| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| AngelaC |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 09:34:20 AM
HI There, I am new to this forum and was looking for some advice! I have been worked with Arabs since I was 16 (37 now!). I lost my first two arab mares under very sad circumstances so decided to go for a gelding next. I have had him since he was 2 and I have found my very naughty soul mate. We don't compete just pleasure rides and fun things. He has always been shod front only and I have been considering letting him go barefoot but I am worried about damaging him!! I have always questioned shoeing as the natural horses foot is a great shock absorber and expands with impact. Is it right to restrict this with a metal shoe? On the other hand horses were not designed to carry the extra weight of a human and be ridden on hard roads so maybe the shoes are required? Sorry that was a bit long winded! Any advice would be appreciated. I think i have posted some photos of Magic but not sure! |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 22 Oct 2012 : 11:45:50 AM
What sort of grass is your grass - as especially this summer with the weather we have had alot of grass has been too high in sugar, especially if high ryegrass content.
However my Tilly who arrived as a yearling is on the same supplements as my other girls - she doesn't need much feed, but has a little unmolassed sugar beet and micronised linseed to mix her supplements in - D&H yea-sacc, magnesium oxide and D&H vits and mins. |
| flosskins |
Posted - 22 Oct 2012 : 09:20:10 AM
Cinnypony - I'm not feeding her anything as she's just been out at grass for the summer, is there anything specific you would advise to promote strong healthy feet?
Martha - How did you learn to trim your horse's feet? |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 8:26:43 PM
Hi Flossikins
Also another question - what are you feeding her? Just asking as their hooves tend to reflect diet.
But agree with Martha - Tilly my youngster (3yrs)ended up with too long a gap between trims this summer and her hooves suddenly chipped and looked terrible - now her trims are back being regular her hooves staying so much better |
| martha615 |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 7:52:31 PM
Flosskins, it may be that you are not getting her feet trimmed often enough. Hooves grow quickly when the grass is rich (those of us with sheep will also experience that their hooves grow very fast with new grass!) and the growth will naturally chip off unevenly unless you trim them regularly. I trim my horses myself and so do so ever 3-4 weeks or whenever the "flare" looks bad. So, my horses never really get many chips. If I fail to trim, they will, though! But it isn't very serious and I just trim it back and the chip is gone... :)
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| flosskins |
Posted - 20 Oct 2012 : 7:36:01 PM
I have always wanted to keep my youngster barefoot but at 18 months old her feet seem to crack and chip just living in the field so its looking unlikely sadly. Is there anything I should/could be doing to improve her feet? |
| janinedawn |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 10:39:45 PM
Hi my mare has been barefoot sine she turned 5 yrs old we have done dressage, show jumping, cross country practice and lots of hacking and she is fine. She has had better grip in the winter as well being bare foot and the snow doesn't ball up the same. I woudl go for barefoot all the time |
| ali bali |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 7:58:25 PM
A friend of mine Intermediate events her warmblood barefoot, not due to any 'ethical' issues but because he hated having shoes nailed on! They are both now very happy that way despite raised eyebrows at many events.
I would have liked to have kept my boy barefoot and am lucky enough to have a farrier whose opinion is 'Don't shoe until they need it'. Unfortunately my Arab has the most sensitive soles Ive ever come across (think footsore being led in hand on smooth tarmac!) and had to be shod as soon as I started hacking out.
Ironically my friend who never had any intentions of going barefoot has ended up that way while I who had every intention of staying barefoot am now shod all round!!! Think it depends on your horse as well as the owners commitment. |
| stirling321 |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 6:59:08 PM
My boy is barefoot and we do alot of road work as well as alot of off roading :) not a single problem... but do remember you need to feed a very good diet to make sure the hoof is getting everything it requires to produce a very good quality hoof. They say barefoot is better for XC too as it allows a horse to feel his feet and you can grip better... we shall soon find out... ive never had any problems with barefoot |
| glo |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 3:09:20 PM
I have just take my mares shoes off, well 8 weeks ago, and if I can give same advice, plan it before you have the shoes off!!! Get the feet measured and look into hoof boots before you take the plunge (I know that your horses feet will change but get some hoof boots off a auction web site), its a minefield out there, then when your ready go for it. |
| Honeyb060674 |
Posted - 12 Oct 2012 : 07:07:36 AM
I'm neither taliban nor unenthusiastic!
Just someone who would rather have my horse in as natural state as possible to benefit his well being 
The only issue we've had is with spring grass, being on a livery its turnout or not. So we compromise....daytime turnout, soaked hay, supplement for chubby barefoot pony & turbo boots.
Oh and a fair bit of reading & asking those in the know.
What suits one horse/human combo may not suit another.
Wonderful farrier when asked about any other clients using hoof boots said "yeah they're ok til you lose em..repeatedly!"
And when I asked what people tended to do next he replied "they put shoes on em!" 
Muppet
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| Cinnypony |
Posted - 11 Oct 2012 : 10:56:44 PM
Me too very enthusiastic - could never imagine having a shod horse.
However by being too radical about barefoot, you turn people off the idea of trying barefoot.
Also I have learnt that there are some people that I really wouldn't want to see barefoot as they would never do the level of care, as in there are some people with shod horses (have met 1 or 2 like this at livery yards) who think the farrier looks after their horses hooves and they have no responsibility for their horses hooves.
Cinny fits into the category of horses that do well barefoot, 2.5 weeks ago did 80k at Windsor, bare and this Sunday will be doing 80k at the New Forest Rufus bare.
Is that keen enough |
| Mrs DJ |
Posted - 11 Oct 2012 : 10:16:22 PM
Unenthusiastic??
No.
I personally will never have shoes put on a horse again.
But a lot of people wish to go with farrier/vet advice, because they are seen as 'experts'. That's up to them - it's their horse, after all.
And you only have to read some of the threads on other forums to see that the 'barefoot taliban' are often seen as trying to force their opinions onto other people.
If asked, I say that it works for me, but, as you pointed out, many people don't want/are unable to address the environment and dietry issues that can also be involved. |
| complete novice |
Posted - 11 Oct 2012 : 9:00:20 PM
Despite the fact that arabs have generally very hard feet I haven't seen many posts really enthusiastic about having horses barefoot or unshod as some would prefer.
Having done a fair bit of reading and research it appears that the main reason a lot of horses wear shoes is down to the owners not the horse's ability to cope.
It can sometimes take a while for the transition but generally if the will is there to take the shoes off the vast majority of horses, arabs cobs tb's etc will not only cope but do well barefoot.
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| AngelaC |
Posted - 11 Oct 2012 : 07:29:01 AM
Thank for all your advice!! Will have a think, so much information!! |
| Honeyb060674 |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 11:31:31 PM
Sunny is barefoot but always has been. Only this year as a five yo have I had to slightly rethink and booted up on his fronts for longer/rougher rides to keep him comfortable. This became apparent at turnout with yummy rich grass and horrible wet weather. Now we're past 'summer' and the rich grass  (hump!) we have happy feet again.
I feed low sugar and supplement with mag oxide. Trimmed by our regular farrier who's sympathetic towards our barefoot needs.
There's a wealth of knowledge out there good luck |
| hazelcat74 |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 10:23:48 PM
My two age 5 and 10 are barefoot happy hackers, they have never had shoes on in their lives and not had any problems but if your horse has been shod it will take quite a long time for his hooves to adjust but it can be done, I'm sure others will be able to give lots of advice on this |
| zebedeedeb |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 9:44:24 PM
hi i got my boy charlie, 6 months ago, he is pure arab and 24 yrs of age,, he was shod in front and has never been barefoot, however due to the terrible state his feet were in , i decided to take him barefoot,, and now 6 months on he is charging along the flinty paths on the south downs without a care in the world,, as its been said, its how you keep them, the trim they receive and the diet,,, i did use hoof boots when riding for the 1st few months as he was rather tender, but now you would never know he had so many problems with his feet, |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 8:54:02 PM
Again no first hand experience of transitioning as never had a horse arrive with shoes on.
However have been told that good to change the horses diet ahead of the shoes coming off. Also be prepared to use hoof boots to start with.
Also a good book for info is Feet First.
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| martha615 |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 8:36:43 PM
My horses are all barefoot and I trim them myself, having had a rather good tutor for the first year when I was nervous about doing it myself! My new arab has the best feet of all, and she's been barefoot most of her life. I use hoofboots in front sometimes on my welsh mare, but mostly she manages fine without. I can't imagine my arab would even need hoofboots unless I was going at speed on rocky ground, which I cannot see happening anytime soon as she's only now being backed!
I don't think there is any harm in trying barefoot provided you stay away from anything Strasser and you go easy at first. If he's been in shoes, you will probably have to use hoofboots in the beginning. Transitioning is sometimes difficult as they CAN get abscesses early on. It does require some homework, I think! But if you are careful, you'll probably be fine. |
| pippic |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 8:08:39 PM
My new boy came to me barefoot at the age of eight and stomps over stones and rough tracks like they aren't there. My trimmer has begged me to never, ever put shoes on him. Apparently he has amazing frogs!!! Can't help with transitioning but there is a barefoot endurance riders page on Facebook. Seeing more and more barefeet arabs in endurance now. |
| Arachnid |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 7:59:15 PM
Yes I'm interested in barefoot too, but I suspect you have to have the right horse and the right riding. I know more people who have tried and given up than successful ones. Like Kes, I'm waiting for technology to catch up! |
| Cinnypony |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 7:52:36 PM
Again like Mrs DJ we do road work - have a lot of stoney tracks in the forest and we have no trouble.
Cinny has also done the Exmoor Experience (80k) at the Golden Horseshoe and the vet was v impressed with her hooves at the end.
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| Mrs DJ |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 4:11:06 PM
If you're interested in barefoot, have a look at the Phoenixhorse forum.
Loads of advice and info on there regarding transitioning, hoofboots, diet and environment issues etc.
Very helpful people and well worth a read.
PS Mine's been barefoot most of her life, and copes with roadwork etc just fine |
| Kes |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 3:46:46 PM
Great topic which will generate a lot of replies I think :) I can't comment on barefoot, I keep Kes on the South Downs and we have a good supply of hard tracks and flinty ground. Kes is shod all round but recently went 6 weeks of front shoes only, he adjusted in a few weeks after his feet chipped away to the old nail holes and I thought he coped really well. But, I had 4 put back on last week and have done a few rides since and during that time I realised, he was in fact a little footsore behind. I didn't really notice it at the time, but now he has 4 back on, his stride has gone back to normal and he's stopped being a bit 'short' behind.
However, if I could go barefoot I would and I haven't ruled it out in the future. Technology is getting better and better all the time with better designs of hoof boots, shoofs etc |
| AngelaC |
Posted - 10 Oct 2012 : 10:44:33 AM
Thanks very much, will have a read! |
