When to put shoes on?

[KC and the Sunshine Band]

If you have a sound horse (on all surfaces) with good solid feet and no signs of lameness, soreness, or wear, but you're planning to increase the horse's workload, at what point and why do you decide to, or not to, put shoes on?

How do you make that decision?

[trubandloki]

I find the answer to be simple. When the horse needs them. If the increased work is wearing the horse's feet down too much or if the horse starts to develop soreness issues then put shoes on.

[Simkie]

I put shoes on all my horses when they are in regular, 5 days a week, work.

I have found, over and over, that although they are SOUND barefoot, they have ALL improved when shod.

[tidy rabbit]

I had a similar conversation the other day about my 4 y.o. It was suggested to me that I should have front shoes put on him soon and that it may help to open up his stride a little bit. Does anyone find that to be the case?

He's sound on all surfaces too and in fairly regular work but he's about to start working harder. I had thought about waiting until the ground gets hard to put shoes on him even if his workload increases before then.

[BornToRide]

I put shoes on all my horses when they are in regular, 5 days a week, work.

I have found, over and over, that although they are SOUND barefoot, they have ALL improved when shod.
I am curious - how exactly have they improved?

To The OP - it may depend on the kind of riding you do. If you jump the horses on unstable footing for example, like grass, it might be safer to use shoes, but you won't know unless you've tried it.

If you do not work your horse on unsafe footing where slippage could be an issue, I would simply use boots and not shoes. At least you can take those off after work, like you would with your own. Shoes you cannot.

Generally speaking work stimulates growth. Usually domestic horses don't get enough exercise to keep growth and wear in balance and trimming is still necessary.

If you have more wear than growth at any point, there's something wrong with the health of the hoof or maybe the musculo-skeletal system that needs to be investigated rather than covered up with a shoe.

Working harder does not automatically mean the horse needs shoes. Feral horses walk over 20 miles a day without shoes and they don't seem to have excessive wear.

Native American horses were bare and they were ridden hard. They would only wear a leather boot if they had a hoof injury (The Horse in the Indian Blackfoot culture).

[Simkie]

I had a similar conversation the other day about my 4 y.o. It was suggested to me that I should have front shoes put on him soon and that it may help to open up his stride a little bit. Does anyone find that to be the case?

Yep. Have found it to be the case time and time again. I've repeatedly seen more freedom in the shoulder and more sit and push behind when putting shoes on.

[ErinW]

I've also been wondering the same thing. I just had improperly fit shoes removed, and my 6 yr. old gelding is now barefoot and trimmed. My very good farrier said he's going to monitor him to see if his feet will be able to go barefoot. But he's ridden/worked moderately almost everyday and he jumps as well as dressage, and I'm not sure what to do.

Anyone just have shoes on the front feet?

OP- Glad you presented this question! :)

[irishcas]

Know your horse, know what sound is and then if you feel any hesitation, any "off"ness than I'd consider PROPERLY applied shoes. Now thats opening a can of worms :D

Good Luck, this will surely turn into another debacle thread, but hopefully not.

Regards,

Kim Cassidy
NAF, AHA Member

[LMH]

I have 2 horses in work daily and neither has shoes or likely ever will.

[JB]

I find the answer to be simple. When the horse needs them. If the increased work is wearing the horse's feet down too much or if the horse starts to develop soreness issues then put shoes on.

Couldn't have said it better.

[ErinW]

Thanks. Yes, the lady who sold my horse to me recently knew that the previous farrier had done a lousy job (just took a huge 5" shoe and slapped it on him without using an anvil or anything to match to fit the shoe properly). I now have a caring farrier that is wonderful! I'm a worrier at times, so I'm just hoping that he will jump soundly without shoes.

[BornToRide]

Yep. Have found it to be the case time and time again. I've repeatedly seen more freedom in the shoulder and more sit and push behind when putting shoes on. Funny, I tend to see the exact same thing when horses go bare, plus they seem to be more surefotted. That's also what Emma Hindle (International Dressage rider) experienced when she started riding her horses bare.

[ErinW]

I love when professional riders take compete their horses barefoot! Good to know!:)

[Petstorejunkie]

Honestly it depends on the horse. I have a horse (eventer) that is ridden 6 days a week on varying terrain (including walking on asphalt to the arena 20 minutes down the street) and he's barefoot. We spent almost a year in transition in hoof boots, but i dont forsee us ever really needing shoes. But even though i "drank the koolaid" so to speak if my horse ever NEEDS them, i'll bite the bullet... maybe glue ons...:cool:

[DMK]

I guess if your horse can't make the minimum step and you have to add down the lines more often than not, and your goal to go to shows and be competitive, then it's time to consider shoes. I've seen horses I consider sound, who still can't make the numbers, so at that point it's time to assess your goals. It may be that your goal is not to be competitive when you show, so maybe shoes aren't really critical in this case, and that is perfectly fine as well. There are a lot of things I do with my horse that he kind of sucks at, but they aren't important to me, so it's OK. ;)

[tidy rabbit]

In my horse's case he's nearly 17.2 and even in turn out has a careful step unless the footing is perfect. He's just careful. I don't think he has any trouble making the strides down the lines but with flat work he takes a big dressage type push to really get him to extend out through his shoulder in the trot. My jumping coach suggested that he might be more willing to move through his shoulder if he had shoes on. While the dressage coach says it's all about the ride he gets.

Then there's the question of whether or not he could suffer any ill effects from being left barefoot that he wouldn't suffer if properly shod.

[boosma47]

An interesting topic here!

I have absolutely no answers, only those which work with my horses.

Boo, 1200lbs, 15:1 drafty tank has been barefoot for the past 9 years with no work related problems. She works on dressage, a some jumping, trails. Only when the footing is sharp gravel does she show any discomfort. She is incredibly surefooted.

Dime, 1000 lbs, 15:3 TB had his shoes pulled last fall as he is semi retired and I wanted to see how he did barefoot during the winter. I've had him shod constantly for 23 years up to this point, as farriers said he wouldn't do well without shoes. His feet have improved tremendously in strength and balance. He is moving freely on the line, and I plan to keep him barefoot unless our program changes. He'll let me know!

Rusty, 1100 lbs, 16 h QH - fully retired - barefoot the 3 years I've had him. Iron hooves!

[Daatje]

I think it largely depends on the horse. (When to put shoes on) and what you're planning on doing.

My horse has been bare 99% of her life. I just had her (quite skillfully) shod in front and the improvement in her freedom of movement is INCREDIBLE!

Is she sound bare? Absolutely. Is she comfortable bare during ALL of the activities I participate in? No. I feel that the demands I'm placing on her (dressage/jumping/foxhunting in rocky New England) require hoof protection so we're going with shoes this time around. She's already thanking me for it. I've had two of the best rides I've had in a long time since she's been shod.

Another thing I've noticed - she's much more willing to collect when in shoes vs bare.

But again, I really want to stress that it's an individual horse thing. Sometimes if you think they need it.....you just have to try it (with a competent farrier, of course) and see what happens.

[MistyBlue]

So far with most horses I have seen the front reach extend by a few inches once shoes are on. Not all horses and not in all circumstances...but most. :yes:
And remember, when competing you're not allowed to use boots. ;)
Give the shoes a try if you're comfie with your farrier. If you don't see any improvement you can always go back to barefoot. You won't know until you try. :winkgrin:

[Thomas_1]

If the horse has good feet and is doing well as he is then merely increasing workload - as in doing more of the same wouldn't be a reason at all to put shoes on at all.

I wouldn't even consider it.

[PNWjumper]

I typically go to shoes (at least fronts) when I'm working the horse more than 3 days a week in my arena. I have coarse sand footing and that's the point at which I generally start noticing wear.

ErinW--I have front shoes only on two of mine (well, now one since I just gave my gelding away). My little dutch mare has great feet and I may transition her to barefoot if her feet hold up to regular riding in my arena (though I'm skeptical that any hoof can "battle" my sand :lol:). It doesn't worry me at all to jump her barefoot. My QH gelding needed the support of the shoes up front, though he did more trail riding than arena riding and therefore didn't need the shoes for protection of any sort. My farrier was working towards getting him barefoot, but he just wasn't at that point yet when I gave him away.

My two show horses are shod on all four. My gelding is an OTTB and needs the shoes (though his feet have improved a LOT since my farrier started working with him). My mare would probably do okay barefoot, structurally speaking, but she needs studs when we're doing the bigger jumps because she's ultra-sensitive about footing (and that doesn't change whether she's shod or barefoot) and can't (or won't) make the strides if she doesn't have studs in.

My baby and my somewhat-broke-5yo-TB are both barefoot and are perfectly fine with sporadic work in my arena.

All of mine, FWIW, do dressage daily and jump regularly. I would likely keep the barefoot ones barefoot longer if my arena was just a leetle bit less abrasive :)

[EqTrainer]

tidy rabbit - your young horse is a Baby Huey type? Do you think he is truly done growing? I ask because I would be really cautious about shoeing a horse who you are not sure is done growing. Maybe you could try hoof boots and see if your trainers think he is different in them. You might also find that a few rides a week in them gives you some positive changes that last. It's nice that there is some middle ground between "bare" and "shod" to give you more information. I always go w/boots or casting for a little bit before making a decision either way, if I am unsure.

--

I have seen it go both ways - seen horses become much better movers once they were barefoot, and seen them become much better movers after being shod. Transitioning back to barefoot is not always 100% simple, and neither is dealing with a big young horse w/new shoes on always simple, either. So certainly not a decision to lose sleep over, but not necesssarily as easy as do it and if he doesn't go well, pull them back off, no harm no foul.

[M. Owen]

I've had my horse in front shoes only since she started working regularly (5-6 days/ week) a little more than a year ago. She has done well working primarily at home on very good footing and trail riding for past year in front shoes only. However, I've started showing more this year and am considering having back shoes put on also because I feel like she may be a tad uncomfortable behind when we show on harder footing. She certainly isn't unsound, but I've noticed her back feet are showing more wear, and at our last show where some areas of the ring got hard, she seemed a touch different than normal. It was very subtle, and I don't think someone who doesn't ride her a lot would notice, but I could feel that we were losing a little impulsion behind in the corners. As others here are saying, it depends on the horse, and you'll probably feel it if your horse needs the support of shoes.

[Peter026]

Simple question from the OP, so here is a simple answer.
Put shoes on only if the wear exceeds the growth.
Your horse will let you know when he needs shoes.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

If the horse has good feet and is doing well as he is then merely increasing workload - as in doing more of the same wouldn't be a reason at all to put shoes on at all.

I wouldn't even consider it.

Exactly what I was going to say.