How many people's horses are completey barefoot?

[CosMonster]

I mean no hoof boots or anything. If yours are and you could give me an idea of the general type of riding that you do and the terrain it is on, I would appreciate it. I'm doing my own informal study here. ;) I'd also be interested in any problems or improvements you have noticed since you've stopped using shoes or boots.

Also, sorry if this has been done before...I did run a search and couldn't find it. I'm really curious as to whose horses are managing to do distance or trail riding without shoes or boots of any kind.

[twofatponies]

I mean no hoof boots or anything. If yours are and you could give me an idea of the general type of riding that you do and the terrain it is on, I would appreciate it. I'm doing my own informal study here. ;) I'd also be interested in any problems or improvements you have noticed since you've stopped using shoes or boots.

Also, sorry if this has been done before...I did run a search and couldn't find it. I'm really curious as to whose horses are managing to do distance or trail riding without shoes or boots of any kind.

Mine do trail riding completely barefoot (not huge distances, typically 3 miles a day this time of year, with longer 6-10 mile routes 1x or 2x a week.) Mostly on dirt/grass (farmland). I have to limit the amount of work on paved roads to a few miles a week - more if it's at a walk - or the toes get worn off too much. I have boots, but don't put them on unless I am going to be on a long road ride that will exceed the weekly limit...

[InstigatorKate]

I have 3 that are barefoot. Horse 1 is 3yo, just started work in stonedust ring and hacking on grass/wooded trails. Horse 2 is 6yo, never needed shoes, ridden 5-6x week on stonedust for about an hour, hacks on the roads, fields, and wooded trails, competing 3' jumpers and about to get back into eventing. Horse 3 is a 22yo who wore shoes from the time he was 3, has had them pulled for just over a year. He gets ridden 2-3x/week in the stonedust ring and on trails. I usually boot him though if the ring is hard-ish or if we're going on the pavement for longer than 100 yds or so. I noticed the improvement in my wallet right away! ;) Around me a trim is $40, front shoes $90, and all 4 are $140. That means for 4 horses I'm spending $120 every 6-8 weeks intead of $420!

[SharonA]

My horse is barefoot for ringwork and for trail riding of up to 2-3 hours, depending on the terrain. In our area, there's quite a bit of nice dirt footing, but it's interspersed with gravel and rocky sections. After 2-3 hours on mixed but mostly good terrain, or right away if the terrain is rocky, she starts getting ouchy -- nothing that makes her lame the next day, but I can feel a change in her way of going. I'm sure if we were both in better shape and were following a more consistent "get those feet in shape" routine, she could do more.

If we're going out on what I know to be stoney footing or gravel roads, I put her boots on. The gravel roads where it's small stones sticking up out of a base of dirt and gravel are particular hard on her feet.

[Melelio]

My App.QH gelding was barefoot most of his life until I got him in 2001, and put shoes on him...about 3 years later decided to quit, since I was never going to get out to show reining (and you need slide plates for that). So he's been again barefoot, and we've started going trail riding again, once or less a week, and riding at home on grass.

He has rock hard feet (which are a REAL pain to trim in summer! :lol: ), but he's lazy and likes to drag his toes, so he wears those off , but he's never been off, even from the rocky places on the trails. He'd be the one I have that I'd never need boots for, but to trail ride my mare, she'd wear her boots.

[CoopsZippo]

Mine is 100% barefoot. Has been for 4 years.

I ride 10 miles at a time over some very nasty mountain terrain sometimes. I mean rocky trails. He is 100% fine. Actually the footing in Gettysburg was for crap going up behind little round top and my horse was fine while the others with shoes were having issues. One lost a shoes in the shoe sucking mud. They had no traction over the large flat rocks littering the trail.

The only surface he hates is very large gravel.

To get an idea of the type of trails we ride you can see here.

http://rickspix.smugmug.com/gallery/558222#23219663_eRhYs

We tend to have to share our trails with mountain bikers and they like to rearrange rocks on the trail.

[clipclopclip]

My Belgian/Percheron mare has never seen shoes. Her feet are so tough I have to soak them to trim them. She is kept in a Pete Ramey style trim, and hasn't had an issue with it. We ride in the arena and also on ROCKY mountains trails. I trail ride for about an hour on rocky soil in the Colorado Mountains 1-2 days a week.

I am a big fan of keeping horses barefoot if at all possible. It has worked for me very well, and we don't have soft dirt around here.

Trails:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/clipclopclip/TrailrideApril007.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/clipclopclip/TrailrideApril009.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/clipclopclip/1-16-09014.jpg

Her hoof:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/clipclopclip/2-23-09025.jpg

[Painted Horse]

I have two geldings and two mares all barefoot.
1st gelding is 15. he wore shoes (Easter to Thanksgiving) from 3 to age 12

2nd gelding is 6 and has only had shoes for one 6 week period last fall.

1st mare is 14 and had shoes in the summer from age 6 to 12 except for 3 summers that she had a foal at her side.

2nd mare is 5 and never had any shoes.

We only trail ride. My horses do not ever see a sandy arena.

I can ride just about anywhere for one day. My horses get a little tender if I try and ride them 2-3-4 days a row on the trails. If I boot them or put shoes on them, they will crash down the trails at almost any speed. If barefoot, they walk slower and watch where they put their feet. They are more inclined to get off on the side of the trails vs staying in the middle of the trail.

We rode in Bryce Canyon last week. All day ride with no boots. My friends had been there for 3 days and rode their horses barefoot all 3 days.

If I were riding in an arena or grassy pasture, I wouldn't worry about boots. But the stuff I ride kinda needs some protection. It's become a real question to me if it's worth it. Yes I save money triming my own. My farrier has been very generous to occassionally stop by and make sure my trims are correct. And if I was willing to just mosey down the trails, they'd be fine. But If I want the horses to foxtrot down the trail with no cares about footing. they need protection.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2009/Bryce/Bryce-Canyon-2009-022.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2009/Bryce/Bryce-Canyon-2009-051.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2009/Bryce/Bryce-Canyon-2009-077.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Granite%20Basin/100_0049.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Granite%20Basin/100_0072.jpg

[matryoshka]

I've got a warmblood who is totally bare, sound for trail riding on all surfaces. If the sugar gets high, then he gets ouchy, so I have to watch his diet.

Young Arabian mare. Was sound on all surfaces, but she's got one very flat foot, and now that we have increased our mileage, she's going to have to wear boots. I do not want to risk pedal osteitis. We're moving from training to conditioning for 25 mile competitions.

Last year I leased a totally barefoot Arabian, 18 years old, who I was conditiong for a 30 mile CTR. He'd been barefoot for almost 4 years following founder. He could WTC on rocks and gravel just fine. We did 5-10 mile rides several times a week. Then he got kicked and broke a splint bone. Surgery, no more distance riding.

[acoustic]

My horse was barefoot for 7 years. I do live in Florida, so it is mostly soft surface, although in all that time, I have definatly ridden him on pavement, gravel, packed dirt, swampland, and sugar sand. He's my little trail warrior. Arabian gelding.

He is shod now for barrel racing (couldn't get a grip without them), but when he retires from competition, I'll happily pull thoses shoes again. If the horse has the right hooves with the right conditioning, they can handle quite a bit!

[Petstorejunkie]

OTTB
completely barefoot
eventing with strong emphasis on dressage
mostly grassy fields with the occasional ride on gravel, asphalt, m10/sand
we took about a year in epics to go completely bare but my horse moves better now than he ever did in shoes (was in aluminum wedges). I do think that he has more spring to his step with the hoof boots on but i also use the easyboot pads in them.. i run better in my sneakers too

[foggybok]

OTTB, Paint/TB cross and TWH, all 3 are barefoot.

Currently ride on the road (asphalt or gravel), logging roads and dirt trails (with LOTS of rocks). Rides last a couple of hours. No problems except the TWH, who gets ouchy on gravel, so wears boots for that. She's new to me, so I don't know how she'll be in the long run.

Had the Paint and the OTTB down south in CA before we moved to the wet NW and rode on asphalt, dirt roads, gravel roads and decomposed granite trails barefoot. They did great down there on rides usually lasting 1-4 hours . Mostly walking, with some trot and canter mixed in.

[ChocoMare]

Clyde/Standardbred cross mare. Ride 2 -3 times a week, grass fields, concrete path at times, rocks, roots, mud, sharp gravel. Not an ouchy step in the five years I've owned her. Rock crushing feet. http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2554211140015305252LiAcjx

Percheron mare. Ridden once a week now but will be increasing to 3 X a week. Spent a year recovering from laminitis. Now healed with new HARD hooves. Same ground exposure as the Clyde-X without a wince.

[pines4equines]

My horse is completely barefoot all his life. He wore Easy Boot Epics but I've dispensed with the boots for a bit. Basically, he stepped on one with the other foot and ripped it all apart. I'm waiting for a new pair.

One thing I've noticed is I switched this horse to TC Complete with a bit lower sugar and he seems sounder on gravel surfaces. I'm wondering if there is something to this sugar relating to mild laminitic episodes in their feet. This horse has terrific feet but he always had those slight rings in his hooves. I always wondered about those and switched feed last fall.

I'm going to hold off on the boot purchase to see if maybe he can stay bare?

[Cashela]

My girls are currently barefoot, they have been barefoot since October. Not a long time bare footer. We will have to put shoes on for a ride in August as it is 7 days of riding.

How do you guys prevent your horses from wearing down their hooves? One of my girls wears down her hind hooves something fierce. My other mare has worn off her front toes in what I guess I would call a straight line, like squared them off. Her back feet have barely been worn down at all.

Mind you the longest we have ridden so far this season is two hours over varying terrain. We have some pretty rocky trails here in New England.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

My Arab is barefoot and has amazing feet. We ride 4-5 days a week on grass and dirt trails, with small stretches on gravel and paved roads. W/T/C at distances of 5-15 miles.

We did an LD earlier this spring (25 miles), and I put lightweight steel shoes on the front. I'm glad I did, because he was able to trot over gravel and crushed stone for miles without ouchiness - he probably would have gotten bruises if we had tried to do that barefoot. But I pulled the shoes after the ride, and we're back to barefoot.

I like the way he goes without shoes much better - he's much more careful about where he puts his feet, so he trips a lot less. And I don't have to worry about him slipping on paved roads. Also, I noticed his shoulders got really tired after about 8 miles when he had the shoes on, because he wasn't used to having that extra weight on his feet. I think I'll try boots for our next LD...

[CoopsZippo]

I too have noticed that my horse is more sure footed then our riding buds with shoes.

We can ride through downed trees off the trail.. We don't get caught on vines and etc. I have seen several horses get their shoes caught on stuff.

I will admit we are not doing more than 4-5hours worth of riding. And we go at a leisurely W/T/C pace. But we are doing challenging terrain in the Blue Mountains. Mud, rocky trails, single track, steep trails.

[JetsBuddy]

Both of my horses are barefoot. I have an 18 year old Mexican Mustang who has really hard feet and is extremely surefooted. He had worn shoes for several years before I got him but had contracted heels, thrush and was lame just before I got him. He's been barefoot in the year and a half that I've had him and I trim him every 3-4 weeks. We do trail rides on varied terrain from grit to hills and rocks. He never takes a wrong step. My daughter does gaming on him (barrel racing, pole bending, etc). She competed in 7 classes this weekend and was Grand Champion for the Youth Division on him. I also have an 8 year old TWH gelding that is barefoot. We also trail ride him on the same terrain and he does some ring work and has been ridden in gymkhanas. He gets ouchy on large sharp gravel but is fine otherwise.

[Thomas_1]

I've currently got 11 that aren't shod.

In the main they're native breed ponies: connemara, highland, welsh mountain ponies but also a T/B and a t/b cross sports horse.

They're all ridden on average 5 days a week and between 2 and 6 hours a day. So work it out at about 8 minutes at walk per mile. All turned out 16 hours in 24.

The going is good just now and so it's pretty firm ground and when they're ridden out it tends to be on lanes and on the grass verge.

[middy]

I have 11 yo old Iberian Warmblood Mare that does absolutely everything completely barefoot. We trailride and foxhunt as well as some low level eventing and have never had any problem with her. She has hunted first flight up in Northern Virginia where ther are some rocks and noone slows down. We have trailridden in the Virginia mountinans and we move forward. She has the absolutely best feet!!! When she came to me thay told me that she was barefoot and I figured that I would have to put shoes on her since she wasn't going to be just in the ring anymore. But nope after almost a year I have never had to put shoes on her at all.

[rainechyldes]

Completely barefoot 7 yr old endurance horse

No boots, don;t' even own a pair.
The terrain he lives and works on is mountainous glacial (Interior B.C.)
clay/granite/shale. Muddy and slick running in the rain, like concrete in the dry weather.

[Apollos]

I have two that have never worn shoes. The 10 year old has done a 25 mile LD completely barefoot and could have done more if not for an injury. Nothing to do with his feet. The 4 year old is in training for next year. And so far so good on keeping him barefoot.

[jeano]

I have two that have never worn shoes. The 10 year old has done a 25 mile LD completely barefoot and could have done more if not for an injury. Nothing to do with his feet. The 4 year old is in training for next year. And so far so good on keeping him barefoot.

My racking mare has been barefoot for almost 3 years, my TWH gelding for over two years. They have been ridden over clay, asphalt, grass, sand, some gravel and rocks. Longest rides say 15-18 miles. The mare likes to amble and drags her toes a bit, so she wears them off funny, but no issues with gait, no lameness, and she pretty much marches over anything, but will be a little more careful over big sharp gravel (like railroad ballast) sometimes. The gelding has huge dinnerplate feet and seems impervious to rocks. They get trimmed every 6-7 weeks, are out on a sandy/loam pasture 24/7/365 with a run-in shed. I'm a heavyweight at 190 lbs and they are both maybe a hair over 15 hands. Neither has taken a lame step since I got them, both were shod in their previous lives. They get bermuda hay in our short winters, and a half pound of cheapo pellleted feed once a day.

[arabhorse2]

Conny never wore shoes, and Casper hasn't yet.

If Casper needs shoes to compete, he'll get them. Otherwise, I'm going to keep him barefooted.

If there's no real reason to put shoes on a horse, I can't see wasting the money.

[Daatje]

If there's no real reason to put shoes on a horse, I can't see wasting the money.

I agree. Mare has been barefoot most of her life. Was in front shoes from June-October in 2007. Went back to bare right after that as I wasn't happy with the way her hooves were looking shod. Got to wondering recently if she would feel different in shoes vs boots so I had her shod again (different farrier) in front 5 weeks ago. She has Vettec Equibuild/Equipac CS as pour in pads to ground level on both fronts. I like this package, however, the combo of shoes/padding costs over $200! The benefit does not outweigh the cost when booting is an option for the 10% of the time we need that kind of protection.

She feels no different in shoes than she does working in her boots. She moves the same in both and the bare/boot method is much cheaper!

I do my own trimming, so next week the shoes are coming off and she's going back to bare/boots and being managed by me.

Barefoot, she can work in arena footing and on turf. For rocks we need boots. I'm also going to try Soleguard. It would be super if Soleguard could take the place of boots during foxhunting season.

Losing a boot in the middle of a hunt is most unfortunate! :eek:

[CosMonster]

Thanks everyone for your stories. It's always interesting to hear about what people do to keep their horses sound and happy over difficult terrain (or I think so, anyway, but I'm kind of a horse nerd! :lol:)

[NC Trail Girl]

I've got 5 TWH/SSH all are barefoot. My only issue with soundness is thrush.. grrrrr.
Their hooves are rock hard, just this nasty rainy season we get kills the frogs. Only really one horse get's ouchy enough to need boots, the others are OK. But I see the thrush and it bothers me...

I'm lucky in that my horses are housed on the same terrain as we ride, so no issues there. I guess that's the only benifit to living on the side of a mountain *rolls eyes*

It's nice to see everyone's horses doing so well!

[AZ Native]

Completely barefoot 7 yr old endurance horse

No boots, don;t' even own a pair.
The terrain he lives and works on is mountainous glacial (Interior B.C.)
clay/granite/shale. Muddy and slick running in the rain, like concrete in the dry weather.

How many miles are you riding in competition ? DH has a very sucessful endurance rider client who's horses were doing fine completely bare in CO and other out west rocky terrain in the 50's or multi day rides.He suggested that since she is now doing 100's that she boot as a precaution. She is currently using the Easy Boot Glove and continues to do great.
I've wondered if anyone is doing those huge distances competely bare.Great thread btw, so glad you didn't put it up in Horse Care :lol:

[AZ Native]

Horse 1 : Arab, bare since 2005, can go anywhere in any terrain for many miles and never booted although DH would like me to as the horse still has a bit of contracted heels from years of shoeing.Looks like I'm in the same area as Clip Clop.BTW, that is a very nice foot.
Horse 2: 5 year old Trakehener, never shod, ridden in the same area ( I do have an arena that is road base and sand, horses are usually ridden there and then hacked out on the acreage ) fabulous feet, never booted and never takes an ouchy step.
Horse 3 : 5 year old AQHA , never shod, bought knowing he had laminitis. DH fixed that and the horse is sound on the same terrain , have not had him out on trails that much untill recently when I've had him out a bunch. He is doing wonderfully. I'm taking him to MT. Margaret for the second time this weekend and to Ft. Robinson later this month. So far so good and no boots needed.
2 boarder horses, a half Arab and another AQHA. Barefoot, never booted and sound here, or any where around here that they have gone.
OP, if you are still in my area, you are welcome to visit, see the horses and their feet and haul out and ride too if you like. DH's has many, many client's with similar sucess that we could put you in touch with if you want to find more people that are riding barefoot without boots.they would be happy to share their stories. He is actually giving a clinic today at a barn near Longmont.He is usually
happy to talk feet anytime.

[CosMonster]

I've wondered if anyone is doing those huge distances competely bare.Great thread btw, so glad you didn't put it up in Horse Care :lol:

I thought about it but I've been around long enough to know better. ;) Besides, the distances and tough terrain are what I wonder about. I don't think it's any big feat to keep most horses sound barefoot in the arena.

I guess I should contribute to my own thread. All of mine are barefoot and I don't use hoof boots on any of them, but only one is doing significant distances. We routinely go on 1-3 hour rides, with sometimes 7-8 hour rides on weekends. I'd be hard pressed to estimate how many miles we cover but we do mostly walking and trotting with some cantering. We ride in high desert and the Rocky Mountains.

My others go out on trail rides as well but with them I tend to stick to the washes which are less rocky. They're also a bit easier to ride in and since the others are either pretty old or pretty young that's good.

AZ Native, I forgot to add, I'm not in your area anymore, just moved a couple of months ago. I'm back up there visiting pretty often though so I'll have to try to remember to get in touch. I'd love to see your horses. :yes:

[CatOnLap]

If yours are and you could give me an idea of the general type of riding that you do and the terrain it is on, I would appreciate it. I'm doing my own informal study here. I'd also be interested in any problems or improvements you have noticed since you've stopped using shoes or boots.
Horse#1- 17.3 hh WB ridden on sand ring only and pastured or walk paddock on gravel/dirt. previously shod all round for upper level dressage work. Shoes initially removed after a suspensory injury and never went back to them as we found he didn't need them for ringwork and he is not a trail horse.
Horse#2- 16 hh appaloosa- has never been shod. Sound for up to 3 hours on trails, surface is mostly small gravel meant for cyclists, or else dirt trails or asphalt. Ring work on sand, paddock and pasture as above.
Horse#3- 15.2 hh appaloosa- previously shod fronts only for long trail rides(>3 hours) on gravel trails. Used to get a little ouchy after 3 hours, but we never ride that long anymore. perfectly fine for current trail and ringwork.
Horse#4-15 hh SB. Feet hard as rocks and rarely need trimming- farrier comes and look at her every 8 weeks and sometimes trims a little. She likes to "stall walk" in her mostly sand paddock, so she keeps them worn down.

The main benefit of not shoeing for us has been on my pocketbook. If it were free, I would probably shoe all the trailhorses and the big guy too, but at nearly $200/set of custom made warmblood shoes in size extra large, that is not happening anytime soon. When he injured his suspensory, the vet recommended not shoeing because the weight of the shoe can promote slipping and torquing, both of which could have re-injured him.

[Shadow14]

The main benefit of not shoeing for us has been on my pocketbook. If it were free, I would probably shoe all the trailhorses and the big guy too, but at nearly $200/set of custom made warmblood shoes in size extra large, that is not happening anytime soon. .

I think that is the big thing going for barefoot and I can't blame anyone. Shoing can run almost as expensive as boarding. A friend of mine had a $40 bill last month for replacing lost shoes. That plus the cost of shoing in the first place is starting to rival board.

[gypsymare]

Since moving to the "rain forest" (Missouri) I've had to boot up when I expect to cover a lot of loose rock like a long gravel road. 95% of the time I ride hard packed sand/small gravel trails, dirt single track or a sand arena so I do not boot. Back in Nevada I did not need boots during the dry season and covered many miles of the rocks and gravel that make up the Las Vegas valley. After the rains softened her feet, I used original Easyboots in front. Also did not need boots at all in Florida since it was all sand. I have not had much luck keeping boots on her hinds. The mare is pictured in my profile barefoot in Nevada.

[Shadow14]

I only learned yesterday that a horse barefoot or wearing boots recovers faster at vet checks then shod horses.:eek:
Got that from the horse care part of this forum

[wendybird]

I have arabian siblings 8 & 10. 14.2 -3 hh. They are barefoot. No boots. They live on free draining pumice sand pasture 24/7 and we cover everything from sealed roadways to soft pasture to rocks and boulder strewn rivers on our training rides.
The 10 year old was shod for the first time aged 8 when he was sold and found to have very invasive seedy toe in all hooves. I got him 3 months later and took the shoes off. Wasn't a pretty sight, and the farrier said that he would always need to be shod, but after 15 months he has healthy hard hooves with good sole elevation and doesn't seem to feel a thing.
His sister, 8, is my endurance horse and she has been mostly barefoot since she started. I used to have light aluminium shoes on the front, but 18 months ago we missed the farrier's cycle and so went barefoot doing 80k (50m) X 3 rides over dry mixed terrain at 2 weekly intervals. She had no problem, although did wear her toes down which I found very alarming, but she was never lame or ouchie and they grew back very quickly. Has not been shod since. The only thing that concerns me is that she's a bit pigeon toed in front which gives her feet a funny shape when looking at the soles. A legacy from her upbringing on steep hill country I guess.
I trim the horses myself, but in reality they pretty much look after themselves.

Having barefoot horses requires a leap of faith sometimes, but so far we're doing ok.

[matryoshka]

I only learned yesterday that a horse barefoot or wearing boots recovers faster at vet checks then shod horses.:eek:
Got that from the horse care part of this forumI'm sure you didn't believe it, though. Who would? Please don't derail this thread with bf vs shoes.

[ReSomething]

I mean no hoof boots or anything. If yours are and you could give me an idea of the general type of riding that you do and the terrain it is on, I would appreciate it. I'm doing my own informal study here. ;) I'd also be interested in any problems or improvements you have noticed since you've stopped using shoes or boots.

Also, sorry if this has been done before...I did run a search and couldn't find it. I'm really curious as to whose horses are managing to do distance or trail riding without shoes or boots of any kind.

My mare had pretty good feet, and I went to front shoes only or pulled altogether in the winter for four years. I rode about an hour a day on dirt/gravel fire roads and paved roads. We had a 100' pea gravel walk she did at least twice a day. As I said she had pretty nice feet and I never really noticed any difference, but when she was barefoot she would preferentially select the grassy center or edge of a gravel road, so actually I did notice a difference in her way of going when she had no shoes. Summers we were out on the pavement more and would generally wear down her toes so she got shoes.

[lizathenag]

My fabulous TB has terrible feet. My farrier say I can probably pull his shoes when he retires to a grass pasture.

[hank]

I have 4 horses in the desert. 2 can go anywhere, anytime, for any amount of time completely barefoot, and 1 needs protection sometimes, and 1 needs protection at all times.

Really great thread, and very pleased that you "hid" it here where it could do some good......

[tabula rashah]

all of mine are barefoot-
My main riding horse- a 15 year old Morgan mare- has never seen shoes or boots- routinely does 4 hour rides over rather rocky terrain and plenty of road riding and has also done CTR's without a problem

My 7 year old WB gelding just came to me last August. He had fairly decent feet, but had always been shod on all 4. I pulled the hinds right away and they took a couple of months to adjust (not ouchy, but chips etc.). Then I pulled the fronts right before winter. He's completely sound in the field but still a bit ouchy on rocks. I've been using Hoof Freeze and plan on ordering him some boots to help him transition over.

The rest of my guys are pasture puffs at the moment and none of them have shoes.

[JLR1]

Both of my Arabians are barefoot and live outside 24/7. The ground here in AZ is super hard and rocky so I do use Renegades for any non-arena work. The older mare who was shod for most of her life is ouchy on the gravel and needs to be booted. My gelding who has never had shoes seems okay, but I strap on the boots just in case. :)

[rainechyldes]

How many miles are you riding in competition ? DH has a very sucessful endurance rider client who's horses were doing fine completely bare in CO and other out west rocky terrain in the 50's or multi day rides.He suggested that since she is now doing 100's that she boot as a precaution. She is currently using the Easy Boot Glove and continues to do great.
I've wondered if anyone is doing those huge distances competely bare.Great thread btw, so glad you didn't put it up in Horse Care :lol:

this particular horse does LD's and 50s. Eventually he will do 100s. So far I've not had a reason to shoe him -he handles the terrain extremely well, and my farrier checks him over fairly strenously once every 4 weeks. Any issues arise, he'll go into shoes. I am not a diehard barefooter, I have some horses shod, some not. Each horse gets what they need to be competitive.

I can't be bothered to screw around with boots.


My old endurance horse was also completely barefoot and did 50s and 75s. He was about to move up to 100s when a fatal pasture accident ended that plan:/

[manyspots]

My appy recently got a big thumbs up from my farrier for his barefeet. I pulled his shoes last year and in between battling abcesses, he was looking nice. He wore shoes from the time he was 2 years old until 7 years old and was shown as a halter horse. I pulled his shoes in preparation of bringing him home and never returning to the show world and he looks better than he ever has. Tough soles, good walls. I do own a pair of renegades I use to really rocky terrain but other than that he is out and bare 24/7 on a variety of footing. This is amazing considering how crappy his feet were and how two farriers and a training told me never to pull his shoes.

I really contribute the ability to do this to a great farrier, a much better designed diet (I love TC Low Starch!), and Source.

[matryoshka]

My old endurance horse was also completely barefoot and did 50s and 75s. He was about to move up to 100s when a fatal pasture accident ended that plan:/Sorry to hear this. :no:

[MikeP]

All three of my horses are barefoot. They are used for trail rides and occasionally working cattle.

The ability to go barefoot over this rocky terrain is one selection factor I use when evaluating a horse for possible purchase. If the horse can't go barefoot, I look elsewhere.

[SarahR]

My husband's 12 yr old TWH goes 100% barefoot. We ride about 500 trail miles a year, mostly in the Rocky Mtns. He does great! He's tobiano pinto, so he has four white feet :)

Our other horses wear shoes, though.

[tidy rabbit]

All of mine are barefoot.
They do everything from trail riding to show jumping to dressage. My oldest is 12 and has been barefoot for about 10 months now. The others are young horses and have never been shod.

The 12 year old is sounder now than he ever was in shoes, he works 4 to 5 days a week... dressage and jumping (schooling 4' to 4'3" at home).

I'm not advocating barefootedness for all horse, but for mine it seems to be the best solution at the moment.

[ddashaq]

Mine has been bare almost his entire life. He was shod in back for six months while recovering from a hack job farrier turned trimmer, which also involved no riding, so I don't know that he felt any better or worse under saddle. We do dressage and eventing with more and more hacking out being added all the time as more land opens up around my barn. He is mostly on sand or grass and does not generally get painful, even over rocks. Last weekend I jumped him through an empty water complex that had pretty large rocks for footing and he just cantered on through like it was nothing. (I was wincing, waiting for a sore step!) I believe in doing whatever is best for the horse, and this one does fine without shoes so I don't see any reason for the added expense.

[starkissed]

I have 2.
Wb x Tb mare 9yrs. I ride her for a couple mile hacks out- mostly fields and dirt trails. In addition to ringwork on sand footing. 5x a week. She horseshows too over 3'3" to 3'6". However she has no problem jogging pavement. And her feet still grow like heck when she is in heavier work

Horse 2 is a 6yr old Wb gelding. Never had shoes, he is fantastic, can ride him on anything including gravel. When he is trimmed shorter he doesnt like the gravel as much, but after a while he gets used to it. As for him, he rides cross country on grass and dirt. I generally don't ride on roads too much, but he doesnt have any problems with pavement, strides out great. He jumps and shows as well. 5x a week

[AZ Native]

Please do stop by , Cos, if you come back to the area. Great thread ! I hope you get many more responses !
Funny ! I admired Clip Clop's trim on this thread and later showed a picture of the pair posted on another thread to DH and yes, they are his client's :D I had no idea ! Clip does do some of the trimming herself , too.:)

[4whitefeet]

I will admit that I initially tried going barefoot due to my company closing and loosing my job 5 yrs ago.:( Trying to do everything I could to save money and be able to keep my horses was my main priority, and paying $40 for a trim vs $100 for a set of shoes when you are living on unemployment makes a diiference, so I figured I'd let them have nekkid feet for a year or so. They did so well and their feet looked so much better, I figured "Hey, why not run with it.":)

[clm08]

2 Arabs who have been barefoot for as long as I have owned them (6 and 5 yrs, respectively).

First one is now retired from shows but still ridden regularly, an average of 5X a week, in sand, grass, and occasionally over rocky terrain. He does not like going over gravel, though. Last month we went on a 8-mile CTR and 2 weeks ago I spent a long weekend trail riding, almost 8 hours over 3 days, over very steep and rocky terrain. I was afraid he'd get a bruised sole but he didn't. He has white hooves.

The other one has all black hooves, not ouchy over gravel or rocks, is also ridden an average of 5X a week. He is an eventer, and luckily is pretty sure-footed going cross country. So far he's only competed up to novice but has schooled training level without the need for studs for better traction. I hope he can continue to be barefoot if/when he competes at training level.

[Foxtrot's]

I rode with a friend of mine in Mexico and the local charro horses were completely barefoot with no boots, ever. The ground was the most awful flinty sharp footing and not a chip on those feet. No such luck with mine!

[nicbarker]

All ours are barefoot, and we go over all sorts of terrain - rocks, roads, bog, fields and everything in between :). There's a clip here - its actually hunting but gives an idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Id0mO_wXDI

Nic

[rainechyldes]

I only learned yesterday that a horse barefoot or wearing boots recovers faster at vet checks then shod horses.:eek:
Got that from the horse care part of this forum

Untrue.

There is no scientific proof that either bare/booted/ or shod horses have a faster recovery time. the only 'numbers' even able to be supplied by anyone in that thread were by myself, using data from old vet cards. Which showed really no correlation between recoveries/ depending on whether he was bare or shod- only different times dependant mainly on running conditions.

[Shadow14]

Untrue.

.

Never beleived it for a minute myself but that is one arguement the barefooters are putting forward over shod horses.

I am beginning to see the advantages of barefooting?? The price of 4 shoes are going through the roof and if you can save a couple of thousand dollars a year by going barefoot I don't blame anyone.
My friend just got her summer package which consists of 4 shoes and pads plus installation and it was $220?? Getting a little pricy. Winter package which is just about the same except for borium is a touch over $300:eek:

[rainechyldes]

Never beleived it for a minute myself but that is one arguement the barefooters are putting forward over shod horses.

I am beginning to see the advantages of barefooting?? The price of 4 shoes are going through the roof and if you can save a couple of thousand dollars a year by going barefoot I don't blame anyone.
My friend just got her summer package which consists of 4 shoes and pads plus installation and it was $220?? Getting a little pricy. Winter package which is just about the same except for borium is a touch over $300:eek:

ah I see what you mean, sorry I thought you were stating this as a tried/tested and true fact:)

While I have barefoot horses, I do caution people to think seriously about going barefoot. I don't think money is the main reason it should be considered, but yes I also have to agree, having several barefoot horses is nicer on the pocketbook (I have shod ones as well )

Some horses are just not good candidates for barefoot, especially if you are like me. I don't mess around with boots, either they are barefoot, or shod. I can't be bothered to play with boots every time I want to ride. Total pita.

Froe xample I have one mare, probably could be barefoot, but she has a very low heel that we (me and farrier) are attempting to address, and and this point due to her working terrain, she is simply much more comfortable shod, will she ever go barefoot,- mm, I 'd say probably not. She is prone to growing a long toe and no heel.

[matryoshka]

Never beleived it for a minute myself but that is one arguement the barefooters are putting forward over shod horses.Can we amend this to say that some hard-core, over-the-top barefooters are saying such things?

If one is looking to taking a horse barefoot simply as a way to save money, then that isn't a particularly good reason to pull shoes. It may be a compelling reason, but it isn't a good one. Why? Because boots can help a horse who is pretty much dependent upon shoes to make the transition more comfortable while he grows in hoof wall that will better support his needs. And boots cost money. They are also, as rainechyldes has said, a PIA. So going barefoot simply to save money means isn't necessarily good for the horse.

If you are pulling shoes because you want your horse to have the benefits of being bare, then that is a much better reason. Boots offer protection while riding, so if you are willing to face the initial PIA factor, then they are a viable option. I like to take off my shoes when I come into the house, and put them back on when I go outside. Temporary protection is kinda nice. Yes, I have to take time to lace my boots. Darn! Then again, I have different shoes for my different needs. Hmmm. That's why I also have several brands of hoof boots for my guys.

Can horses go totally bare? Obviously, they can. Can every horse go totally bare and stay sound? I seriously doubt it because of the many conformational problems we see in domestic horses. But, just because a horse is initially uncomfortable when the shoes are pulled does not mean he isn't a candidate for going totally bare. If his hoof structure has been supported by shoes for years, his feet may need time for these structures to strengthen in response to barefoot conditions. It doesn't necessarily happen in a month. Or two. Depending on what needs to improve, it can take much longer. This takes commitment on the rider's part, and it takes creativity to keep a horse like this comfortable. It is much, much easier to simply go back to shoes, regardless of the cost.

So no, financial reasons don't really fly for trying barefoot. Of course, if your horse has always had great feet, he may not even notice that his shoes have been pulled. He may not be tender at all. But why would this horse have been shod in the first place? Chances are, he wouldn't have been.

[CatOnLap]

It saves no money if you cannot ride your barefoot horse over the terrain you need to travel on. The vet/farrier bills and time off for a stone bruise that becomes an abcess is going to outstrip the cost of a set of shoes.

The sad truth is that there are many horses out there who were never bred to be barefoot. We all know of at least one horse who couldn't make the transition to shoeless.

But it is also true that many disciplines still look in wonder/disapproval at barefoot horses. I showed my dressage horse barefoot all the way to FEI levels and people were always so surprised, asking how did I get such good movement out of a barefoot horse. That is a comment I do not understand. Fortunately, there are more barefoot horses up the levels now.

[rainechyldes]

I showed my dressage horse barefoot all the way to FEI levels and people were always so surprised, asking how did I get such good movement out of a barefoot horse. That is a comment I do not understand. Fortunately, there are more barefoot horses up the levels now.

I've run into this comment too, having people say wow, nice trot (endurance styles extended trot, and then go one to say hmm if he were shod he'd probably move better.. mm he has a 14mph trot, I think he's moving out just fine:) )

I do actually see the reasoning behind this belief. If a horse isn't really conditioned to being bare, they will not move out as well as if they were shod depending on terrain. Kinda like a person can run along a gravel driveway, but if not used to it, they tiptoe, - least I do.
Barefoot horses competition horses, I think are more common now in some areas then others.

Even here I still get a raised eyebrow from certain vets if they are new, and don't know me at competitions, if I bring one of my barefoot horses. Especially if they ask boots? and I say, nope, no boots.

[mjmvet]

Mine is barefoot - has been for 9 years of her life. Most of our riding is on sand or squishy fields...some hunter paces. She grows more hoof than I can keep up with, lacking a lot of miles of riding and abrasive surfaces. Never had a problem with it. I would consider boots if our riding surfaces changed and she needed them.

[midwestrocket]

My horses are only shod in the spring/summer months. Like march to sept. The rest of the year they go barefoot with no issues. our trails are rocks and uneven could potentially present a stone bruise from dried up river beds from time to time... but ultimately no issues. there is an old saying that everytime you put a nail in a horses hoof you put a nail in his coffin...now I'm sure that is just an exaggeration...but horses went for how many years without man bugging him and they were better than amazing :)

good diet and a good farrier can ensure a healthy barefoot horsie :)

if they do get ouchy I know a few people that use pine tar to harden up the soles of their feet.

[CosMonster]

Midwestrocket, if they are sound in the winter, why do you shoe them in the spring/summer? Is it the increased workload?

I've never heard the saying you mention. I do a lot of reading of old farrier texts and the closest I've ever heard is the US Cavalry shoeing manual referring to shoeing as a "necesary evil." Where did you hear it?

Boy, this post sounds like I'm picking on you...I'm really not, I promise! I'm just honestly curious. :) I don't really care if other people keep their horses shod or barefoot; I don't think shoeing is evil or anything like that. I just spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about horse's feet. ;)

[midwestrocket]

I shoe because of increased workload. I run NBHA and IBRA barrels in addition to my newfound interest of competitive trail and the occasional cow chasing.... all seasonal things :) my riding unfortunately gets literally cut in half in the wintertime.

I don't know where I heard that now that I think about it! lol But everytime I get a horse shod that experssion crosses my mind.

you can pick on me, I don't mind! :winkgrin:

[LittleblackMorgan]

My boy has never worn shoes. My farrier RAVES about his feet-hard, large and cupped beautifully.

I trail ride ALOT. Through everything, including rocks. He hardly chips, and had 1 absess that scared me enought to buy Epics. I used them a couple times but found that I spent MORE time worrying about the damn things unclipping than enjoying my rides.

We go through mud, and water, snow and ice (though not by choice on the ice). Road riding, beach riding, hunter paces. My bill is next to nothing when everyone else is paying for borium in the winter, and my boy is the last to skid out on ice. No snow balls in his feet!:winkgrin:

[Trakehner]

My mule is barefoot all the time. We do semi-rocky trails and hard packed clay trails. No problems. My arabs were always barefoot.

[Oakstable]

My Oldenburg/Dutch gelding has never worn shoes.

He goes out on the trails once a week on hard rocky ground, and he is ridden three other times per week in a sand arena.

He had a stone bruise only once after some rainy days when his feet had softened up. It went away in a week.

[Mtn trails]

My mustang Zephyr is barefoot and if I have my way she will never wear shoes. Her feet are rock hard and beautifully large, wide, and perfect. I not only trail ride her in the mountains over some really rocky terrain (like last weekend, the only mark on her foot was a small chip), but also show in unrecognized local shows in dressage, jumpers, and now eventing.

[Arabian Knights]

Horse #1: My arab had shoes once upon a time before I had her, but not since I got her. She has worked up to 5 days a week at times and has been great. I just recently got the 'riders rasp' to extend the time between trims. So far it is easy to use and helped get rid of some chips.
Horse #2: the new Hanoverian is 4 and never had shoes. I thought he would need them but the farrier says he has great feet and so far just need to have his toes trimmed a bit shorter. I'd like to keep him barefoot as long as possible. I am really thrilled to hear so many WB owners here that are able to keep their horses unshod.
AK

[AZ Native]

Here is my 5 year old Trakehner, never shod, sound in the Rockies on any terrain. Beautiful feet ! Trimmed by the best in the area, DH ;) Check out the shape, frog , and heel buttress !

http://picasaweb.google.com/lynn.stpeter/FarleighAndTweeterAt562209#

[whitesage]

My 7 year old Bashkir Curly gelding has never worn shoes...and never will as far as I can tell. He did have some soundness issues related to his hooves a few years back, so we switched to a Barefoot trimmer and his hooves have looked great since then. He was being trimmed at an angle that left him steep in the front before...

We do trail riding and pleasure riding, nothing very strenuous at this point. Hooves have never been a problem that couldn't be cured with Thrushbuster...our rainy season can be very very rainy.

[Heart's Journey]

My 6 year old SSH gelding had shoes on the front when I bought him, but has been barefoot 2 years this Sept (had them pulled before he was shipped). He's been fine on all surfaces, though I do avoid rocks when possible.

Note - all four hooves are the yellow ones though there is some black running through them. I use a farrier that only does barefoot trimming.

I have boots but have only used them twice when the terrain was extremely rocky. I carry them in the trailer, but they are gathering dust.

I had a TW before him that never had shoes until I sold him... I ache thinking he's wearing shoes now on what were fabulous feet....

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

My 15 year old TB, former racehorse, shod all four for LIFE, has been barefoot for a month. His history:

Late spring, came up lame in dressage clinic when doing lateral work. Possible navicular or digital flexor tendon lesions was the diagnosis (haven't done the x-ray series yet). Mild lameness all summer as we tried special shoes, then shoes + pads + epoxy, etc. Kept losing shoes and finally went barefoot by default--nothing to nail to. Long toe, low heel and very FLAT feet.

Of course the boots I ordered didn't fit, so he's been completely barefoot for two weeks +. Immediately his toes broke off to the white line, but otherwise his feet have held up surprisingly well (especially in light of all the nail holes). I only gave bute once at the beginning (also applied lots of Durasole that first week). He is now sound on the pasture and just a bit short strided on the arena base (no sand yet--perfect hard ground). Even getting better on gravel this week when he crosses the drive. I've tried (but haven’t quite done it) to walk him every day on the hard base. He also must go 150 yards on packed dirt to reach the pasture. He lives outside.

I’m tentatively hopeful and would like to see him stay barefoot from here through the winter (and perhaps beyond?). He was/is my hunter/dressage horse. What has been really interesting is I’ve noticed his front feet are not quite as flat as they were before—I had no idea feet could change in two weeks. It’s subtle, but I wish I had been taking pictures.

If he is sound and is ridden I will shoe if necessary, but am enjoying our experiment so far—especially since he is totally comfortable most of the time. He has had about three months off from riding and after the arena footing is in next week I’m going to lunge him to see if he is sound (his lameness shows on the circle). We may start walking under saddle then. Sorry for the novel, but this has been really fascinating for me. This was defitely a horse everyone said could never go barefoot.

[fabuleux]

The horse I just got is completely barefoot at the moment. He was being ridden in a cushy indoor ring with great footing, and has since moved to my place with no ring at all. We ride in one of the pastures.

He has been having some soreness issues, so I'm going to try riding him in easy boots, and I'm going to talk to the farrier about possibly putting front shoes on him.

He isn't really "lame" or too sore- I can still hop on and do a little bit of trot work- and he is happy to do it. He is just a little bit off. I hope we can get the problem solved...as much as I would like to keep him barefoot, if he needs shoes we will make sure he gets them.

[cloudy18]

13 yr old Morab gelding, barefoot, 20 year old Morab mare, barefoot. No issues other than the mare doesn't seem to like gravel, but we don't ride on enough of it to justify shoes. I'd try boots first. And she goes on it, doesn't seem to be gimpy. She just gets off of it whenever possible, sticking to the shoulder. Last summer her hooves did this horrible looking chipping thing, but then they would chip all the way around and look decent again before the farrier came out. No unsoundness with it. This year we have had none of that.

[katyb]

I have three horses - my 13 year old TBish (auction bought, can't read her tattoo) mare who came to me barefoot, her four-year-old filly (she was bred when I bought her, baby looks more TB than mom), and a 19 year old haflinger/welsh pony who is a saint, who also came to us barefoot. No boots, natural barefoot trimmer, and all three ride everywhere comfortably. We have very rocky trails here (east TN), not just gravel type rocks but large river rocks, rock formations as part of the trails. My mare is bouncing back from her second abscess in almost five years right now. Those are the only two soundness related issues we've ever experienced. Abscesses have been really common here this summer, I guess because we' have so much rain. I hope not to have another; I hate seeing my girls in so much pain.

[nmazteca]

My horses are recently barefoot. On turf and sand, I ride without boots. On trail rides, the boots are on. Missouri trails are for the most part rocky. My riding horse is doing well.