So I have this wonderful horse I bought from a horse guy in NC. Fantastic demeanor, sweet horse. He is aged and has some old bowed tendons, but seems fairly sound. Right now I am working to put some weight on him, as he is skinny as a rail. I have put a dressage saddle on him and hopped on a couple of times, he is very well behaved so far, but honestly, we just walked a bunch.
My question is should I think about putting shoes on him? I am going to be doing light walk/trot and eventually canter if he is sound enough after his rehab. I want to use him mainly as a safe horse I CAN TAKE ANYWHERE. I will be doing all dressage, no jumping (I am a big chicken).
Has anyone had any experience with this? I would love to leave him without shoes if that would be best.
Go for it. Barefoot is healthy. BUT… you have to manage his nutrition, trim schedule, environment and exercise in a way that will make it work. Check out Pete Ramey’s website: www.hoofrehab.com and look for the link to the “How To” articles on the home page. Lots of good, free info there. Start with “Feeding the Hoof”.
Thanks for giving an older horse a new chance.
I’m not sure why you think you need to put shoes on. Are his feet in bad shape? Will you be working on rough/hard/uncomfortable footing?
My OTTB, who had notorious TB feet, was able to go barefoot for almost all of the 15+ years I had him. He came with front shoes on, but with a good farrier we transitioned him to barefoot. He was fine from then on. My 24 year old Fjord has never had a shoe on a day in his life. Of course, my farrier also says he wishes every horse had his feet.
The Fjord did bow a tendon a few years ago slipping on some slush in the pasture. Rehabbed just fine. A bow is not an automatic reason (or even a reason at all) for shoes.
As the above poster said, managing nutrition, trim schedule, and environment are key. Get that sorted out and your horse is likely to be just fine barefoot. Have fun together.
I was young n dumb n let my old trainer use my mare for lessons in exchange for board when i was a teen mom, he used her wayyyy too much and she bowed up bad but somewhat healed. She was barefoot, then at the new barn she bowed up same leg playing in the field. We think the first bow never healed right tho due to lack of vet n my old trainer letting me know immediately and / or taking care of her properly.
All that being said, after 6mo wrapped in a stall n icing n all that she healed up just fine from the second bow, stayed barefoot till the day she passed which was over ten yrs after that incident. The one thing my vet suggested was to polo wrap her front legs when i rode her to support her soft tissues since she did have 2 bows already. So he should be ok if you bring him along slowly, but maybe polo wrap his fronts for support when you ride. Jingles for him and thank you for taking care of him!!! 
If he’s sound now, and has no particular issues with his feet that require shoes, there is no reason now to put shoes on him. When the bow is old and set, it should be fine for what you want to do with him. If you want to ride him on rough and rocky trails, he may need shoes for that.
With an old bow, you run your hands over it daily, just to check that it remains “fine”, cool, and no change or swelling. But you do that anyway, with every horse, so no difference there LOL. Sounds like a nice horse for what you want from him.
PS. Do NOT try to “support” this old injury with any sort of “boot” or “bandage”. Because that is counter productive, useless, and is a source of “constriction” that may well cause injury for the horse. The only thing that strengthens a leg is exercise and fitness, combined with good nutrition and good riding and skilled hoof trims. If an old bow was an “accident”, a deep racetrack, a sudden bad step at speed, or other accidental issue that is NOT conformationally sourced, it should heal up fine for non-racing purposes. Sometimes even for racing purposes. Don’t screw around with it, leave it alone.
If you mean does an old bow need shoes, then no. If he is doing well barefoot that’s fine. Like any horse, keeping angles correct for him & a strong supportive foot under him is the important part. In fact, for my guy with an old low bow, we had to take him out of steel shoes as too much concussion was bothering him.
I did find the polyurethane Equiflex shoes were a great transition & he’s now doing well barefoot.
Scar tissue in tendons is stronger than the original tissue, but the transition zone between the two is weaker & the most prone to reinjury. Just be attentive to building the strength of all those soft tissues slowly, so they can perform at their best.
Have a blast with your new partner!
There are lots of reasons you might want shoes on a horse with an acute soft tissue injury - but if the injury is old, cold, and set, there is no reason particular reason why shoes would be necessary. That said, an underlying issue that caused the soft tissue injury - like conformation or poor hoof balance - might benefit from shoes if they are thoughtfully applied in conjunction with a treatment or management plan for that underlying issue.
Best to schedule an appointment with a good sport horse vet to do an ultrasound to make sure the injuries are cold, and to assess the current level of soundness, and perhaps to take hoof balance x-rays, to determine how to proceed. If the horse is happy and sound barefoot, and the farrier/trimmer is able to maintain correct balance throughout the cycle without shoes, then I wouldn’t fix what isn’t broken.
Thanks for all the insightful posts! I was worried because I did have someone insist that I HAD to put shoes on him, and I thought not so much.
The new barn I have moved him to is fantastic, as are the ladies doing the care for the horses! I like the farrier, I got to see him briefly when he shoed one of the owner’s horses. So I think I am good there. He will be back on the 2nd to take care of both my guys’ feet and I think a gradual increase in this guy’s work as he gets some good food will be just the ticket.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!
So polo wrapping it while riding is a bad idea? Seriously asking since my vet told me once its healed thats all good but that since my mares was so bad that the tissue wont be as supportive as it once was so wrapping while riding to help keep it from over straining easily would help her out? Granted my mare was 20 at this point, no spring chicken lol. Maybe because he was a very old school vet or bc of her age? Good to know for any future issues w my pony, knock on wood it doesnt happen though!
No, polos don’t “give support” to a leg. They will protect from being rapped by an opposing foot, or brushing, or being hit by something (a jump pole, etc), any of which may cause injury. They are “protection from blows” only, not “support”. Polos, if applied correctly, won’t hurt the leg. If applied incorrectly, they can slip and create a tight spot, which, if left on for too long, will cause tendon damage or injury. For the purposes of racing, when a horse is racing with a bowed tendon, a trainer may try to give support to the ankle from stretching down further than it would normally by applying tight elastic running bandages with a figure 8 around the ankle. But the amount of actual “support” that these give is “minimal to none” at the best of times. If a racehorse is liable to brush or interfere when racing, these bandages are the ONLY thing that will stay on during a race, and are useful for that purpose. But these bandages are only on the legs for a minimum amount of time, they are too tight to be left on longer- they are the FIRST thing to come off when the racehorse gets back to the barn, because of the damage that constriction of the soft tissue of the leg can do, WILL do. In order for these tight racing bandages to be applied, the groom/trainer who applies them must be extremely skilled and experienced. It’s not something that someone who is not a professional should even attempt to apply, and using them for purposes other than racing is not recommended. Bandaging a horse’s leg is an art, and is something that is judged before a person is allowed to have a license to train racehorses. It’s not something that just any horse owner can or should do without training from a professional. Who is a professional that you can trust to teach you correctly??? Unknown. Be careful who you trust.
Whenever a “new” product comes onto the market of equine boots and bandages, and claims to give “support” to a horse’s leg, know in advance that this is “marketing” only. It is not true, EVER. It is playing to owners who want to do the best for their horses, but are not actually educated horsemen. Because nothing that you apply to your horse’s leg will support the tendons or ligaments. It’s a farce. All those “sports medicine boots”? A farce. Everything. Just marketed and promoted to get horse people to spend money, thinking that they are helping their horse.
Not all vets are horsemen. Not all vets are equine specialists. Not all vets can even apply a bandage correctly. Not all vets graduated at the top of their class. Not all vets are up to date on many things that are important.
As far as the strength of an old bow, horses with old bows usually do fine as high level show jumpers, landing off 5’ fences. Success rate getting back to the races after a bow is lower, but one of the winners of the Grand National years ago (Aldoniti) had bowed a tendon before even starting his preparation for the Grand National, and successfully completed training and preparation, and won the race without re-injury. High level 3 day eventers who have old bows have lower success rates. What makes a horse re-bow is fatigue at speed, and high stress. When a racehorse races, he goes so fast that his ergots touch the ground as tendons and ligaments stretch to their maximum (and sometimes beyond). This happens every stride in a race, at full speed. On a big show jumping course, it happens on landing after each jump. But there are only 12 to 15 jumps on a course, so not as often as during a race- thus the higher success rate. High level eventers don’t go as fast as a racehorse, but go further, so get tired, truly fatigued. Fatigue will bow a healthy tendon. This is why we get horses FIT, because that is what makes tendons strong enough to hold up and remain healthy, under the stresses we want to put on them in sport. As a recreational riding horse, with an owner/rider who has investigated the tendon situation and cares about his/her horse and is some sort of a horseman, success rate for an old bow never being a problem again is high. Good luck with your horse! None of them stay sound without good luck (and good horsemanship helps too). “The Bowed Tendon Book” by Tom Ivors is enlightening reading. It’s an older book now, but gives insight.
Wow! Good to know all that!! I went to school for equine related science and we had to wrap our school horse before riding every lesson and get it inspected, so I have wrapped plenty, but if my pony ever bows I wont be wrapping him after he’s healed up
I have been told by many experienced horse people that polos are not for support, despite many people believing so. I also have seen lots of uneducated people use them and not have a clue why. Same thing with boots.
Thanks for the insight.
