Who has pulled back shoes before?

[eventerwannabe]

In my horse hunt I'm down to two (thank God!!) The one I'm leaning toward is currently shoed all the way around. When I asked the owner why she said that he would get a little sore on gravel sometimes so they put shoes on the back. I know the previous owner of this horse and she said that he was fine with fronts only when she had him.

So my question in how long can i expect the transition to be after pulling the back shoes? I'll probably be taking him on a week trial and will consult with the farrier then, but I just wanted to hear personal stories from the knowledgable masses;)

[roki143]

I pulled my guys back shoes as he was in light work (and I was busy with real life). He is TB and has fairly good feet for an ottb (and he had just spent a year with no shoes turned out in Illinois), but really the transition when fairly smooth (and his back two feet are white), and now he has had them trimmed once where I was going to go ahead and put shoes back on, but they were in such good shape that I figured I'd leave them off.

My other horse has HORRIBLE feet and has NEVER been barefoot. He is retired now and I bit the bullet and pulled his back shoes. He actually never appeared to be sore at all, but he is basically only out a pasture. This coming from a horse that was completely no-legged when he transferred out of sigafoos (sp?) about 2 years ago.

[deltawave]

I only put back shoes on Bonnie because I often ride out on a gravel drive and I use hind studs when competing. Usually the shoes go on right before the first show of the year, and are pulled right after the last show. She's barefoot the rest of the time, and we school, hack, do lessons, shows and clinics that way 7 months out of the year. Totally depends on the horse, and the feet. IME there is virtually no adjustment period, provided the ground is not frozen solid and the farrier knows what he's doing. :)

[eventerwannabe]

That makes me feel better. His feet look to be in pretty good shape. I was scared that I was going to buy him, pull the shoes, and have to wait weeks to ride him:(

[betsyk]

Just a thought - my older TB's with hock and stifle arthritis are dead lame without their hind shoes, but one doesn't actually show it for a couple resets. The other shows it right away. I assume you'll be doing a PPE so that might give you some info as to what the shoes are doing for him.

[ThirdCharm]

Depends on the horse and the level of work. If the horse has good feet and is in light work and not really being expected to carry itself, I would not have a problem with no rear shoes. But I've never had a horse in work who didn't work better with rear shoes, even the hardest-footed little Arab who did 40 mile mtn rides barefoot.

Jennifer

[tbeventer]

My gelding was barefoot when I bought him and only a couple months off the track. He had the most amazing feet, but once he was needing studs, he had to be shod all the way round. His feet have remained incredible and NEVER thrown a shoe until this summer. We moved from good conditions in WA to DRY conditions in So Cal. His feet have shrunk a shoe size from lack of moisture and when he threw a hind shoe at an event, by the time I could get it put back on 2 days later (happened at the last fence XC, our last phase), his hoof had cracked so badly that there was hardly anything to nail to! I know he'll get that good hoof back he used to have, but it takes time.

If this horse has always had good feet, then it probably always will. It takes a horse a while--about a year-- to grow a totally new hoof, which is what it could take for this one to completely become used to being barefoot. It also depends on how long he's been with shoes. The longer with, the harder it is to get used to going without, just like people and being barefoot vs. wearing shoes!

[Bobthehorse]

I pulled my horse's back shoes when he was injured, and never put them back on, since winter is on the way and he is only going BN now. Though, he has excellent feet and I only put the back shoes on him because we planned to finish the year at Novice and I wanted to be able to cork. He was barefoot when I got him, and sound except when working on rocky or gravelly surfaces. Ok he was still sound, but took a funny step now and then and wasnt too enthused about going forward.

I couldnt say if he was sensitive after pulling the shoes, since he was already lame behind and on stall rest. But he hasnt had a problem since he's been back in work.

[eponacowgirl]

I pulled mine after five years of having them on- eight weeks in and hes still ouchie to ride.

[Bogie]

You can always ride him in hoof boots behind during the transition.

I don't put hind shoes on my Trakehner because he's happy in most situations without them. When I hunt, I use Easyboot bares behind for some territories because of the rocks.

I did try taking my TB barefoot behind but he couldn't handle hunting without shoes. I'll likely pull the hind shoes again for the winter. For normal riding, he was fine right from the get go.

[eventerwannabe]

So it seems that it really depends on the horse.:sigh: Has anybody found anything that helps with recovery?

[bornfreenowexpensive]

So it seems that it really depends on the horse.:sigh: Has anybody found anything that helps with recovery?


If you are worried....why pull them? Is it a money issue? If he is doing fine with the shoes, I would leave them on. My experience is similar to Third Charm....while many horses are fine without them (eventually), most of them also do better with them. The only time I pull hind shoes are if a horse is locked up on stall rest or has a foot issue that my farrier thinks being barefoot will help or if the horse is on an extended vacation and (like sometimes during the winter). I do not pull them if they are in work.

ETA: If you want to pull them...that's fine.....but just trying to understand why since you seemed concerned about not then being able to ride him. You wont know until you pull them how long it will take for him to not be ouchy.....some are fine right away, others take time and others stay ouchy.

[curlykarot]

When I bought my horse he had 4 shoes. He didn't absolutely need them, so I didn't want to pay for them. He had just been shod before I bought him, so I waited to pull them until his feet needed to be done. I pulled them in the middle of a hot, dry summer. I recall giving him a day or 2 off, and then riding him in the indoor for a couple of days. He was fine.

I've now shown thru novice with only front shoes and he is fine. If he does start to slip, the hind shoes will go back on and all 4 will be tapped for studs. But, no issues so far.

[Ajierene]

I have pulled several back shoes with varying success. The first horse I owned needed eggbars on the back due to stifle issues. The thorougbred I picked up from auction went barefoot the minute he got home and never had a problem. It depends on the horse. Generally speaking, if a horse went well before the back shoes went on, he should be fine after they come off as well. If the horse was fine with one owner, then having problems with the second, he may have been getting trimmed to short when he got to the second owner.

As far as exactly how the horse will react, it is hard to say. The best determination is if he is still sore 8 weeks or so after the shoes initially came off. Would give time to account for 'soft soles' due to having shoes on and a trim that may have been a bit short.

He may be a bit flat footed and his first owner had never noticed because she only rode him on softer soil.

[eventerwannabe]

The reason i would like to pull them is two fold. First, I think they should only have shoes if they need them. Second, at our barn if they have back shoes they can't go in the pastures with the other horses, and I would prefer that he have buddies to play with. I'm not opposed to keeping them on if he needs them, but if he doesn't why incur the extra cost?

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Second, at our barn if they have back shoes they can't go in the pastures with the other horses, and I would prefer that he have buddies to play with.

That is a good reason to me......I do think that while some may not "need" them, they do perform better with them but if you want to pull the shoes (for what ever reasons...he will be your horse after all), just be ready to give him the time he needs to adjust. Get some Venice Turpentine and paint that on his soles (you can mix it with Iodine as well....7% iodine mixed in equal parts with the Turpentine). It will help toughen his feet up faster.

I also really like this product.
http://www.allivet.com/Keratex-Hoof-Hardener-p/10181.htm