Is barefoot safe

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pinkheather

Guest
Does anyone ride barefoot and how good/bad is it on the horses feet. Firstly i my father was a blacksmith so i have a bias and up until now would not have considered not shoeing a horse. However, i have a new horse that the previous owner said does not require shoes on its back feet. Being a suspicious type i tended not to believe this but bought the horse anyway. As the horse is being introduced to my old horse and pony i do not intend to shoe her until i am sure they are getting along as i dont want serious injury if they kick. However, i am on the road quite a bit and am unsure if it would be ok to ride a horse on the road without shoes. My blacksmith is coming out to have a look at her back feet. So anyone with barefoot experience or indeed anyone else please feel free to comment on someone who up until now would have thought not shoeing a horse was unthinkable.
 
I ride my horse completely barefoot, he has had shoes but does no need them. Th farrier is not a barefoot trimmer, but even he says I would be wasting my money. However, I have wonderful hacking off road but on stoney tracks on some routes, so it may well work for me because of that.

I think it is so subject to so many factors, only you and your farrier could decide if it was right for you:wink:
 
We do a fair amount of roadwork but I haven't ever had moet shod, she is regularly trimmed to keep them in balance and her weight is kept down.

I can tell when the grass growing as she can favour grass verges - but I don't really see a problem with this is the verge safe as it's kinder on her joints.
 
My ex-racehorse is barefoot. We go totally bare in winter (longest we did last winter was 3 hours on roads, fields and tracks without boots)but in summer we wear hoof boots as the sugars in grass cause him to be footy over stones and I would rather not put metal shoes back on, firstly the cost, the fact I can't trot down hill on the road and the fact the most serious injury he's ever had was standing on his own hoof with a metal shoe and cracking it from the coronet band down!
 
it is well documented that wild and semi-wild populations of horses, e.g brumbies/mustangs, can cover immense daily distances over rocky terrain, all barefoot and only trimmed by the rocks they travel over. HOWEVER, these horses are born and raised and travel daily over this terrain - domestic horses can have problems if we stable them (even a clean stable can soften feet), turn out on grassland, and then expect them to do 10-20 miles of roadwork with no preparation.

Mine have been barefoot for 12 years in the longest case, and their hooves are adapted for the work I ask of them. I would have to plan ahead if I knew I wanted to a lot of roadwork for some reason, and would gradually build more roadwork into their daily routine. As most of their work is SJ/XC/some dressage, which is always off road, and hunting which is mostly off road, so most, but not all fittening work is off-road, and they cope fine. I guess we do about 2 - 3 miles a day on roads, the rest off-road. Their hooves are tough and unchipped and sound, because that is what they are prepared for. My sons pony has just done a week at camp, being ridden 4 - 5 hours a day, and coped absolutely fine barefoot, because most of it was on grassland.

The key is totally in the hooves being given time to adapt to the job you want them to do. Mine aren't booted anymore, though some used boots in transition.

And as for safety - I would rather ride a barefoot horse on the road than a shod one anyday!
 
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I had my mares shoes pulled back in December. I didn't need to change diet as she was already on a low sugar low starch diet anyway.

In winter she's ridden barefoot. In spring the sugars in the grass make her more sensitive and I bung boots on her when I need to, this is only on the flintiest tracks but roads and grass is fine still.

My biggest problem is that this year, for one reason or another, she's nit in regular work so we go from none to regular. No doubt that regular work is better for get and her feet and growth. I'm sure that were she in regular work we'd need to use the boots less.

I personally favour barefoot as the hoof can flex. In the uk there was a tradition of shoes coming off when there was no hunting, that doesn't happen so much now.

Having found the right boots it's easy and no bother to boot occasionally. Oh and we have no problems with slipping whether in boots or barefoot which we did with shoes and roadnails.

Just as a postscript though, I think that the greatest hinderance to barefoot is diet and an uncommitted owner. At least it was when I dabbled the first time. Mind you that was for transition which mercifully you don't have to go through.
 
My lad has never worn shoes. He`s 4 years old and we hack out, there is a fair bit of road work involved. My farrier so far hasn`t seen the need to shoe him, says his hoof horn is rock hard.

Occasionally on the fronts he can be a tiny bit footsore, so i`m looking into some hoofboots. I have a barefoot trimmer coming out to me next week, just to give a second opinion on the farriers work (for my peace of mind). But she`s coming a fair distance as we don`t have a BF trimmer locally. So if she`s happy the farrier is doing a good enough job, then i`ll stay with him, and get some wee boots for the front on the off time he`s a bit footy :wink:
 
Good question, especially in the light of your self confessed bias. I too have a bias (obviously) There is plenty of information on the pros and cons of shoeing and it usually takes a couple of hours to cover it in a talk so I'm not even going to attempt it here, I will however try to answer your questions as objectively and factually as possible but first let me ask a question...

Considering that it is now almost universally agreed (even amongst the best farriers) that shoeing is detrimental to a horse's feet, why are you considering it? I.e. why would you have previously considered not shoeing unthinkable?

In answer to your question 'is barefoot safe'. My answer is yes, probably safer than shoeing for most horses. Some of the dangers of shoeing have already been outlined others include the physical damage caused to the hoof as a result of shoeing, the inevitable increase in concussion passing up a horse's leg with shoes (about 80% more), that shoes will cause the feet to become deformed, and that shoes cause horses to slip on many hard surfaces.
 
Jaimep in answer to your points - i freely admit to having a bias that i am trying to overcome. It is probably because i was brought up and helped out in my fathers smiddy in the late 1950s and early 60s when horses not being shod was almost unheard of. My grandfather was a blacksmith and if i can remember that far back unshod was pretty much unheard off in his day, granted the horses i am thinking about back then were all working horses. I have no factual evidence against no shoeing it is just a tradition i was brought up in when the thinking was that feet required shoes or they would crack chip and i am sure you have heard all the stories. I am just trying to work out what is best for the horse bearing in mind i can sometimes be on tar roads for 10 or 12 miles. The horse is only 6/7 and owner said he had never had her shod at the back as his farrier had told him her back feet were hard and did not require shoes. I am just a very careful and dont just believe everything i am told when buying something, my original question on hearing no shoes on the back was i bet it is a bugger to put back shoes on. However i have had her back feet up and tapped all round with a toffee hammer and she did not object. Sorry for the ramble through the ages i just dont want to wreck the horses feet and need to be convinced that it will be ok it is hard to break the habits of a lifetime. If she has never had back shoes i would not put them on but i am just trying to get the best informed advice i can get.
 
Please do not think that I am anti shoe at all costs or in any circumstances. Neither is it the greatest sin in the equine world to put a set of shoes on a horse (as some barefoot evangelists would have you believe).

Some riders, in some situations, require their horses to have shoes in order to fulfil their requirements and it is not my job to make any judgement on that.

You may have put your finger on the 'problem' when you mention the word 'tradition' and that fifty years ago most horses were working horses (with the peculiar set of circumstances that that required) and may well have required shoes in order to do their job. A significant difference I believe is that most present day horses are not really working animals and consequently are not required to do much more than a few hours 'work' per day at the most.

If you are worried about the horse wearing it's hooves out on the roads it may help you to know that once the feet are robust and healthy all of the barefoot horses I look after need regular trimming to keep up with the hoof growth, indeed those that need the most trimming are those that do the most road work. Just today I've trimmed two horses in particular who are ridden most days for anything between three to six or seven hours on mixed surfaces (but with a lot of roadwork). Makes you think?

I must get a toffee hammer for my tool kit!
 
jaimep said:
If you are worried about the horse wearing it's hooves out on the roads it may help you to know that once the feet are robust and healthy all of the barefoot horses I look after need regular trimming to keep up with the hoof growth, indeed those that need the most trimming are those that do the most road work.
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Exactly what I've found with my mare. When she's not been in muc work the hoof growth she puts out is less than when she's in more work. Of course my situation is different because she isn;t in constant work which makes it a pain when I start riding regularly again as growth needs time to pick up again in response so I do use hoof boots for this only when I think wear exceeds growth. If she were in regular work again I wouldn;t need to boot for this reason. It's as somebody else said, it depends on what the horse is conditioned for.
 
I would leave the horse at it is - give the horse a few months and then decide whether it needs shoes. If it has a sudden increase in work, the hooves need time to adapt the hoof growth rate to how much they are being worn.

You may also find a change in diet affects whether it needs backs on or not.

If I couldnt keep my girly on very resitricted grass, I would have to have her shod as she wouldn't tolerate any surfaces comfortably. However, she is much sounder without shoes (used to trip a lot) and now her diet is sorted, she has fantastic little feet.

As for the "safe" question, barefoot is so much safer than shoes, I hate watching shod horses on tarmac, it makes my skin crawl!!! :giggle:
 
A significant difference I believe is that most present day horses are not really working animals and consequently are not required to do much more than a few hours 'work' per day at the most.
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Agree with big fat brass knobs on.

My guys are shoe-less, maybe 9 months of the year, they can cope with roadwork for a few hours a week, no bother. However, once they are getting fit for shows and competitions, they trot for maybe 12-15 miles a day on the road and the foot growth cannot keep pace with the wear. They become foot sore and try to get on the verge, fine for a ridden horse, no good for a driving pony when you have one wheel in a ditch! ;) So, they are shod for the show season and the getting fit part, then we go back to no shoes for the rest of the time.
 
My two are barefoot. One a youngster who has never been shod and who isn't doing enough work to warrant shoes anyway.

The other i ride mainly on grass but with some roadwork. We compete at SJ, dressage and showing again mainly on grass. He has had shoes on before but he doesn't need them whichis why he is barefoot all round.

I would relook at the situation if he ever became footy but in the last two years he hasn't.
 
Both mine are barefoot and the farrier (same as Laceyfreckle) will not consider putting shoes on unless there was a real need or you specifically wanted them on. He very much for the 'oh natural' way of life! :biggrin:
 
Innocence said:
Both mine are barefoot and the farrier (same as Laceyfreckle) will not consider putting shoes on unless there was a real need or you specifically wanted them on. He very much for the 'oh natural' way of life! :biggrin:
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but he did shoe a horse whose owners requested it be shod because it was 'visiting the queen' and couldn't possibly go and see the queen without shoes on, what would the queen think!! :giggle::giggle:

He is a good farrier though and a traditional farrier rather then a barefoot trimmer. If it needs shoes it needs them and if it doesn't then it doesn't sort of person!
 
I have had a look and i have been out most days on the road since i got the horse and tthere is definetly some growth so i dont think they are wearing down that quick, on an average day we will not be more than 3 miles on the road until we get to the gallops. I am going to leave her unshod at the back meantime as she is still settling into her new home and new horses and will let you all know how she gets on. Yes the most important tool in any box is the toffee hammer and as all skilled men know you have to have a multitude of hammers but the skilled part is knowing where to hit it.
 
Depends on the horse and management, diet etc.

My pervious chap was bare all hife with just boots for the fronts. At most even if i hacked for two hour per day, there are still 22 hours he would be wearing shoes he did not need. So boots were a good alternative for us. Also varied terrain helped, not feeding cereals and making sure he had access to good turnout.

My youngster again only three never had shoes. I'm hoping she won't and again if needed she'll get boots for her fronts. Being a cob she already has very good solid feet and i have gold coloured soles.

Biggest thing for me is the trim i may go back to a grass trim as getting a barefoot trimmer in my area is hard after one moved and one didn't turn up!
 
I'm half transition at the moment, horse had his hind shoes removed about 6 weeks ago and he has lost chunks of his hinds, but farrier did warn me this might happen as the nail holes have weakened the wall, however he has seemed fine with it.

I've made sure he has been on much more limited turn out (tried a muzzle - didn't work so stabled instead) and he's doing some walking on gravel/concrete each day. I'll keep his fronts on for a while yet then after Autumn I should have enough cash for some front boots and then his front shoes will come off and I'll give it a go then fully no shoes, boots if he's feeling a bit footy.

That's my plan anyway.
 
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