Hello everyone!
I’m new to the forum.
I recently bought a 7 yr old Appendix gelding who is barefoot and apparently he’s never worn shoes.
He’s generally energetic and forward moving on soft ground but tender on gravel like the driveway
yesterday we went on a trail ride and it involved about 15 mins riding on a gravel road.
Today I rode him again in the arena and Hayfield but be was reluctant to move forward, walked and trotted slowly and extra sore on the gravel… Is it likely this is from the trail ride yesterday and just needs a few days rest? Should I be thinking about putting shoes on him?
Yes, it is most likely that he needs shoes. Think how your feet hurt when walking barefoot on gravel.
I’d avoid the gravel for the time being, in case your horse has a stone bruise.
As for the sensitivity, you could try a sole toughening product like Keratex Hoof Hardener. It will take about a month to have an affect.
A farrier can help you decide about the need for shoeing by assessing the horses feet, and by telling them about the kind of work you intent to do with your horse.
https://keratex.net/hoof_hardener/
“Apply to lower half of hoof and sole, avoiding coronary band and frog.”
Yes. Just because a horse hasn’t ever worn shoes doesn’t mean they don’t need them - maybe they always did, maybe they just need them for the job you want them to do.
Yes, your horse needs some time off to recover from the painful ride. Maybe pack his feet with Magic Cushion and wrap overnight/for a day or two?
Boots are an option as well. Talk to your farrier about what is best for your riding plans on this horse.
I think Keratex is a great product but I don’t think it’s in the same league as shoes. If your horse is so footsore you can’t ride today, Keratex wouldn’t be enough to protect it.
If it’s been rainy soles can get soft and horse’s who are barefoot can get a bit sore. Use Durasole every day for a week can do it several times a day if needed. Just because they become ouchy doesn’t mean you need shoes. Get hoof boots for these occasions. Barefoot is by far healthier than steel nailed on hoofs.
I use Durasole weekly when wet out, keeps soles hard. I keep my horses barefoot year round & ride them daily over all surfaces. Until your horse toughens up ride on softer surfaces durasole will toughen up soles in a matter of days. Use hoof boot if needed until then far better than shoes, boots can be removed after riding.
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Yes and yes. Either shoes or hoof boots. If you go with hoof boots you can also do other protocol for hoof hardening, and see if he becomes tougher over time. I would always test a new barefoot horse on a small.patch of gravel before heading out on a trail ride.
Also check hoof conformation and trim. If horse has flat soles, separating walls, or under run heels he may not improve until you get those addressed. And a horse can have a perfect appearing barefoot trim and still prefer boots on gravel.for part or sll of the trim cycle. It may vary by weather or season.
Don’t ride a horse that is obviously footsore. That’s just cruel.
That bolded, not really true.
Barefoot and hurting is NOT in any sensible way “healthier” than shoes, what an idea.
Barefoot has it’s place, so do shoes, or boots or any other kind of protection.
We keep our ranch horses barefoot, but for the first time ever many here had to put front shoes on some of them just now because we had the wettest August on record and they did finally get sore.
Some times, conditions change and we have to adapt to them, never say never.
On the OP’s horse, I would check with a vet to be sure there is not something going on in there that may need to be addressed.
Starting navicular, foundering a bit, there is plenty that can go wrong that was not there before.
Better rule that out, perhaps get some initial x-rays to see what things look in there, if the vet thinks may be indicated.
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Do you know how the horse was used before you bought him? If he was mainly ridden on grass and groomed arena surfaces than chances are he never needed shoes. If you plan on riding on gravel , or out on trail or on pavement regularly, than chances are he might need more protection to be comfortable.
Thanks for the replies. I will be giving him a good couple days or maybe a week rest before riding again and then will avoid gravel until boots or shoes are on him. I don’t think I’m going to rush to call out a vet just yet . . .
so probably personal opinions differ greatly on this but pros / cons for boots vs shoes? I’ve never used boots before. 
Also… The lady that owned him before just rode him in her round pen or an arena. He was sent for 5 weeks of training where he was said to have done lots of trail riding but as for the type of footing on those trails I’m not sure.
He was trimmed just before i got him a few weeks ago and it’s been pretty dry all summer, not much rain. They said he can be ouchy after trims
She didn’t say barefoot and hurting is better. What I got from her post that if at all possible she feels it’s better to toughen their hooves and use boots when necessary rather than going to shoes. If you don’t agree then fair enough, I personally am undecided on boots or shoes and would like to hear opinions without putting others down
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“Ouchy after trims” usually means that the farrier isn’t good and trimmed the horse too short; or it may mean that the horse is “foot sore” because it had been getting some extra protection from the ground via the extra hoof wall/sole, but when trimmed to a “correct” length the horse needs more.
My barefoot horses are never “ouchy” after trimming. They don’t need extra protection for the jobs/terrain. My mare with shoes, however, would be ouchy if she were trimmed but not shod - it’s not that the farrier takes more foot off her, but that she needs more protection than her feet give her naturally.
I’ve used boots on my shod mare, as well as shoes. I found that the boots were sort of a pain but it really depends on the shape of the feet and the boots you can get for them. You can’t leave them on all the time, though, because moisture builds up in them - which is why I switched to shoes. In fall/spring when the ground goes from mushy mud to frozen mud and back every day she needed protection all the time.
Some horses are fine just wearing boots while being ridden, and barefoot the rest of the time. It really depends on the horse and the terrain they are in.
Will you be using the same farrier as the previous owners?
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No, this is something that the above poster has said numerous times. She believes that shoes are unhealthy. I don’t believe that there is any evidence of that being true.
I also disagree that horses can really “toughen up” their feet to any great extent. Your horse has apparently been barefoot its entire life; I’d say what you have is probably about what you can expect, presuming the diet and trim are good. If you had just taken shoes off, there could be a slight adjustment period. But in your case, I would not expect any topical product to dramatically change your horse’s feet from one that might need protection on trails to one that doesn’t. If it were that easy, no one would shoe their horses. .
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The previous owners husband was the farrier. He mentioned that were he went for training he didn’t like how his feet were trimmed there. I will likely not be using the same farrier because he’s a little far away… hope I can someone good though. Winter here is about 6 months during which time I’ll only be riding once a week or less. It can get down to - 40 so without fresh snow the ground will likely be hard and icy. Likely be will need shoes? Hope not as I’m thinking he would also need studs and pads to prevent the snow build up or slipping
I was responding to one opinion with another opinion.
Sorry didn’t fit what you expected.
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Yes if you shoe in winter where there is snow and ice you will definitely need traction control of some kind, and usually some kind of snowball pad. That said, my mare can have her winter shoes reset all season, because the studs keep the shoe from wearing normally (like it does when it’s directly on the ground), so they typically last all winter. Sometimes they need a little reshaping, but not too much. If you’ll be riding in an arena, though, maybe it wouldn’t be necessary, and he could go barefoot in the winter.
Definitely time to line up a farrier - you have a lot to discuss and want to make sure you get on someone’s schedule.
Well then disagree horses can never really toughen up. Huh mine did and there barefoot ,was told the one would never go barefoot. He’s was barefoot and sound for the 3 years i owned him. Takes a skilled trimmer who doesn’t carve out soles every single trim,and only takes bars down as needed.
Use boots as need or have glue on boots put on better than nails in hoof walls. There are endurance riders who use hoof boots, there horses are barefoot…they do the travis cup with glue on renegades.Hmm must work using boots if endurance riders use them for the travis cup.
Takes time and use of hoof boots,your horse is already barefoot so just needs to get used to the different surfaces. Use hoof boots & durasole. Get a skilled farrier of trimmer who is versed in doing barefoot horses and barefoot trims. If he’s ouchy on gravel boot him,just because there ouchy on certain surfaces doesn’t mean you need to have shoes nailed on. If he’s sound in pasture with no issue, then you can use boots to ride. That’s what i did when my one horse first went barefoot.
