Re[2]: to shoe or not to shoe...

Janet Evans (JEvans@linotype.co.uk)
Mon, 23 Dec 1996 18:42:36 +0000

Sully,

Have to agree with Karen, I've just for the first time had the
shoes taken off my old timer, my farrier is one of the best in the
county, does lots of remedial work for vets. His view was this, if
a horse is going to be out of work for more than a couple of
months, take the shoes off, its a good break for them, it allows
the feet to spread naturally, you will find that the nail may break
back to the nail holes, and may look unsightly until that is
trimmed away, and as Karen says your horse may be sore for a while
whilst getting used to the new freedom. Do remember to still have
the feet regularly trimmed to keep the angles OK.

Good luck with the baby,

Regards

Jan

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: to shoe or not to shoe...
Author: "Sullys Maze" <Sully@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU> at email
Date: 19/12/96 22:19

REPLY TO 12/19/96 21:41 FROM ridecamp@endurance.net: to shoe or not to shoe...

What have been your experiences with allowing horses to go barefoot for a
period of time? My mare is due for shoes and I'm considering having them
pulled and letting her go barefoot. She will not be ridden at all except
maybe light arena work by a friend until July -- possibly late June (I'm in
the process of growing a future endurance rider -- so Starrzza's on a bit
of a vacation) She lives in a pasture now with a few other horses, some
rock and the ever-present mud. We live in Western Washington, so snow and
ice are not usually an issue, but it still happens sometimes. She has good
feet and when I bought her 2 years ago she was barefoot and apparently had
been for several years. I've never had problems with her feet, so I don't
want to fix what isn't broken, but would it be good for her to go without
until I'm ready to ride again?
Thanks in advance for the feedback -- I'm really going through
endurance withdrawal already and this list is keeping me sane :)
Raina and Starrzza (I am LOVING this)


---------
Gosh, it seems like an easy question for me (struggling also with
the shoeing dilemma). I believe, in general terms, that it is far
healthier for a horse to go barefoot, unless there is a problem,
or the amount of RIDING warrants it.

I had a horse in the S.F. Bay Area for 7 years, and rode her
barefoot, except for putting shoes on for one competition. I
did mainly 2 to 3 hours rides, and the trails were very soft
dirt (compared to all the rocks where I live now!)

I plan to ride all winter, and it would make me sense and far
less hassle for me to just continue putting shoes on. But, I
think it will be far better for the feet to have a break from
shoes; hopefully on the one mare they will spread some (bad
shoeing over the years before I got her has constricted the
heels). Then, I will have to hassle with the problem of easy
boots on a lot of our rides.

If your horse has normal feet, and will only be arena rode, why
have shoes? Just be aware that she may be tender footed until
her feet toughten up some.

Karen

To: ridecamp@endurance.net