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Discussion on Horse has great hoof quality, is going barefoot o.k? | |
Author | Message |
Member: Sheilab |
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 2, 2003 - 10:32 am: Dr O - I'm curious about what your opinion is to leave a horse barefoot who has excellent hooves and is used 100% for dressage in rubber/sand footing indoor arenas and is turned out 5-8 hours daily in very grassy pastures. My mare's shoes were just pulled this morning, in fact, for the first time for the season as I don't intend to do any x-country or trail riding throughout the winter. |
Member: Sheilab |
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 2, 2003 - 10:48 am: Dr O - I'm curious about what your opinion is to leave a horse barefoot who has excellent hooves and is used 100% for dressage in rubber/sand footing indoor arenas and is turned out 5-8 hours daily in very grassy pastures. My mare's shoes were just pulled this morning, in fact, for the first time for the season as I don't intend to do any x-country or trail riding throughout the winter. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 2, 2003 - 6:04 pm: Hello Sheila,I think you will find the feet grow even healthier. Traditionally we would have said that your horse would lose some of his "action" or "brios" or "extension" (depending on your background) because the weight of the shoe causes exaggerated motion. But I have heard of some dressage and seen with other breeds more animation when barefoot. They seem happier. If you find some shortening this may be a reaction to pain and stop work and let me know if this happens. DrO |
Member: Sheilab |
Posted on Thursday, Dec 4, 2003 - 11:46 am: The shoes came off Tuesday morning and I rode her that evening in the rubber footing in the indoor arena. Her walk and trot strides were fine but her canter was definitely short and seemed 'ouchy' so I quit working immediately and gave her Wednesday off as well. I'll put her on the lunge tonight before getting on and if she's sound, we'll be back in business! I suspect she'll be just fine and going barefoot is going to save me a ton of money too!! |
Member: Paix |
Posted on Monday, Apr 18, 2005 - 6:04 pm: I have a 3y/o Andalusian Stallion. He is doing moderate ground work daily. The round pen has excellent sandy footing & the arena has "good" sandy footing - he does get small chips here n there.I plan to show him in Halter classes soon. This guy has great legs and feet! On the "Andalusian-leg-feet-continuum," he is likely in the upper 20% of good legs & feet for this breed. Id love to keep him barefoot for another year, until I am riding him frequently. Ive been researching this topic for weeks... I get mixed information. There seems to be good points for both sides of the issue. Most people Ive talked with at shows say, "He must be shod for showing!" Often the reason being based on "looks" rather than well-being. Ive read MANY of the Hoof Care posts & articles from this site. Im still undecided.....arrrrgh! Please, any feedback or direction is very welcomed. Just trying to piece together as much info to make the best informed decision possible. THANKS! dina |
Member: Mrose |
Posted on Monday, Apr 18, 2005 - 6:35 pm: Unless there's been a change in the rules that I'm unaware of, the horses doen't need to be shod, but may be shod if over 2 yr. of age in an Arabian halter class. You can check the rules on line if you don't have a current rule book.About the only reasons I can think of for shoeing for a halter class is if he has poor feet or is worked on poor footing; or if you want a longer foot than he might have naturally - that is a longer natural hoof protected by a shoe so it doesn't chip off. A lot of show peope like as long a hoof as allowed (4.5 inches I think, again check the current rules) because they think it either makes the horse look better or move better. I've always shown our younger horses barefoot and never felt like it negatively affected their placing. |
New Member: Jivete |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 11:18 am: I wouldn't shoe my Andalusian if I were you, you really shouldn't need to. I have a half Andalusian filly who has the most amazing feet. As long as she is trimmed on a regular basis (less than every four weeks in the summer) and trimmed short enough (In my experience most farriers leave the feet too long and then they chip) her feet never chip and look amazing. Plus she could gallop over gravel and never flinch. She's also kept in a pasture though and that helps keep her feet tough. Her daddy (the Andalusian) has the same feet. I'd keep the shoes off if I were you. |
Member: Chohler |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 1:35 pm: By all means go barefoot if you can, just remember when showing that you take the extra effort to make sure his feet look nicer than the shod horses. It may not be a rule to have your horse shod, but the judge will notice so you have to make those feet look awesome. |
Member: Suzeb |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 2:36 pm: Hello Dina,Perhaps you could have a chat with your farrier about this issue. If he/she is any good, they could say that your horse does or does not need shoes. Hoof quality can be wonderful, but depending on what type of work you will be doing with your horse, you may need more supportive measures than protective measures. If he is travelling soundly then I wouldn't mess with it and not shoe. Get up close and personal with your farrier and talk about your concerns. He/she could offer you some good advice also. In my opinion, it is better to feed the foot than to try and dress it later. For that dress and show shine, try a chamois cloth on the hoof. Use it like someone would who was polishing your shoes. Hope this helps, Susan B. |
Member: Sylvy |
Posted on Friday, Aug 4, 2006 - 3:03 pm: I have been told that horses need to be shod if they are jumped in a sand arena. True? |
Member: Erika |
Posted on Friday, Aug 4, 2006 - 4:38 pm: Hi SylviaMe again...I ride my mare cross country and jump her with no problem barefoot. If the footing is bad I use EasyBoot Epics, but we can do hunter paces just fine barefoot so I would think a sand arena would be fine. Erika |
Member: Amara |
Posted on Friday, Aug 4, 2006 - 6:36 pm: i've worked horses in just about every type of footing, including jumping in sand arena, and as long as the horse has a foot that is accustomed to going barefoot, i've never had a problem... most of the time when you see problems are poorly balanced feet/bad hoof conformation and horses whose feet havent toughened up (can take a year or more in some cases) |
Member: Vickiann |
Posted on Friday, Aug 4, 2006 - 8:27 pm: My farrier trims horses who regularly jump 6' barefoot without problems. |