Do you keep your horse barefoot?

[Jackie]

Do you keep your horse barefoot, and why? I've been reading old posts in an effort not to ask things already discussed (or to re-start controversial subjects), and have read articles (but I think the articles refer more to domestic breeds)

[fantasykiger]

I let my horse tell me if barefoot is a good idea. My Mustang is not from the wild but captive bred she never had the benefit of conditioning her hooves to various terrian by traveling several miles a day. While she has solid hooves of good quality she still acts tender on her fronts when asked to support my weight over rocky terrain. Therefore I put shoes on her fronts when I ride her often, during the winter months I remove the shoes as a saftey factor as metal and ice don't mix well and I am riding less. I do my best then to avoid rocky terrian.
Had my horse never indicated she was sore or had an issue, I would not have applied shoes.

[desperatehorsewife]

All depends on the horse and what you're doing with it. The gelding I just sold had feet as tough as nails, but my daughters is a bit more tender and she's considering getting him some boots for the tougher rides we do.

I think that most (not all) mustangs who are born wild and have some time to develop a good hoof will do fine in most situations, with boots being needed on occasion. But all are individuals and in the end, it's your decision.

[stormyranch]

We do not believe in shoeing our horses. The main reason being the health of the hoof. When a horse steps down on it's frog it pumps blood up through the foot. When a horse has shoes on, the frog it is kept up off the ground therefor not pumping any blood into the hoof. The blood is needed to keep the hoof healthy (no cracking or brittleness). Having mustangs has made it easy for us to practice barefoot trimming as there feet are already healthy. But if we do go to a place that is rocky we will take easyboots! These may cost $100 a pair but last a long time cuz we only use them a couple times of year. There are ways to toughen your horses feet. If you read up on barefoot trimming it will tell you to put rocks in your paddock to toughen your horses feet. Also walking them on asphalt 20 minutes a day will also do the trick.

[stlkigers]

We keep all our mustangs barefoot....Only had a problem once.....with larger diameter rock and a couple miles of riding, my daughter's mare was sore....Spoke to my farrier about it and asked his opinion...He told me they have awesome feet, he'd never shoe any of them.....He said some people shoe for rocky terrain but that does NOT protect the frog or inner sole area from bruising and soreness (unless you pad under your shoe) so in his opinion he'd tell me to correctly measure my horse and get a pair of whatever I prefer.....Although he really likes Easy Boots and Old Macs.

We took his advice and bought Easy Boot Epics (I think that's the model....with the gator) and although they aren't as easy to put on as my friend's Cavallo's we get no rubbing and turning (like her Cavallo's do), great traction, and great protection....Even cantering thru mud and shallow streams are no problem.....My daughter (14) carries them on the trails and puts them on if need be....so they aren't too hard to use....

Angela

[angelsdream]

I'm with Lisa (stormyranch) I had always shod my quarter horses I had and didnt even think of going barefoot until I got maverick - he had never had shoes - feet as tough as nails and it got me doing research on barefoot...! Lakota had shoes when I first got her and I pulled them. She was ouchy for the first 3-4 months but now she's fine. She will still give here and there on the rock, especially if I haven't rode her in a while. My barefoot trimmer told me that they feel the rocks when they dont have shoes on, which is why they are ouchy, they pick them up and dont put the full weight on the hoof - when they have shoes on, like Lisa was saying, they have no blood flow and can't feel the rocks - so they will slam there feet down on the rocks, putting full weight on, thus causing stone bruises, absess, etc - cause they dont feel it, whereas when they dont have shoes on, they feel the rocks and will not put the full weight on them. ive never had a stone bruise or absess. And yes, I believe it's so much more healthier for them and it does save you tons of money as well. My 2 year old Bella has great feet as well. The hardest part with people is the patience with barefoot, everyone wants them tough "RIGHT NOW" and dont wait it out for them to get tough. They will end up putting shoes on cause they wont toughen up in one week..! I try to explain to them it takes time and it wont happen over night and they will not toughen up if they are not walked on the rocks. People cant just pull the shoes and throw them out to pasture and expect them to toughen up - they have to rbe ode on gravel, yes they are ouchy but it's just like our feet - we would be ouchy as well but over time, we'd build up callasses and get tough, but it will not happen if you dont put them on the gravel.

My farrier said she has rocks in her pasture - same as what Lisa said. She also puts her water on one end of the pasture and her hay/feed on the other..so that way everything is not right there and the horses have to move around more instead of sitting in one place all day eating and drinking!!!

[fantasykiger]

I do have rocks in my pasture and a lava rock hill side that they climb on daily, but that is not enough for Fantasy apparently, when you add the weight of the rider and the terrian where we live. I really would love to say cut and dry never put shoes on your horse it is best for them,but as I have been witness to the pain not only some domestic breed horses with poor hoof conformation and one particular Mustang in the struggle to condition them to barefoot over several years (eventually they went to shoes). I listen to my horse and the advice of educated good vet and farriers. Every horse is differant, in the case of the Mustang boots were also tried over a year period to condition his feet to excepting barefoot and proved inadequate in keeping him from getting sore. I must admit he was a rare case, but he is so happy in his new shoes and not to be in pain and his owner is so happy to able to finally get out and ride for longer periods without worry of him going lame for the first time in 3 yrs and it just took giving up the idea the barefoot was the only way to go.
I forgot to mention, I also have a little 6 yr old Pintaloosa I raised here, with hooves tuff as nails I have never had to shoe as she has never showed any sign even out on the trail that she bothered by the rocky terrain she will do fine barefoot, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice her feet are.

[barbhorses]

I have never had need to shoe Victoria. However, if she was ridden enough where her feet were worn down to the point that if she wasn't shod it means she would be in pain, then I would shoe her no question. There are pads that you can use that will push on the frog to encourage circulation and at the same time also encourages the horse to pick his foot up a bit higher. So, if you ride your horse enough to where you are wearing his feet down to nubs or where his feet are breaking apart on severe surfaces, then I see no problems in shoeing. Actually, in those specific circumstances, I would see not shoeing as being negligent and being cruel. I would also make it a point to use a certified master farrier as horse trimming and shoeing is a science. When I rode with my master farrier for a time I learned how a shoe can cause constriction of the hoof over time if not nailed in correctly and if certain holes and/or shoes are used and that a good farrier can trim a horse "naturally" and shoe them to where the horse's feet are healthy and serves them well.

My horse is not ridden hard enough or put to ride in such harsh circumstances to require shoes. If she were put in such circumstances that I needed to to maintain her comfort then I would have no problems in doing so.

[dunbnwild]

The only horse we've shod in the past 20 some odd years is my mom's gaited horse who had 4 white feet and acts tender footed. I think she's looking into boots for him, though. (Other than the gaited one, we have had 3 QH's (two had shoes for the first 5 years or so we had them, because that's what everyone did, one is a QH/Paint and has never had shoes), a QH/Arab mix (has never had shoes), and 4 Kigers/mustangs (never had shoes))

My mustangs have never seemed tender footed except after major rainy spells, and even then not too bad. I don't have rocks in my pasture, but I ride down my gravel roads and do some street riding. Not enough to wear down the hoof, though. Most of the trails I ride are sandy, but when I do ride the rocky ones, they haven't acted tender at all.

I carry front boots on rides at places I'm not familiar with just in case, but as yet have never had to put them on.

Personally, I'd go with boots before shoes, but I have horses with great feet and a good farrier who does a great job pasture trimming. I switched to a guy who does "barefoot trims" with the mustang roll, etc, and didn't experience a difference except in $$$. But when I researched barefoot trimming, I was really impressed with Pete Ramey. What I like most about him, and barefoot trimmers in general, is that they really look at the entire horse and not just the hoof. When talking to most traditional farriers, they seem to only focus on the hoof.

Anyway-- that's my experience, bottom line, find a great farrier no matter what you choose to do.

[DianneC]

Amen to that! A great farrier is worth his weight in gold. I don't bake cookies for mine, but I do have the first horse caught in the pen and halters already on the rest. I pay him the day he comes too.

[pepper]

Amigo is 9 and never been shod.He could go his whole life this way ..IF.. I wasn't into endurance riding.Totally bare feet are usualy not allowed on a sanctioned ride but I have been able to ride him in 2 LD rides(under 30 miles).He finished one in good shape but I chose to pull him on the second cause he had a couple of small chips after the first 15 miles & had a lot of hard gravel to cover till the finish line.I'd like to try boots but he has huge,size 4 feet that are not traditional shaped so not sure boots will fit well & stay on.They aren't easy to apply & if they come off on the trail...I'd be stuck cause he's not the most "patient"critter & wouldn't want to stand still while I tried to put them back on...gonna need to figure this out before next season & yes,I have a really good farrier to work with.