Barefoot farriers

darkhorserunning · Well Schooled

Barefoot farriers

Barnmouser Ash · Grand Prix

My horses have all always been barefoot, and I am a huge advocate for it (not just some "natural horsemanship" gimmick). I think that given the correct conformation and genetics, a lot of horses can do very well barefoot. Even some horses with thin walls and other weak spots in the hoof could benefit from some time spent barefoot. I don't think it's for every horse nowadays, sadly. At least, not without a lot of transition.

What I mean to say is that a lot of horses (and I'm not picking on anyone, but just as an example that is easy to picture), such as Halter horses, tend to have very small, thin, weak hooves. They don't really need strong hooves; they don't do anything really rigorous in their career.Because of this, some require shoes to essentially keep their feet from falling apart in normal wear-and-tear stresses. After the Halter career is done and the horse goes on to be a trail horse or what have you, eventually a transition to barefoot living can be made, but not without a very closely monitored program/schedule.

I would love to see all horses barefoot, and I think in a previous time, it was highly likely that most could go that way. But with the stresses of a lot of today's "sports" and activities, it isn't plausible in all circumstances. Cart horses in the streets of New York, for example, need shoes to help guard their hooves against the grind of walking on asphalt and stone all day long. Much like a person wouldn't want to walk barefoot around the city all day unless they have feet built to carry them on that kind of terrain without breaking down, a horse needs added support.

:) That's just my two cents, and it makes sense to me. Others feel differently, I know. I'm looking forward to hearing other people's ideas.

Great question!

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Agree with Ash aww

I've been an advocate for barefoot hooves for the past 16 years, but I am also an advocate for the health and quality of a horse's life and lifestyle, this includes the health of their toes. I have had horses who go 100 percent sound day in and day out, showing all weekend on all kinds of surfaces barefoot and others who needed to be shod for various reasons on various levels. For example, I had a reining mare on lease that had a Grade I club, she needed to be shod to stay sound for not only general riding but for showing as well. She was 100 percent all the time with shoes on, on the other hand at the time I also owned a cutting horse, who was barefoot all the time and was never off because of it. Both were trimmed/shod by the same great farrier.

Find a great farrier, they'll help you do what is best for the horse -- because great farriers work with you, your veterinarian and your horse.

Jackie Cochran · Advanced

I have had horses barefoot for decades. I like barefoot except for it to work well the hoof has to be trimmed more often than every six weeks, unless you rasp on it some yourself. But whenever my horse NEEDED shoes, he got them.

I've noticed that farriers that are used to mostly shoeing take off too much wall, so that the horse ends up walking on his sole. Some "pasture trims" not only take off too much wall, they then round off the wall as high up as a quarter inch or so. This is mainly because the hoof chips off if the owner does not keep after it. By making the wall short the blacksmith is trying to have a decent hoof 6 weeks later when he comes back to trim. Of course the horse ends up walking on hot coals until the wall grows out enough which often can take a week or two.

Talk with your farrier about your individual horse. Some horses just need shoes and it is cruel to expect them to go barefoot. Others do fine barefoot with regular trimmings and touch-ups by the owner. I personally think that every barefoot owner needs to own a rasp and use it to touch up the barefoot hoof when needed between trims by the farrier.

csherrenbrueck · Yearling

As a 'natural' hoof care provider I can say without a doubt ALL horses can go barefoot. There is no such think as 'breeding' a hoof out of the horse. Usually if you run into conformation issues, hoof issues (thin, weak walls etc) it's due to the horses not being kept correctly, being ill, or not being trimmed correctly or frequently enough.

To add - about halter horses or racehorses etc, these horses are usually shod when they are very young. The hoof capsule grows down and around the P3 and takes 5 to 6 years to develop. The palmer process on the coffin bone is not present in a foal, so when horses this young are shod, it deforms the bone and the hoof capsule, shoeing a horse also reduces circulation inside the hoof which then creates thin walls etc because not enough nutrients and blood flow are present.

If you remove the shoe on these horses, trim them correctly and frequently (2 to 3 weeks), turn them out 24/7 (movement, movement, movement) -provide them with a species correct lifestyle and diet, their hooves will recover as much as is possible with the bone deformity (as long as there has been no major bone loss, ossification of ligaments and fusing of joints) and they will be able to go 100% barefoot. AND only if everything from the conditioning to trimming to lifestyle is done correctly.

When I talk about conditioning - this has to not just do with working your horse out but also conditioning his hooves to go over various terrains (including rocky and gravelly terrains) and allowing him to develop callouses where needed. It's a lot like us walking on carpet day in and day out and then trying to run barefoot on rocks suddenly, we have to condition our feet to be barefoot so do our horses. Of course if you cannot provide the horse with proper conditioning (for whatever reason) booting them for rides on surfaces it is not used to is a good idea - please, don't let anyone tell you boots don't stay on in mud - they will, you won't, but the boots will. blankstare

Well, that's what I have to say. Almost -

If you want to be a 'barefooter' do your research. It's more than just pulling shoes off and saying your horse is barefoot. There is an entire paradigm with this. It's about keeping our horses in as much as a natural way as is possible in domestication. And please, hire a trimmer who is certified or working on being certified and has case studies that prove they are competent.

Cheers,

Charlotte biggrin

darkhorserunning · Well Schooled

we have hardley ever shod or horses, this in asking about all the craze in the mustang trim etc was looking into the course but it just does not seem long enough to cover everything they talk about, but have heard people saying that with the whole oh my god this is new thing craze that they have not been happy with the service or advice given from these farriers is why i was asking, the only time we shoe is for pavement and will have to see when my other half gets his team about the shoeing for pulling horses? i should have stated that i am very in between on the two.

Barbara F · Grand Prix

My new horse is currently shod, and then, according to his past in Germany, I will remove his shoes over the winter.

I don't feel that I need a special "barefoot" farrier to do a good job though, and I do wonder if "barefoot farriers" is just a new way of marketing something that any good farrier can do.

Just thinking out loud...

dbliron · Advanced

Any well trained, professional farrier can trim a horse barefoot.

I'm sorry, but not ALL horses can go barefoot. That's an outrageous statement, just as insupportable as saying that ALL horses need to be shod.

I believe that keeping horses barefoot when possible and reasonable is a great thing, and I try to do it with my horses, especially in winter when the snow's deep. However, my horses live on gravelly soil, in large pastures, and they work hard on various types of footing every day. Their feet wear down to the point of discomfort, and they must be shod to keep them comfortable, sound, and working. They have been raised in large pastures, and were not shod before the ages of 3 at the earliest, and often 5, if that's when I started competing with them, and they have good quality horn, soles and walls. As the workload increases they need more support, and my farrier is there to give them that support. He does a beautiful job of keeping them barefoot and healthy when the conditions permit, but that is not year round, and for some horses it's never.

In all the years my husband competed in international Ironman competitions I met one person who ran the marathon barefoot, and his feet were going to give him major problems later in life. My horses are shod when they need shoeing, and my farrier and I make that decision every five weeks, on an individual basis.

Marlene · Advanced

darkhorserunning wrote:
I was wondering, what everyone thinks of this movement? I heard tons of really good and really bad things about it, so i was wondering if anyone has experiance with it? and or has a barefoot farrier?

My farrier wears shoes. But he leaves my horse barefoot and has trimmed his feet for about the last four years. Before that he was shod, and had problems and was rather badly behaved (the horse, not the farrier) . Now he is a lamb for this hoof trimmer, crushes rocks when I have him conditioned. I watch his diet, and he only went somewhat footy last fall when he had a little too much pasture grass. He recovered and went back to the rocky trails without medical treatment. Boots are a temporary option if your horse is not quite conditioned to rocky trails or is transitioning from shod. Barefoot is not just a fad, there is a lot of evidence that it is healthier for the foot, and many horses with bad or mediocre feet have been successfully transitioned to barefoot, if the trimmer is skilled and the owner is well informed. If your horse is only sound when wearing shoes, he isn't really sound. I might add: My dad used to work a team of horses many years ago. He worked them in fields, but also on rocky roads as they were used for road building at the time. He said they were fine without shoes. Also there's at least one police department that has used barefoot horses (for daily work, not just parades), including horses with a less than perfect past with shoes. Again boots can be used for the few times when the horse's hooves are still conditioning to full time. You don't just take them from a soft cushy paddock all day, then turn them loose for a full day of rocky riding. But the foot toughens up as it is used day by day, over time.

-- Edited by Marlene on Tuesday 24th of May 2011 02:15:06 PM

-- Edited by Marlene on Tuesday 24th of May 2011 02:32:10 PM

-- Edited by Marlene on Tuesday 24th of May 2011 02:46:59 PM