There are hundreds of opinions and resources regarding horse hoof care. Plus, there is a seemingly endless debate about the actual need for shoes as opposed to going “all natural” and keeping your horse barefoot. Hoof care is a huge and complex subject. Balancing that with cost benefit to what works for your horse can be very confusing. As with all things “horse” the decision of whether your horse needs shoes should be evaluated on an individual basis. Here we’re going to review some of the most prominent issues, as well as some common solutions, and even address a few myths that seem to float around out there.
Starter Thoughts
It’s safe to say that the harder a horse works, the more support it will need in one way or another. Having said that, it does not mean the only horses who need shoes are those in heavy work. A horse’s conformation can play a role in your decision. Straight-legged horses will typically wear their hooves down fairly evenly – whereas, some conformational flaws can cause more wear to the inside or outside edge of the hooves, thereby causing undue impact and twist on the bones and joins over time. Shoeing can be a helpful preventative and even be used therapeutically to help with conditions such as navicular disease and ringbone. Your horse is the one who determines what he needs. It’s up to us to interpret what he’s trying to tell us before he is in desperate need for a change.
Barefoot Scenario
So, let’s say your horse is barefoot and you are not sure if he is okay to remain that way. Some signs that your horse may be having trouble with his current hoof care plan are:
- Stumbling often
- Mild intermittent limping – particularly on hard or rocky terrain
- Unwilling to extend his trot stride
- Generally stiff, hesitant steps when moving
There may be any number of reasons a horse can show these symptoms which may not have to do with hoof care, yet farrier work is a good starting point if he is showing some of these signs. You may choose to just put shoes on the front feet, or even all four and be done with it. But perhaps you would really rather stay barefoot. Rather than waiting until your horse can’t walk on anything but grass, you might want to try some alternatives.
Shoeing Alternatives
Option A) I have had success using hoof hardening products on the soles of a horse’s feet, particularly for the week or so after trims. Even readily available and affordable venice turpentine can be used for this purpose. However, you must be sure to keep any such product only on the soles of their feet and only as directed on the label. This is probably the least-expensive way to work on your issue.
Option B) Another way, which may yield good long-term results, is the use of a hoof-building feed supplement. The downside to this is that you will need to keep the horse on it pretty much forever – as long as you plan to stay at the level of work that has caused the issue. Also, you will not see much result for probably six months to a year; as it takes roughly a year for a whole new hoof to grow out from top to bottom. Options A and B may work nicely together with quick results in the hardening products and long-term hoof health from the supplement.
Option C) As a third possibility, some people have success using “easy boots” which are sort of like hiking boots for horses. They slip and tighten around the hoof for temporary wear during exercise. My only personal experience with these boots was one horse years ago who had an old-style set for just his front feet. He was used for light trail riding once or twice per week at most. I struggled with any sort of muddy footing as the boots were sucked off very easily. However, they were an old set and the fact that they sometimes rubbed his coronet makes me wonder if they were poorly fitted. By all appearances, the styles have improved quite a bit since then. I have been hesitant to try using such a product again though because they are expensive to buy just to experiment with if you’re not having issues.
Additionally, if it takes farriers many trim/shoeing cycles to change the angles of a hoof over the course of months, it seems illogical to me to constantly put a horse on and off essentially platform shoes while expecting it not to cause secondary challenges. I’m sure there is a grand purpose for these products as there seems to be a thriving market for them, I personally just haven’t found the proper application. My point is, even though I haven’t found the need for them, you might be the person with the horse that they are intended for, and they are an option if you are trying to avoid traditional shoes.
Making The Change
As a final note on trying to stay barefoot, as you are working through the options, if you notice your horse is sore after trims you might consider stretching your trims by a week or so to allow more hoof wall to grow and take the pressure off the soles of the horse’s feet. Soreness after trimming should not be a situation that is allowed to continue long-term, but as you are working to resolve the underlying issues it may happen for a little while. Ultimately the goal would be to have as few weeks of general foot soreness as possible in your horse’s life. In fact, getting feet trimmed and put back to the correct angles for your horse should leave them in better shape each time, not worse!
If your horse does continue to be sore after trims or just in general despite your best efforts, you really should start with at least front shoes as horses naturally carry 60% of weight on their front feet. By the next shoeing cycle, it should be evident if your horse is now happy or if they would still appreciate the addition of hind shoes. In some cases, it can take several shoeing cycles once shoes are in place for any old bruises to work out and soreness to fully resolve. When a horse is sore in one area, it makes everything else sore from compensating constantly. It’s not as though they can go home and put their feet up on the couch in the evenings. Afterall, they stand for 22 hours out of each and every day!
The Shoeing Scenario
But maybe you are on the opposite side of the story and your horse has four shoes and you are wondering if it’s necessary to keep paying $150-$200 (or more) every 6-8 weeks to keep him that way. The choice to pull shoes is, in my opinion, a trickier one than to put shoes on. As we just reviewed, keeping a horse sound barefoot is not necessarily a cheaper, or even a simpler, endeavor. Perhaps you just like the idea of your horse being more natural or maybe he is no longer working as hard – both common reasons to consider backing off shoes.
First consider what work you are doing
If your horse is on a lot of rocks, or his job is something that is rougher on a horse’s front feet such as jumping, speed events or anything that requires a lot of tight turns, then you should at least be cautious about pulling front shoes. If your horse has navicular or other arthritic conditions or old injuries, you should probably consult your vet as well as your farrier. Changing his support system could be absolutely crippling. In any situation, simply pulling the horse’s shoes and continuing the same work is almost guaranteed to result in problems.
I’m not here to advocate for shoes all around either. I personally have the full mix of two barefoot, three with front shoes only and one with all four shoes. Many barns forbid boarders to have hind shoes on their horses as they can become weapons in any barnyard scuffles that take place. A strike from a barefoot hind hoof is far less likely to break another horse’s leg or rib than a shod strike. I’ve just seen it taken for granted that a horse will be sound without shoes “just because”. When I had to take the hind shoes off one of my horses for her use of them as weapons it took an entire container of venice turpentine and a full summer to get her back to normal.
Finishing Thoughts
As usual there are far more angles and situations that can arise on the subject of hoof care than could possibly get covered in one short article. But I hope this has been a digestible introduction to some of the concerns on the matter. It’s a good general rule that if it’s not broken don’t fix it. If your horse is comfortable and happy in their job as is, leave it alone. However, if your horse is showing signs that he needs a change, I encourage you to weigh the options available and not rush into any decision unless there is a time-sensitive need on your horse’s side of the story. In conclusion I would like to briefly touch on some common myths about hoof care:
Myth 1) Horses “dislike” wearing shoes.
Reality: A horse who has never been shod may misbehave while being shod because it’s a new experience but that does not mean that shoes are the wrong decision.
Myth 2) It’s nice to give your horse a “break” from shoes sometimes.
Reality: Horses don’t typically need a “break” from shoes unless a vet or farrier has recommended it for some specific reason. In fact, the transition from shoes to barefoot has the potential to be a long, ouchy one (that’s, if the transition is successful at all). Don’t make this decision on a whim.
Myth 3) All horses need shoes to work.
Reality: Many horses do very athletic jobs completely barefoot for their entire career, with no excessive lameness issues. Conformation and natural hoof quality and correct diet have much to do with this issue.
Myth 4) All horses can go barefoot – it’s natural, after all.
Reality: This statement does not take into account “human” selection for breeding. Human selection doesn’t value hoof quality and hardiness as strongly as “natural” breeding selection would. Also, in a natural setting horses would not be asked to perform at such high levels, often doing very unnatural tasks repetitiously. A horse who is not bred by natural selection and asked to do unnatural work cannot be handled entirely by what is “natural”. Also in nature, horses don’t always survive to a ripe old age since they are not given any support whatsoever. I hope that we, as owners and riders of domesticated horses, all plan to give our horses at least enough support to help them live and work comfortably until God says he wants them back.
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