Bare foot horses

[Soundguy]

whenever we would go out somewhere and had shod horses, we carried a 'spare tire'. that is a rubber slip on shoe that has a lil wire bail on the back to snap it on. if a horse throws a show, you slip this on to keep the footing even..

[JRobyn]

I guess I should be ashamed - our two horses are barefoot and run essentially wild on about 15 acres, but are rarely if ever trimmed. There was one decent farrier in the area, but he has disappeared as of several years ago. We can't find another farrier and both horses have gone wild enough that they won't tolerate any rope/harness or holding still for trimming. I guess anesthesia is an option, but neither of them seem to have overly long toes ar any lameness.

[JRobyn]

I say they are "wild", but then the tornados from 2 years ago took out most of the fence through about 50 yards of woods, yet the horses still stay in the pasture. Guess they like it ok here. The steep terrain off the edges of the fields helps to keep them "at home", but I doubt that steep terrain is really a problem for a horse if they really wanted to go exploring!

[Ken45101]

This thread sure shows how out of touch I am. If you watch Western movies, the only unshod horses were the Indians' ponies. When I was a kid, I had 3 different horses; one at a time, and none were ever shod, but I thought that was just because it was too expensive. Of course my horses weren't ridden on pavement.

Why should pavement make a difference? Wild horses run on rocky ground. IMO, pavement plus steel shoes might be harder on their feet than their natural soles. I've read where the hoof wall growth increases when they wear them down faster. As I noted earlier some police mounted patrols operate some of their horses barefoot. I definitely think traction is better barefoot than with smooth steel shoes.

Again, I will emphasize that some horses need shoes all the time, some need them sometimes, and some never need them at all. It varies, there is no single best answer for all horses. But if a horse doesn't need shoes, I think they are better off without them.

The worst conditions I've seen though is some of the Ohio State Forestry trails where portions of the trail is routed over gravel roads and they pave the roads with a thin scattered layer of marble sized gravel Probably hoof boots are the best answer there.

Oh, BTW, some of the endurance horses doing the Tevis Cup competition (100 miles, 24 hours continuous through the Sierra Nevada mountains) do it barefoot!

[Soundguy]

I guess I should be ashamed - our two horses are barefoot and run essentially wild on about 15 acres, but are rarely if ever trimmed. There was one decent farrier in the area, but he has disappeared as of several years ago. We can't find another farrier and both horses have gone wild enough that they won't tolerate any rope/harness or holding still for trimming. I guess anesthesia is an option, but neither of them seem to have overly long toes ar any lameness.

generally.. the hooves chip and erode.. same way real wild horses don't have to be rounded up and trimmed....

[Egon]

Back when growing up on the farm all the farm work was done by horse. Non were shoed although the equipment and knowledge were all at hand. The hovers were trimmed though and filed on the bottom.

Shoeing seemed reserved for hard surfaces or caulked shoes for winter ice.

[Vtnewbie]

A couple of weeks ago, the kids were running around in the woods and found a horse shoe. Our place has never had humans living on the land except maybe someone passing through hundreds of years ago. The ground is mostly rock, and when it is not rock, it is a clay goo. The horse shoe was found in a wet area that might have been a decent creek before a road was built and cut off some surface water flow.

The shoe was right in the middle of a channel and the horse was walking south. A hundred yards or so north of the shoe is an abandoned still site from the 20's or 30's. I think that horse was being used to make moonshine.

Since the horse was moving away from the still site, I assume it was carrying some clay jugs and heading to the south would be the safest direction to travel.

I suppose the horse could have been a mule.

Later,
Dan

Mule shoe is shaped different from a horse shoe: more of a "U" shape to the mule shoe - more of a "C" shape for a horse shoe.

Don't get me started on ox-shoes!

[bucktaker]

alot depends on the horse and the terrain they live on ....My horse live in soft pasture or a dirt/lot and they dont carry me on their back .. when we Ride its in the state forests, state parks where the bridle trails force all horses along the same small path. I have tried going barefoot but always seem to have sore footed horse that limp for days. Shoes on for riding seasons, shoes off for off season. Self taught farrier...a skill I wish i didnt have..

[Douglas733]

I have owned horses for many years and I concur with others that have posted leave them unshod -ride them good and often and let nature do its work if you're on asphalt or you're on rough terrain then have them shod according to the different terrain, but most horses trail riding is all if they're not wanting sliding stops in Showhorse performance and I think were fine barefoot

[Lineman North Florida]

Used to cowboy and work cows a good bit when I was young (before I had to get a real job) anyhow never shoed any of my horses and did my own trimming, rasping and cleaning out the frog, my dad taught me how, he still hasn't grown up as he will be 71 yo this year and he's still breaking a few colts and when he's not doing that he is catching and tying wild hogs.