www.hoofrehab.com, www.ironfreehoof.com, www.epauk.org and plenty of others!
 
What is an EP? Mine is barefoot, has been since he was born/broken, with no issues at all. Great way to save money safely!!
 
An EP is an equine podiatrist - they are bascially trimmers, have a great belief in barefoot horses. One of my horses is absolutely petrified of the farrier so we had to go down the barefoot route and found an EP who is absolutely terrific - she gives invaluable advice on the foot, will write a long report about the good & bad points of the foot, a lot more detailed than you would get from any farrier! They are worth their money.
At the end of the day, you dont really need to shoe a horse unless it's for correction, performance or protection. My warmblood is happily hacking out without shoes and we are very very happy having Helen, our EP!
 
I bought a pony who was barefoot - and had never been shoed. He is fantastic, I have his feet checked and trimmed regularly, but he goes well in any conditions. Just keep any eye on things and build up gradually on the roads. The website mentioned before is great and will give you loads of info on how to be "barefoot". xx
 
fudge is barefoot and last summer had had light roadwork to get to the bridal paths, but went out hacking onthe hard ground everyday, if your worried just stick to walk on the roads
 
there's a clydesdale at my yard who is barefoot. he does just fine now going out on the roads for a couple of hours each time. obviously it's not every day though. sometimes he can get a bit tentative on gravelly type of surfaces but that's about it.
give it a try and don't expect the horse to not get a little bit sore on the roads to start with if it's never been used on the roads!

i had an ex racer who was barefoot and she was fine on the roads without shoes but it did take her a couple of weeks to get used to the different surfaces. after that she went very well.
 
all four of mine are barefoot and always have been. tilly is 3 she needs regular trimming, every two months or so, she has no road work yet but will be starting this year. scotty is 6 had his first trim two weeks ago, he has alot of road work, suki is 7 she gets trimmed 2 or 3 times a year, has moderate road work, pill is 8 and is a absolute legend, has only had 1 trim and has the hardest feet ever, when ever the farrior comes out for the others i get them to check him and every time they say to me, stop worrying hes fine. he has saved me a fortune as the one trim didnt even charge as they manly shaped him. ive never had a problem with any of them (touch wood) :D
 
Mine has never had shoes and we do a lot of road work. Like you, to get anywhere it's a good half hour of asphalt. He's not thrilled about crossing giant rocks or really rough gravel.

Due to dry conditions at the moment the road isn't taking anything off of his feet. Means I still have to do a full trim. ~sigh.
 
My boy is 6 and when I bought him he didnt have shoes on, I was contemplating putting some on but there really is no point. Our yard is located in the middle of a housing estate so all hacks are road work, the last one was over 3 hours! He never gets foot sore and is just as lively on the road as he is in the field.
I have them trimmed every now and then when they look a bit long and its only £15, unlike a set of shoes which HAVE to be replaced after 6 weeks or so and cost up to £70!!
As they say, if it aint broke dont fix it!!
 
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