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  Discussion on To Shoe or Not to Shoe
Author Message
Member:
Lhenning

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 10:36 am:

I have a nearly three year-old that has always been barefoot. In the past, I rode him in a sand covered arena or in a grassy pasture. This year, I want to ride him on trails that are mostly sand, but also cross roads and go into wooded areas of dirt and rotted leaves. It's not very stoney around here, but there could be areas with some stones. I was advised by people at the boarding stable to shoe him, but I keep reading there are many benefits of keeping him unshod. I have read the section here on shoeing, but I am still unsure. I need some advice from experienced people. Currently, his feet are in good condition, he gets regular trimming, and has never had any foot problems in the past.

Thanks for your help.
Linda
Member:
Terrilyn

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 10:58 am:

Sounds like your terrain is very similar to my area (southeastern VA). I have three horses that all go barefoot. All three do well with no shoes. They are all either trail-ridden regularly or do light ring work. I keep them off rock and gravel (we don't have much anyway) and have them trimmed about every 7 weeks. My farrier and I have had the shoeing discussion, but he tells me there is no need...their feet are healthy and they don't have any conformation or soundness issues that would require it at this time. However, if anything were to change or if I decided to ride in a rocky area, I'd have them shod. As long as they do well under these conditions, they'll stay barefoot.
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 4:18 pm:

Linda,
Shoeing horses became a necessity in times where horses were working full time, and in terrain over which you had no choice but to cross.
These are not exactly the conditions in our days, so we can now relieve many horses from the extra weight and the holes in their hoof walls.
I think the question is: Do you have any good reason to put shoes on those hooves?
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 4:26 pm:

One more note, Linda,
For the occasional ride on rough terrain, I believe a set of easyboots is better than permanently shoeing the horse.
I start to think that a naturally toughened hoof with an easyboot on is tougher than a permanently shod one...
Member:
Terrilyn

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 4:38 pm:

Good point, Christos...I have often thought I would try that rather than shoe just for one trip to a new area...I had my mare shod in front briefly last summer and hated what it did to her hoof walls. All three of mine have good, tough feet that are shaped well. I really hate to mess around with that. But since I've never tried an easy boot, and I've heard they aren't that easy, I guess I've been reluctant to order them.
Member:
Sunny66

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 4:59 pm:

Easy boots aren't necessarily hard, but I've heard they don't really stay on. I'm pretty sure there are alternatives, Old Macs for one.

I only wish I could have kept my guy barefoot, at least he's bare behind. (;)

Good luck!
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 10:44 pm:

I only mention easy boots as an example. There are, of course, alternatives.
Member:
Kthorse

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004 - 12:02 am:

I love old macs. My horse is 7 and never been shod. I ride in all terains. If its extremily rocky I put the boots on. For most part I ride in areas like you describe. I love him being barefoot.
Member:
Sparky

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004 - 4:16 pm:

Linda - my horse is now barefoot and I reviewed most of the boots out on the market - there are quite a few now - I ended up checking out all the products because my geldings feet measured for fitting the Old Mac's in between 4 sizes and I was afraid of a bad fit. I finally had a friend who happened to have all 4 sizes that I was in the range of, bring them over and he fit a size 5 perfectly! I found having someone with experience in the product I chose was a HUGE help. I don't think I will ever put shoes on again. The Old Mac's are user friendly. It is my understanding that the Easy Boot is coming out with a revised edition sometime in June. They have come out with the Boa Boot. The Marquee boot has a CD that they will send you for information. Each believes their product to be the best so it is a hard decision. I think a lot of the negative comments about these products come from poor fittings.
Good luck
Janet
Good luck
Member:
Kthorse

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004 - 6:01 pm:

Hi, I forgot to mention that the boots I use are old macs,
Katrina
Member:
Lhenning

Posted on Thursday, Apr 1, 2004 - 11:23 am:

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I do like doing things in a more natural way, and it gives me encouragement to know that I can keep my guy barefoot without any certainty of causing him problems. I think I will go ahead and keep him barefoot and try the old mac's for rougher terrain. This is a great forum and I appreciate your help.

Linda
Member:
Gailking

Posted on Thursday, Apr 1, 2004 - 3:09 pm:

I think you would be wise to keep him barefoot. My younger horse was barefoot; then shod for a few months and now is back to barefoot. He never has any problems with soreness or sensitivity and he is very hard on his feet running pell mell through anything. He does get some chips or gashes in the wall occasionally, and I have to fix those. I would suggest you become more proficient in rasping your horse's feet yourself. That way you can do minor touch ups. I have been doing both of my horses feet myself for over a year now since I went through 6 shoers and couldn't get anyone to trim them the way I wanted. I have brought my 9 year old back from underrun heels and way too long toes to a much more natural foot. He was a little tender on rocky ground for many months and I did use Old Macs sometimes for long rides. But now his foot is healthier than ever and the sole is more concave and off the ground and he is much less sensitive to the rocks. On a long rocky stretch I get off and walk him. The Old Macs take me awhile to get on, so I rarely use them Easy Boot has developed a new system with a dial that sizes the boot to the hoof (a friend is doing the photography for the new boots and has seen them work). By the way, in the early stages of trimming I did their feet every 2 to 3 weeks as I was changing their lateral medial balance, flares and toe length. But now that they are where I want them, I only have to trim or shape every 6 weeks or more. The thing to remember is that you want the weight of the leg to come down onto the hoof. The longer the heel and toe are, the more that pushes the support of the foot out in front of the pressure of the leg due to the angle of the foot. If you think you need more protection or for gashes, you can get an epoxy type device from a farrier supply to fill cracks or gouges, but if the horse is really active, it doesn't stay on very long. By the way, I ride in the foothills of the Sierra and we have your terrain plus lots of granite and rocks in some areas. Good luck in your decision.
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