I have a horse who has been barefoot her whole life. She has very good feet and is never sensitive or foot sore. My philosophy has always been give the horse what they need to do the job you’re asking them to do. And since she’s stayed sound and seems comfortable, I’ve left her barefoot.
Lately, I’ve had a few people (my trainer, a clinician) mention that they’d be curious to see how she did with shoes–not from a soundness perspective, but from a performance perspective. In particular, they’ve wondered if she would get more push and reach behind. We’re schooling third, so we have reached a point where the work is more challenging.
I’ve spoken to my farrier his recommendation is ‘if it it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. From a soundness and hoof quality perspective he doesn’t think she needs shoes. However, he’s not evaluating performance. He did suggest that if I want to try them to try hind shoes only first.
I’m also trying to balance what kind of risks there might be in ‘trying’ her with shoes. If I decide to try and then pull them what kind of challenges might there be in getting her back to where she was pre-shoe? Maybe none, but I’ve never pulled shoes off a horse before (all mine in the past have either always had shoes or never had shoes) and I have heard horror stories of transitioning to barefoot. Maybe this wouldn’t be the case since she is a good footed horse. But I do find myself worrying about it.
Anyway, posting to hear more from others experiences. Have you shod a good footed sound horse for performance? Did it make a difference? How did you know it was time for shoes without any signs of sensitivity, hoof damage, or soundness issues?
