# Going barefoot, footsore horses



## Ziggy_ (26 December 2008)

Has anyone decided to ditch their horses shoes and go barefoot, and if so, how did your horse adapt? Did you have any footiness, did you adjust the work your horse was doing, how long did it take for your horse to get used to?

Stories please - I'd especially like to hear if anyone has a horse who you wouldn't think of as being able to cope shoeless (TB for example) that has managed to adapt.


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## hettieben (26 December 2008)

I know someone down my yard that went barefoot, and has regretted it ever since.  Her horses hooves have cracked and look untidy, and she said that the horse is also very 'footy' when hacking out on the road.  Not for me..


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## piebaldsparkle (26 December 2008)

My cob mare had her shoes off (all 4) about 3 weeks ago now (having been shod for at least 8 yrs).  No footyness at all on any surface.  She has had an easy few weeks (but that is as much due to work commitments as anything else).  I have also started her on formula 4 feet.  Her feet are strating to break up a bit now as the old nail holes are growing down.


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## Cluny (26 December 2008)

I did attempt to take my old horse barefoot and we tried for 16 months with a proper EP trimming, trouble was we just couldn't get the height on the walls of his front feet (too flat footed) and he felt every stone.  I did do the correct conditioning work with him (sand, tarmac etc) and I booted him up with Old Mac G2's and Sole Mate pads when hacking out (all round) and he coped brilliantly then.  However, we had a stony rocky yard surface and it wasn't fair on him to keep him barefoot and he went back to shoes.

However out of my two lads now, one is barefoot all round, but again he is flat footed in front, so will be booted up with G2's, but is fine behind and his horn quality has improved ten fold since growing out the nail holes and he's very happy.   I've also moved to a new yard with a nice even surface so no problems there.  My other lad came with a very underun heel on his nearside front, but with good farriery and Epona plastic shoes on his fronts, he's doing really well and has come on in leaps and bounds.  He is bare behind and is doing so well, I'm chuffed to bits with him.

These are my Oldenburg's fronts with the underun heel when I got him






This shoes from the other side, you can see how bad they are@







and this shoes the Epona's I use, they are a very good compromise between traditional shoes and barefoot


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## brightmount (26 December 2008)

I took my horse barefoot. It saved her life. She was crippled with navicular and was going to be PTS within the week, but I met an Equine Podiatrist who had clients on the yard and had a chat with him, and he thought barefoot could help, and was willing to give it a try.

She was already out of work so there was no question of having to scale back the workload, but it's a mistake people often make thinking they can just carry on at the same level. When shoes come off a horse that has worn them for years, the foot has to adjust and regain its natural way of functioning. That's why qualified Equine Podiatrists will make recommendations for conditioning the hooves so that the horse won't be uncomfortable during the process. It's not just about taking the shoes off, there is a commitment on the part of the owner to follow the recommendations if they are serious about making it work.

Anyway, in the case of my horse, she turned the corner straight away, and made a dramatic improvement, coming back into light work within a year and since going on to a full recovery. She now does everything she has ever done, but with healthy naked natural hooves.


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## Cluny (26 December 2008)

Absolutely agree with Brightmount, you have to do your research before taking a horse barefoot and I thoroughly recommend using a correctly trained EP, they are specialists in barefoot trimming, it's all they do.  They will advise you what conditioning work you need to do, whether you need to boot up or not, and how much work you can do.

Also I would recomend that your horse has some Bowen or similar, as they will learn to carry themselves differently without shoes and that could cause some muscular tightness or soreness whilst they adjust.


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## Honeypots (26 December 2008)

All mine are barefoot (hoof)..
I have a shettie, a welshie, a connie, a lightweight and heavyweight cob and a TB x ID. The Connie and TB x are footy on single stones ie are fine on gravel but flinch on single small rocks/stones but are absolutely fine on everything else. To be fair the TB x has been barefoot less than a year and hasn't really been out and about to condition the hooves yet much. All the others are fine on all surfaces we've come across.
I use a normal farriers trim.


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## RachelB (26 December 2008)

My horse had her shoes off so she could be turned away after she tore her tendon. 18 months later my farrier was convinced I'd be able to kep her barefoot and I walked her out for two months in-hand barefoot. She was very uncomfortable in front (especially careful with her "bad" foot) so I got him to put front shoes on. She came more sound in front shoes that I ever thought she would be. I rode her out for another two months with only front shoes and she was getting progressively more sore behind. Farrier came out last Friday to put hind shoes on and was completely shocked at how much of the hoof wall had been worn away. She has felt fantastic every time I've ridden her out since, and I wouldn't bother trying to go barefoot again with her.
I was forced to ditch the hind shoes off my first pony when she suddenly decided she was going to hate having them nailed in (she had a few little behavioural issues!) She was barefoot for about a year and eventually became so sore behind and so happy to let me bang her feet every day with a small hammer that I got my farrier to knock her back shoes on. She was fine, sound and happy after that (and still is.)


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## lilym (26 December 2008)

this was quite a few years back, but i had a part bred arab, and the yard she was kept on insisted we used just one farrier who in one word was useless. the mare kept being on and off lame, so i had her shoes taken off and put her in the field....well she came sound so i started to hack her. it took a while for her hooves to condition and she was slighlt sore for a while, but this stopped after about 12 weeks gentle riding, her hooves also changed shape slightly and were no longer as boxy and her frog grew as the hoof started behaving as it should and flexing under concussion. as for timming i did a bit myself and kept her tidy, she stayed sound another 3 years like that and was eventually put down due to colic.
my now ponies, the welsh c will never need shoes as her feet are fantastic, she rarely needs trimming either, keeps them in great shape going for walks!
my D on the other hand looks like he has laminitis if made to work without shoes as he is a great big wuss, it simply doesn't suit him!


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## Roasted Chestnuts (26 December 2008)

I have to say kia is barefoot and he has been VERY footy more so with the iron hard ruted ground. He is fine on the road (as long as we dont come across any stones) and on gras and in arenas but stoney/hard rutted ground makes him sore.

I am going to buy some hoof boots that will hopefully fit great and stop him being footy then hopefully the fronts will come off and I can keep him barefoot.

He is doing well though and the cracks have all gone although he is only coming up for 4mnths unshod behind.

Nikki xxx


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## Beccaeve (26 December 2008)

My TB has gone from having a full set to just a front set &amp; tbh i'm surprised at how well shes coped because whenever she used to throw a shoe (when she had a full set) she would go lame. I also thought that her TB feet wouldnt b able to cope with going barefoot. She's had just front sets since about the summer and hasnt been footsore at all. i was very pleasantly surprised!!


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## Silverspring (26 December 2008)

I took my Arab (with feet very similar to a TB) barefoot 4 month ago.  I researched it for a while and considered going bare behind then taking the front shoes off at a later date.  My farrier was very supportive and said take them all off and iff she's too sore I'll come out and put fronts on.

I was expecting the worse given that even when shod she was sore over any ground that wasn't soft or smooth, she wore pads when competing (endurance) or she'd end up with bruised soles.  She has however adapted very well to the no shoes!  Her feet are already a healthier and more natural shape, the farrier trims every 12 - 14 weeks not that there's much to trim!  I bought boots as soon as I got the shoes off (measured and ordered the same day!) and she always wears them when hacking.  It works well for me, they are easy to put on and it means she doesn't go footy on some of the gravel tracks we have to use.

I would say look at a few websites, consider why you want to go barefoot and how determined you are (it can be tough at the start) how much you are willing to change the way you ride while the horse adapts, are you willing to buy and use hoof boots (mine were a perfect fit but some people have 'retention' issues in mud) etc.  PM if you want any advice 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I went through it all recently so the websites are still book marked!


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## Minnies_Mum (26 December 2008)

My TB is retired barefoot and at first his feet cracked around the edges and looked horrible, but now they look better than they've ever done.  I don't think he would ever have been able to work without shoes (ie roads and hard surfaces) and we thought we'd have to keep fronts on when he retired, but out in the field he's been fine.

My friend's cob was barefoot for a short amount of time and he couldn't cope at all.


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## Evil_Cookie (26 December 2008)

I took my tb mare barefoot, for 18mnths. She had pretty severe pigeon toes, and after a bad experience of remedial shoeing, we took the plunge and had the shoes removed. She was footy for about a month or so, on hard ground, but fine on grass straight away (she was 10 at the time of shoes being taken of and I assume she had had shoes on since she was 3 or 4). Roadwork was a godsend, got her feet in much better shape, helped improve her underun heels and improved the shape of her tb feet. She was a bit footy on stones, so we used hoof boots if we knew we'd be going down a stony path on our hacks, but other than that it was really good. She had shoes back on to be sold, as most people don't understand that the odd ouch step when she stood on a stone, didn't mean she was lame. If nothing else, her feet did improve so much from her time shoeless, no more lost shoes. With help from a good farrier, a lot of horses can work shoeless, you just need to be realistic, if after a period of time the horse isn't coping, admit defeat and put shoes on, just use common sense, being shoeless can be both very beneficial to some horses, but detrimental to others.


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## clipclop (26 December 2008)

Nearly 5 years a go my horse had very crap feet. Typical TB type feet. Feet always falling to pieces etc, etc. Such a boring story really.

In desperation I went down the shoeless route. It works a treat and I have never missed a ride due to lost shoes or footiness.

There has been the odd footy day but nothing major to report. 

You can pm me for more detail if you like.


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## Shilasdair (26 December 2008)

I have tried taking shoes off my now 20 yr old Tb mare, but she can't walk. 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Not only that, her feet flare out, the flares split, she has no wall, and she can't even stand in soft ground comfortably.  So shoes on til she drops.
My others are two youngsters and have never been shod (nor backed yet).  The Shire x Tb has very hard feet, and should work unshod with no problems.  The other, a Tb/Warmblood cross has average feet and may/may not cope.
I think you should try going barefoot, but if your horse isn't coping within a few months (6 months tops), then perhaps it is kinder to reshoe.
B


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## custard (26 December 2008)

My older horse has really difficult feet complete with rotated pedal bones from his former career as a show-ring fatty.  I've tried all manner of shoes in the past including glue ons, you name it we've tried it!

Back in April we moved to our own place so was at least now able to manage him as I wanted too but he started losing shoes again.  In June our farrier suggested we try barefoot since could could have some time off and would just be able to slob out in the field, no stones, no tarmac, or so I thought.  In fact his feet broke up badly and he was incredibly sore.  We had to involve the vet who put him on box rest and Danilon just in case the soreness was in fact laminitis, we also used eucalyptus and iodoform to harden his soles.  

Because he climbs the walls on box rest I then 'yarded' him using electric tape and he seemed quite happy with this.  I also used Old Mac boots for well over the recommended time but they rubbed his heels so I ended up matting the yard and this was a breakthrough since he could then potter about comfortably.

Eventually he started to grow some hoof and his soles have thickened.  Our farrier says his feet look the best he's ever seen them and he is just about to start some work again.  I rode him in the school tonight barefoot and he was fine, we'll have to see how it goes and I'm sure he will always need boots for road work.  

He is nearly 17 now and having an easier life as I have a young horse but I've every hope he'll be able to hack out once a week, work in the manege, and maybe even compete again.  It's been an expensive and emotional process, seeing him so sore was lousy but had run out of options.  Luckily I was able to lay him off but he's taken a good 6 months to come right.

Sorry this is a long reply but too many folk think you can just whip the shoes off and that a 'bit of footiness is to be expected'.  You have to have the full support of a good farrier and vet as well as deep pockets.


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## Skhosu (27 December 2008)

I took shoes off for a winter break and the farrier really struggled to put them back on, so they won't be coming off again.
As for 'footyness' I don't believe in this. A horse who is lame is lame, call it that, not disguise it with 'footyness'. And as for anyone who insists horses be made to tiptoe over various surfaces they are sore on to 'condition' them I suggest they do it themselves barefoot at the same time. However if you want to use hoofboots rather than shoes I have no problem with it.
Sorry, pet hate is these threads where its always 'if you just have commitment your horse can be barefoot too'! when as far as I see it, my horse is sound with shoes..unsound without, nothing wrong with that imo/


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## PapaFrita (27 December 2008)

PF was barefoot for several years from when I got her aged 3. It sort of happened by chance; I took her shoes off and turned her away until I had time for her and never put them back on. It was my farrier who suggested we leave her barefoot; I was all for putting shoes back on, but he said she didn't need them. She's been barefoot for a couple of months now that she's pregnant and I'm going to try her barefoot again.
Another TB mare of mine didn't take to it so well. She was fine in the field and on level/even ground, but really felt any stone on a hack. She coped well with just fronts on though.


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## PapaFrita (27 December 2008)

[ QUOTE ]

As for 'footyness' I don't believe in this. A horse who is lame is lame, call it that, not disguise it with 'footyness'.

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Oh, well, I disagree. Some horses will cope with most surfaces yet struggle over stony ground. This is what I define as footiness and if you're only going to stick to good surfaces, it's not a problem. 

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 And as for anyone who insists horses be made to tiptoe over various surfaces they are sore on to 'condition' them I suggest they do it themselves barefoot at the same time. 

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Agree!! Sadistic basstads!! If it hurts, it hurts! 

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Sorry, pet hate is these threads where its always 'if you just have commitment your horse can be barefoot too'! when as far as I see it, my horse is sound with shoes..unsound without, nothing wrong with that imo/ 

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Agree with you here. Some horses just aren't suited to going barefoot and it's no good insisting.


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## _daisy_ (27 December 2008)

all 4 of my horses are now barefoot and have been since March last year (well the first one went barefoot then then the others followed shortly after)

Ebi was always bad with shoes, threw them left right and centre, went immediately lame and very bruised. it was the last chance for her as she has ringbone and i couldnt keep her sound via any method, even painkillers. she went natural baarefoot and within 4wks she was sound and was able to be ridden (retired previously for 3years) shes an IDxTB with crap feet. she has taken brilliantly to it and her feet have come on so well. shes ridden over most grounds and accepts it with no problems.
I have a WB that has solid feet and never had any problems with any surface.
I have a welsh D who has shocking feet (chronic laminitic pony with one of them having a crack from when she ripped her foot open). She has gone through major changes with her feet and she is doing well now. initially we had to put hoof boots on when we exercised her but now she hacks out without them.


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## Marchtime (27 December 2008)

Not a chance of mine going barefoot. He literally won't come out of his rubber matted stable if he loses a shoe. He has awful TB feet with flat, thin soles and numerous other problems. It has been suggested we try him barefoot as he has soft tissue damage in his foot but both my vet and farrier believe he would never cope. He currently isn't sound to hack with silicone pads in his shoes so barefoot will never be an option. Sadly I think very few TBs can cope with a full workload barefoot.


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## Honeypots (27 December 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
I took shoes off for a winter break and the farrier really struggled to put them back on, so they won't be coming off again.
As for 'footyness' I don't believe in this. A horse who is lame is lame, call it that, not disguise it with 'footyness'.  

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I'll call it footiness because IMO thats what it is...my horse isn't lame because as soon as we come off the surface he's as sound as a pound! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  [ QUOTE ]
   And as for anyone who insists horses be made to tiptoe over various surfaces they are sore on to 'condition' them I suggest they do it themselves barefoot at the same time.  

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I don't think anyone is suggesting you drag your horse over ground that makes them sore. Conditioning is about time as much as anything. Just mooching in the stable/field can help the hooves to adjust without shoes as well as correct nutrition/trimming. Its an individual thing..some take longer than others...some never get there at all..

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Sorry, pet hate is these threads where its always 'if you just have commitment your horse can be barefoot too'! when as far as I see it, my horse is sound with shoes..unsound without, nothing wrong with that imo/ 

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Not sure anyone on here has said there is anything wrong with having shoes on if thats what suits you and your horse!


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## Serephin (27 December 2008)

my irish cob is barefoot - was fine right from the start - use a normal farrier trim -- in fact my farrier encouraged me to go barefoot.


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## spookypony (27 December 2008)

When I got mine, he'd just had his first trim in a long time (he couldn't be caught for a while). His hooves had been very long, and one hind had cracked under the strain. He also had a lot of flare. At the beginning, he was quite sore on anything except grass, so I kept rides very short and over soft ground only. After a few weeks, he was fine over tarmac as well, and after three months, he's happy on any ground. I have him looked at by a barefoot trimmer every 4 weeks at the moment, who is very happy with how his hooves are coming along. 

I don't think that "footy" and "lame" are the same. If I'm walking around barefoot in the summer, it feels great on grass and sand, and not so good on gravel. That doesn't make me lame. 

I do think that barefoot is the better route when possible, and I suspect that it's possible more often than many people think it is, but I also appreciate that it ISN'T always possible, and that not everyone can afford the sometimes long adjustment period from shod to barefoot.


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## PennyJ (27 December 2008)

Sorry, but I simply don't understand this at all.  We started out with an unshod New Forest pony, she was never "footy", but her front feet started to wear down quite badly, so we had front shoes put on.  I had back shoes put on her at the beginning of December when it became obvious out on the forest that she was trying to avoid going on the stony tracks.  She's been fine ever since the hind shoes went on.  Why would you want to force a horse to go barefoot if it hurts them?


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## spookypony (27 December 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, but I simply don't understand this at all.  We started out with an unshod New Forest pony, she was never "footy", but her front feet started to wear down quite badly, so we had front shoes put on.  I had back shoes put on her at the beginning of December when it became obvious out on the forest that she was trying to avoid going on the stony tracks.  She's been fine ever since the hind shoes went on.  Why would you want to force a horse to go barefoot if it hurts them? 

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I'm not sure if you're referring to my post, but on the assumption that you are, to clarify: it wasn't the barefootedness that was causing the footsoreness, it was the previous overgrown condition of the untrimmed hooves. Perhaps shoeing him in front would have provided an "instant fix", but a few weeks' extra patience (which admittedly wasn't hard for me, since he was too fat and unfit to work much anyway) has resulted in greatly improved feet, which have very thick soles, and now require only little maintenance to keep in shape. In the long run, I will save a lot on shoeing, and the pony is sound and happy.

Before anyone jumps on me, let me stress again that not every horse is the same, and that I can very well imagine circumstances under which I would keep a horse shod. These, however, do not apply to the spooky pony!


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## amandaco2 (27 December 2008)

mine are all barefoot at the moment

one is now nearly 19 and been bare for about 5 years.shes ISH and always had crumbly feet, which the farrier said needed shoes(she was done every 5 weeks to keep her feet in shape) but would possibly cope without back shoes in winter if i didnt ride her.
i had her back shoes taken off as her work reduced to nothing due to a tendon injury.she was fine on the roads for her walks out and all surfaces straight away
her fronts came off a year later as her injury to her tendon meant she wasnt going to compete again (sob) 
she was careful and felt any gravel and stones on hard ground for about a month.
she had her work(hacking) adjusted and can cope with as much road work as i like now.

i cant just take her out over stones or on hard ground for hours after no work for weeks-if i wanted to do work over stones or unusually prolonged hacks i boot her front feet up, as they are out of condition(she is only ridden for 30mins once or twice a week now)

my rising 3 yo WB has never had shoes, her feet are excellent quality and grow amazingly fast and she bounces out over anything(i walk her in hand down the lanes and roads)i will be aiming to keep the shoes off unless she cannot cope.

and horse 3 is a 5yo TBx who has had front shoes on since a yearling due to a terrible foot injury.
her farrier says her feet look amazing and loads better now and the best he has ever seen for her 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 .she is bare in the school and field but i put easyboots on her hacking as her feet are still flat and she has cracks growing out.
she may need the fronts back on in the summer if the ground is hard and she cant cope, but i will play it by ear.i dont want a lame horse or an uncomfy one for the sake of staying bare.


the farrier sees all of them every 5 weeks.

my little conny mare was barefoot ever since i knew her, so im not sure if she ever had sheos on-she was 48 when she was pts last year.feet were amazing rock solid.


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