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When I bought my horse, she was shod, although had been barefoot. She was on trial, and I think the owner felt better safe than sorry.
My farrier reshod her once, then said he didn’t think she really needed the shoes for the work she was in, so we just took them off.
Does your farrier shoe horses (you refer to her as a trimmer, so I wonder). Sure, it takes some time for the nail holes to grow out, but my farrier doesn’t have a completely different trim for shod horses. So…I think it’s a little over dramatic to make it sound like you can’t just take them off if you see no difference.
However, if you like trainer #1 the best so far, I’d just start taking lessons and say “I’ve talked to my farrier about this and we’re considering shoes” and leave it for the time being.
I did read your first post and wondered if you were going to board with each of these trainers or if you are trailering in? If you are not boarding with them, I’d just leave it as is and see if you even like the lessons before doing anything else.[/QUOTE]
Our ranch horses go barefoot most of the time.
If we foresee needing to help neighbors on very rough contry and many hours of hard riding, we go ahead and put shoes on them, not because they probably won’t need them, but because if we indeed have to push them, they will not get sore.
I too wonder why your farrier has to trim differently, other than length, to put shoes on?
We use the same basic trim, just get it a bit shorter when we add shoes, as shoes act as part of the bottom of the wall.
I agree that once you trim shorter for shoes, you need to wait several week’s worth of growth to take the shoes off, or the horse would walk a bit ouchy on some more rough ground.
For those that mostly ride on manicured ground like arenas, or like us, where we can go slow and pick the better, less abrasive or rocky ground as we ride and not ride too hard or long and with horses with good hooves, shoes are not necessary.
When a horse does need shoes, it will improve how that horse can move, as will improve a horse on hard work to give it a little more traction and support.
When selling a horse, around here it is customary to put shoes on the good horses, as a way to show that they are going well with them and also so they ride well in any footing the buyer wants to try them.
Even the horse with the best hooves and some times even with shoes, may mince along some gravel and look off, when it is not.
I too would not know what to do in your situation, but agree that putting shoes without at least having seen how the horse goes under work is putting the horse before the cart.
