So I have a question that I’m sure has been asked many, many times on this forum… is it better to keep a sound horse shod PERIOD?
Long story short, I have a 12 year old OTTB that after a 4 year racing career and a 4 year pony horse career that I just recently decided, “Hey… my horse is always sound… and he really doesn’t do any work… why not try barefoot?” If you’re saying to yourself, “WHAT A SELFISH AND RASH DECISION,” don’t worry, I’m beating myself up for that myself right now.
After a couple of days with my horse’s shoes off, he’s definitely footsore… not cripple! But definitely sore. Which, of course, lead me to go down the internet rabbit hole (horse hole in this case?) and hear a lot of people that are very definitely PRO-BAREFOOT or ANTI-BAREFOOT. So honestly, now I’m kind of reeling. Did I make a terrible decision to try to transition my horse to go barefoot? Honestly, I have never seen him even a little bit sore or lame… which is pretty impressive after his career path.
Is it worth a little bit of discomfort for… a week? A month? Several months? To put him on a barefoot path? Just looking for some honest opinions (Or expert opinions!). Please help!
So he doesn’t do any work? Then why not transition? Or at least try to. It’s expected he’d be sore at first. My guy has super sensitive feet, but if I didn’t ride I’m convinced even he could be comfortable in his pasture barefoot.
In the past year I’ve went from a “they always need shoes” mindset to horses who are happily barefoot without issue. Now, of course not all can be comfortable barefoot, but I say try it and see.
I have horses that have been shown - hunters, dressage, and eventing, barefoot. Barefoot is always better IF they do not need shoes for whatever you are doing with them, or to support a lameness issue. A barefoot horse will definitely be a bit sore or tender for a few weeks after first pulled. I like to pull them in the fall, due to less riding, no bugs, softer ground. By spring, the feet have toughened up and they are ready to go. The nail holes have also grown out, broken off and been trimmed and rasped off, so you have a solid hoof wall to work with for the more riding, stomping at bugs, and harder ground. That said, my horse that evented barefoot just fine, needed 4 shoes to foxhunt.
We also had one extremely thin walled TB come from the track. Horrible feet, 4 shoes, and hard to keep on. The kid that owned him wanted to try barefoot that fall, so we did. She put a lot of effort into making sure chips were evened out, etc. After a few months, he was fine. In the spring, she began to ride him and get ready to event at Training Level. She felt bad, so she bought 4 riding hoof boots for the cross country. By 1/2 through the course, all 4 were gone. He finished sound, and never wore shoes again.
Fairview said it well. Shoe if horse needs them for his job or if he has issues going bare footed. I would talk to the Farrier when you want shoes off. You are paying them to LEAVE ON hoof material for change to bare feet. Have the sole left alone, probably almost nothing taken off the walls, because horse needs the bone protection left on. Just level and smooth the edges to prevent terrible chipping. I DO NOT believe horse should be moving sore with shoes just off. And certainly not STILL going sore for days or weeks after shoe removal.
Horse lame or sore for days then needs hoof x-rays to see if he has very thin soles or other reasons causing that soreness, which can mean horse actually NEEDS those shoes to get around comfortably.
We often swap horses from bare to shod, then back to bare later on. They NEVER move sore or lame after changes, run hard over gravel rock or cobble size stones, because they have enough hoof sole and wall under them as bone protection. Not ever trimmed to short or thin soled.
Horse going sore has a problem, owner needs to figure it out or diagnose with the Vet. Not all horses have great feet, need their shoes for protection. Other sore horses need a better trim, without being cut so short all protective hoof is removed each Farrier visit. A great many horses need to be allowed to grow feet big enough to protect those hoof bones.
Too many folks don’t recognize proportionate sized hooves when they see them under a horse. Always expecting to see a neatly packaged, little hoof, like shod animals wear. Especially seen on Western show horses. Almost every outing with our horses I hear someone say “What BIG HOOVES they have!” They really don’t, they have hooves proportionate to their 17h size in shoe sizes of 4 and 5. They are sound all the time, bare or shod. Our Western horses, TBs, had feet that fit their bodies, never were lame either, bare or shod. Never got trimmed too short when going bare. People need to learn about hooves, what is going on in there. Pick their horses with good feet first, before buying that grey coat or pretty face.
I took my 8-year old OTTB from shod (fronts) to barefoot about 6 years ago. He was a little ouchy over certain surfaces, but since his barn at the time had nice stone-free turnouts, the only time he had to be on gravel was to cross a driveway to get to the pastures. He was fine within a few weeks, IIRC.
I also did the hoof-boot thing, because I trail-ride a lot and one never knows what kind of footing one might find on a new trail. I had him in Cavallos, and in the two years after I pulled his shoes, he went up an entire boot size, from 2’s to 3’s. I still keep the boots in my trailer, but I haven’t used them in a couple years… He finally has great, big, hard, beautiful hoofies. Woohoo!
Why would you think that’s selfish? IMHO, all horses should be barefoot until something about their life says they need shoes. There’s no inherent reason to keep shoes on a (currently) sound out of work horse.
After a couple of days with my horse’s shoes off, he’s definitely footsore… not cripple! But definitely sore.
How sore?
Which, of course, lead me to go down the internet rabbit hole (horse hole in this case?) and hear a lot of people that are very definitely PRO-BAREFOOT or ANTI-BAREFOOT.
Ignore anyone who is 100% one way or the other. They always, always ignore the exceptions.
So honestly, now I’m kind of reeling. Did I make a terrible decision to try to transition my horse to go barefoot? Honestly, I have never seen him even a little bit sore or lame… which is pretty impressive after his career path.
Is it worth a little bit of discomfort for… a week? A month? Several months? To put him on a barefoot path? Just looking for some honest opinions (Or expert opinions!). Please help!
It’s not quite that black and white. There are so many “it depends” scenarios.
What sort of health were the feet in before pulling the shoes? Feet in less than optimal health, even if the horse appears sound in shoes because the shoes cover up the unsoundnes, taking shoes off is almost always going to be problematic. But, even feet in optimal health for their genetics might not be able to do barefoot at all. The best of the best feet might never skip a beat, might have a couple days of “this is different and interesting”, or any other variation, but pretty quickly settle into soundness as long as the footing and work isn’t out-pacing the acclimation of the feet.
Some feet will never be genetically healthy enough to be barefoot on anything other than soft pasture or sand. Some, not even that. Others can do cushy turnout all day long, but can’t do any work in anything other than well-groomed footing.
Horses transition to barefoot all the time. In work, out of work, doesn’t matter. That doesn’t mean they call can, and sometimes you don’t know until you try.
A week of some tenderness? Not alarming. 2 weeks? Still not alarming, but cause for an eyebrow. A month? Something needs to be addressed.
Fresh out of shoes feet should have almost no trimming the first time. If they are in pretty good shape, roll the walls, deal with excess bar growth, and come back in 2 weeks or so. If they are over-due for a trim, then take off some of that, but leave some wall to be the “shoe” for a bit. See how the feet wear. Then in a couple weeks, come back and do a more full trim based on how the horse is doing.
A big mistake that’s too-often made is a farrier removing the shoes, and trimming as if he were putting shoes back on, which means a flat ground surface (encourages chipping) and removing some sole that might otherwise be in the way of a shoe. Freshly barefoot feet NEED some extra sole to start, their “callous”, to help them condition. Movement will exfoliate some or all of that in time. Let them do it, rather than just taking it from them. Then, healthy bare feet can have more exfoliationg sole removed.
I would think it would be best to start off barefoot using hoof boots for riding (at least if you are going out on trails) and then see how it goes from there. If you want advice on hoof boots, try the endurance and trail riding forum. In my opinion if a horse can handle being barefoot that is ideal, however, some horses seem to do better with shoes.
Some horses need shoes to be sound even when not in work and on a good pasture. Others can go barefoot doing endurance on sand and rock. It depends on the horse.
If you pull shoes on a horse that’s been shod for a long time it will take a period of time for the horse to acclimate. So question becomes “how much pain am I willing to inflict on my horse to get him to toughen up?” That’s a decision for you, the owner. When we bred mares we routinely kept them in work during pregnancy and would lay them off a month or two before foaling. If they were shod (and most were) we would expect a day or two of “ouchiness” but then it would be gone. The breeds were Tennessee Walkers and Mangalarga Marchadors. I had one MM that we NEVER pulled shoes on, even while she was lactating; if we did her feet would hurt so badly she’d neglect her foal. I have to keep her shod in her semi-retirement to keep her pasture sound. All of her offspring are shod for work but barefoot if laid off for any period of time; they are uncomfortable not more than a day or two.
As in so many areas where philosophy clashes with reality you have to look at the horse standing in front of you to make this decision. You can’t look at the horse in a book or a video or a lecture or in my field to make the call.
Good luck in your decision.
G.
P.S. One more thought in this process. There’s an old saying that goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If what you’re doing with your horse is working well then be wary of change for the sake of change. It’s deeply ingrained in the American character to see “change” as a Good Thing. Just look at all the politicians over the years who built entire programs and careers upon “change.” But “change” can be based upon sound analysis or be just “gratuitous.” You always have to ask “change from what and change to what?” This is true with both politicians and horses.
:yes: Agree w/JB’s timeline for trying out barefoot.
Some horses will always need shoes, some can go either way & some prefer barefoot.
My OTTB (never raced, ponied for years) probably never went unshod once he went into training at the track, then when I showed him as a Hunter - so some 16yrs always in shoes.
1st time barefoot he gimped around for a couple weeks - fine on arena sand, but had to stick to grassy areas on trails & ouchy on gravel.
Eventually he adapted & we Evented (BNH, schooled to Training) barefoot.
He did not have typical TB shelly hooves, always grew a nice solid foot.
If I can leave a horse barefoot, I will. Long term, I do think it is better. (and cheaper!) And you don’t have to worry about pulled shoes.
But of course, there are situations where horses will need to have shoes either for soundness reasons or performance purposes.
My Red has to have corrective shoes on front for heel pain. And then I put shoes on the back so he has traction for barrel racing. He often slips without them.
So far, Shotgun has not needed shoes. And I hope to keep him barefoot, as long as that works for him.
Of course he’ll be sore. He’s had shoes for 4 years and now you’ve taken them off. Just give him some time to adjust. Depends on the horse, but some are fine in even just a few days.
The only correct answer to this general question is, “It depends”. As someone else said, ignore all who are staunchly in one camp or the other.
Now for the more nebulous:. On what does it depend?
The horse
Its living conditions
Its diet
Its level and type of work
The surfaces upon which it does said work
And more…
Horses are shod for one or more of the following reasons: protection, correction, or traction.
It is fine to try a horse BF, but you (and your farrier) need to realize that there are some differences between the way a hoof is trimmed for BF vs. being shod.
Most horses need to wear boots during the transition. Finding the right boot for your horse is akin to finding the girl to fit the glass slipper, but it is necessary.
There are many people who have been willing to allow their horses to limp around for months or tragically years during “transition”, refusing to even contemplate that perhaps the horse needs shoes.
I wouldn’t allow a horse to go more than one trimming cycle if it is showing little to no improvement. I would allow up to 4 cycles with improvement.
You so need to trim/shape the horse’s feet every 4 weeks during transition. Given that most well kept horses are on a 4-6 week farrier cycle, this isn’t a huge change, but is still worth noting.
Above all, listen to your horse more than any voice on the internet or even professional.
If he’s in agony 2 weeks in, it is OK to call it and put the shoes back on.
Horses never lie and actually communicate quite well, if we only listen.
OP, here are some notes from what I’ve learn from my barefoot trimmer over time:
When removing shoes, do as JB notes–just roll edges and leave plenty of sole (in fact, always leave sole!).
You need a strategy to support your horse’s transition. That could mean changes in where you ride (conditions), topicals (Durasole) or boots. My trimmer is a big fan of boots for horses going through a transition. There are so many near-custom options available now.
Barefoot doesn’t work for everyone. See how it goes. Give yourself a genuine trial timeline (probably at least 6 months). That said, really re-growing/re-shaping a hoof with a good trimmer can take a year+.
If your farrier is not very familiar with transitioning horses to bare feet, I would look elsewhere. It does conflict with the basic POV of some farriers.
Even for horses with good feet, the biggest problem I have had with my barefoot horse(s) is finding a trimmer/farrier that can do the correct trim for a barefoot horse year round (not the same as just trimming as if for a shoe and then not putting a shoe on!). I have had to put shoes on two previous horses even though they could go barefoot comfortably year round if I trim them myself (however, I generally find it physically too difficult now and I am not good enough to deal with any issues (like my current horse having one hind leg shorter than the other)) because my trimmer/farrier could not keep them sound through the dry summers. I went through at least 5 before finding the right one and now my current horse has been sound and comfortable on any footings we’ve tried for 2 years (how long I’ve had her!).
What JB said. When taking off shoes, it can take time to toughen up hooves. It also can be tough at wet times of years. I prefer barefoot, always. Because it’s been wetter than usually, my barefoot horses are a little footsore because their feet are softer. Durasole really works to thicken their soles and allow you to know if they can get through it and stay barefoot.
The correct answer is “it depends.” What does your farrier think?
My OTTB ex-broodmare did fine (apparently) barefoot in Kentucky having babies in big, green pastures. But New York isn’t the same - hard packed clay in summer, frozen ground, frozen mud and icy ruts in winter…not so much. Even as a retiree she is happier in shoes.
My other horses are all barefoot; so it’s not my farrier recommending shoes for some reason. She needs them or he’d be happy to keep her barefoot too.
I am for doing whatever the horse needs. I can’t ride anymore, if my horses can stay sound barefoot, they stay barefoot.
I had successfully kept my foundered horse barefoot and in trail boots for turnout for four years. Eventually the farrier’s couldn’t “see” what they were doing and things slowly went south. Now he goes to the vet clinic so the vet can X-ray him as-needed and the vet’s farrier can put aluminum rockers on him.
^^^^Do what is right for your horse to keep him sound ----- what the rest of the world THINKS should be done doesn’t matter.
also, FWIW, I used to hard trail ride and kept shoes on my main horse about nine months out of the year; he was never sore merely from pulling shoes for the winter and letting him run barefoot. Sometimes it’s the farrier’s fault for a sore-footed horse, even though they won’t admit it:)
If you do pull shoes, you could buy a set of quality/good fitting trail boots and keep the horse in those during turnout, or buy a hoof hardener like Keretex, Durasol, etc.
I would do some x-rays of those feet to check sole depth, honestly (and bonus, you will also be able to evaluate the foot angles as well). If he’s got good sole, give him some time to adjust, if he’s thin you can try to build it up but you may just have to put shoes back on. Sometimes not looking lame doesn’t mean they aren’t sore or tender, some horses are just too stoic. I guess it depends on what your goal is with taking him barefoot.
