Why are some people so anti-barefoot???

[tetleyteabag]

Well Tetley has been barefoot for nearly 3 months now and his feet are fab. Every time the farrier comes to the farm I ask him to check his feet and he is really pleased with them, says they look like he has been barefoot for years. I have spent a long time leading him over different surfaces and riding him carefully and really feel like it has paid off, but if I get one more comment about how silly Im being and just cutting corners with money I think I will blow

Not a week goes by that someone doesnt make some remark, whether its that Im trying to save money or that Im just being cruel its really getting me down. It doesnt help that the kiddies new pony is also barefoot and most people seem to think she should be shod too now cos the kids are riding her 2-3 times a week.

It really annoys me that most of the ones who comment are the ones who dont have their horses shod until the shoes are hanging off, 1 of them holds the record with the farrier for 17 weeks between shoeing, dont hey see that they are being much more cruel than me

 

[Melting Moments]

Horse's were never meant to wear shoes! a bit chunk of metal weighing them down everyday, they could be classed as a gadget because even though a lot of horses don't need them owners will stick them on to say they have them.

If its not broken, don't fix it I say!

 

[Wally]

It's sadly been taken up by some folk who have an evangelical approach to it. They start preaching to all around them and it get's folk's backs up to be told that they are not treating their own horse well by " a big chunk of metal weighing them down everyday"

Indeed, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but a great deal of horses cannot manage their workload without shoes. Horses were never meant to carry a weight on tarmac roads either, we ask them to do this so we MUST treat every horse as an individual and shoe if he needs it and go barefoot if he can.

What makes folk angry is when the evangelicals spout that ANY horse can go barefoot, this is not true.

I was doing endurance riding back in the 70's barefoot, only it wasn't called "barefoot" then I rode without shoes. We did up to 40 mile rides several times a year. I had to get a note from my vet allowing me to compete.

However, when the little chap worked up to 50 and 100 mile rides in a day, the growth on his feet could not keep up with the work he was doing. So he was shod.

90% of our lot are barefoot, but in summer when we are getting the driving ponies fit they are shod. Hákon cannot go without shoes summer or winter.

They are all different.

To be told by someone whose horse is not shod, that you are doing your horse damage and being cruel by having him shod is going to get right up noses. Thats why some folk come across anti barefoot, it's anti being preached at.....often by folk who have no idea themselves and bought a book!

Some folk even wreck their own horses feet and go back to shoes and the preachings stop, I have seen this on more than one occasion.

 

[mikh]

Horse's were never meant to wear shoes! a bit chunk of metal weighing them down everyday, they could be classed as a gadget because even though a lot of horses don't need them owners will stick them on to say they have them.

If its not broken, don't fix it I say!

that applies to my boy, he is perfectly sound and happy with shoes on, why do I want to go and take them off and make him readjust completely at 9yrs old? I've had a horse with no shoes, just fronts, and all 4. My boy has hardy feet, so I could go barefoot - I just simply don't have the desire to.

 

[Louki]

you know whats best for your horse, your the one who checks his feet daily and see's and feels if he is or isnt coping.

 

[Joyscarer]

I agree with Wally.

I think that barefoot peep can be very OTT and intense and can get peoples backs up.

I also agree with her comments that not any horse can go barefoot.

Not only that I know of trimmers who are not allowed to have anything to do with shoes. They promote the barefoot is best line and if the horse does need to be shod for any reason then you need to go to a farrier to have this done and when they then want to go back to barefoot they would then need to go back to the trimmer. A good farrier and a good trimmer will generally have a full client list so how practical is that?

I maybe wrong but I don't think that a traimmer is ALLOWED to qualify as a farrier and practice both. If this is this case (as I say I'm not entirely sure) then I can't be doing with anything that is that closed minded about factors that affect the horses well being.

 

[Clava]

I maybe wrong but I don't think that a traimmer is ALLOWED to qualify as a farrier and practice both. If this is this case (as I say I'm not entirely sure) then I can't be doing with anything that is that closed minded about factors that affect the horses well being.

I can't see why a trimmer could not become an apprentice and do the full training, but they might find it difficult to get in if the farriers knew they were a trimmer - it does seem to be a very closed shop affair.

 

[vels mum]

Same reason many ppl are firmly against Natural Horsemanship.........they dont understand it so rate it pointless.

Agree with Wally also

 

[Yann]

Ignorance mostly.

but a great deal of horses cannot manage their workload without shoes.

Very true... but you could also argue that many are shod 'just because' and could easily manage without. The are plenty of horses that are probably perfectly capable of doing without shoes given a reasonable period to adapt and a possible tweak in diet.

Just because a horse struggles on certain surfaces or can't grow foot quickly enough doesn't automatically mean it has to be shod either. The continuing improvements in the design of hoof boots make them a valid alternative in many situations.

Any thinking farrier will tell you a hoof is better off without a shoe nailed to it. Shoes have their pros and cons, just the same as going without does.

 

[Clava]

Very true... but you could also argue that many are shod 'just because' and could easily manage without. The are plenty of horses that are probably perfectly capable of doing without shoes given a reasonable period to adapt and a possible tweak in diet.

.

My pony Tally has incredibly hard feet, but until the age of 15 he was shod - which with hindsight seems utterly mad as he copes with even a heavy work load.

I am probably one of those ones Wally has mentioned about breaking their horses feet and going back to shoes - Belle went a year unshod, but I took her out on too stony a ride and we ended up with an abscess, totally my fault, and now I've front shoes on , but after the summer it will be back to boots and no shoes as that suits how I feel about her hooves and our workload.

 

[Alexa&Tess]

I think some people like the convienience of shoeing. They dont have to worry about conditioning or building the horses feet up to a level of work (well I dont either but Tess has got amazing feet).

I've had the comments "oh, so do you ride on the roads then? She's got not shoes on". TBH though those comments stopped after I hacked out with people and they realised that Tess wasnt footsore after our rides and had much better grip on some of the slippery roads we had to ride on.

The only time I have had a problem is when I had two weeks off and hacked out for 2/3 hours everyday, her feet did get a bit chipped and if that was the level of work she was in all year round I would consider shoes or boots. However as I work full time I will never be able to ride that much so there is no need for me to have her shod.

 

[artemis]

I totally agree with Wally. I have two unshod & one shod.

Pro unshod people are like most converts & fundamentalists, desperate to prove that they are right & everyone else is wrong. There is unfortunately a lot of this in the horse world, not just in relation to feet.

As far as I am concerned I cannot see the point of leaving your horse unshod & then putting large clumpy rubber boots on them when they can't cope with the terrain

And as for it being "unnatural" to shoe horses, well so is stabling, confining to small paddocks, schooling, using a saddle or bridle. driving. etc etc.

If humans didn't use horses they would be extinct by now or in zoos.

 

[Clava]

As far as I am concerned I cannot see the point of leaving your horse unshod & then putting large clumpy rubber boots on them when they can't cope with the terrain

.

The boots are only needed when the horse is ridden and they really are not clumpy anymore, I forget they are on and do not stop us doing anything when out. Having shoes on when the horse is just in a field seems pointless too, especially as hooves are healthier unshod. Both systems work, it just has to suit the owner and horse.

 

[emmathechief]

Not a week goes by that someone doesnt make some remark, whether its that Im trying to save money or that Im just being cruel its really getting me down. It doesnt help that the kiddies new pony is also barefoot and most people seem to think she should be shod too now cos the kids are riding her 2-3 times a week.

It really annoys me that most of the ones who comment are the ones who dont have their horses shod until the shoes are hanging off, 1 of them holds the record with the farrier for 17 weeks between shoeing, dont hey see that they are being much more cruel than me

It is wrong that people make comments about your choice (unless you are asking for opinions)
My horse has all 4 shoes on, always has, and she carries out her workload without hesitation. As Melting Moments said "If it's not broke, don't fix it!"

I don't see that either way is cruel. It's what works for YOUR horse that's important.

 

[gennalouise]

I wouldnt know where to start. Do i just take them off and there we go? We have loads of roads how do i know she will cope? What do i if she is very foot sore?

So many questions so i just dont. Bit of ignorence on my part i think!

 

[Clava]

There is loads of info on the web....

http://www.barefoothorse.com/

http://www.ironfreehoof.com/...this seems to be changed since I last looked at it and not complete anymore.

There are also many helpful people on here

 

[Yann]

As far as I am concerned I cannot see the point of leaving your horse unshod & then putting large clumpy rubber boots on them when they can't cope with the terrain

You could look at that two ways - why put hoof protection on a horse 24/7 when they might only go out on difficult surfaces for an hour or two once or twice a week?

 

[Clava]

You could look at that two ways - why put hoof protection on a horse 24/7 when they might only go out on difficult surfaces for an hour or two once or twice a week?

That's what I tried to say

 

[newhorsefinder]

And I find that it's no different popping on hoof boots, than over reach and tendon boots on the shod horse. I'm not against shoeing myself, in fact I quite like the protection of shoes that they have to offer but it needs to be brought up to date such as the use of different and modern materials. Getting rid of the nails would be great and it seems almost primeval to continue to weigh the hoof down when there really is no need.

 

[Clava]

I love my Renegades too