# How much can YOU do barefoot?



## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

So I was just wondering, how much can YOUR horses do barefoot?

By this I mean, my horse is ouchy when walking over small rocks, like on a gravel driveway. Can your horses do stuff like that barefoot without a problem?
Also, will they get less ouchy on that stuff over time?

I'm curious as to how much you can actually do without hurting them.
For example in time could we cross a creek and stuff, or canter down a trail without having to worry about hitting rocks?

Share your stories


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

All of my horse have really good feet. My mustangs and my percheron, I can lope them down a gravel road and they never miss a step unless there is an unusually large rock that they step on but they never limp and never have soreness after riding (in the feet anyway, only muscles LOL) My others, I have not ridden very much recently but I only ever had 1 horse go lame with me and that was from a stone bruise caused by chasing a stupid cow down a very rocky hill. Even him though, a few days and he was good as new.


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## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

Will his feet get more.. tough the more we ride on different footing?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yes, they will. Sometimes it takes a long time for them to adjust to the harsher footing and many people would advise you to get a protective boot like the easy boot or a boa. I believe that one reason that mine never really got sore is because I would alternate horses and seldom rode one for more than 2 days in a row. They would usually have at least 2 and sometimes 3 days off between rides.


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## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

If I got a protective boot though.. wouldn't that sort of prevent it from getting tougher?

Also, would Keratex help? Or does that harden in a different way?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

No, I think you only use the boots when the footing is much harsher than they have been on before or if you notice them starting to get sore. It is kinda like putting a band-aid on a blister and have it become a callous later.


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## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

Would Keratex help speed up the process of toughening his hooves or is it only temporary? I've been considering hoof boots but to be honest I really would much rather not have to deal with anything that could possibly come off.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

NeOn Zero, both my horses go barefoot, T for the last 9 years and Walka his whole life (he's 11 now). Never a lame day, never ouchy on any terrain. They are trimmed religiously, they hooves are tough as nails, never chip ect...

Now that T is 20, I'm considering getting some hoof boots for those special times that I feel she may benefit. I guess it's more for my ease of conscious (her comfort is primary to me), since she hasn't really indicated ever that she really needs them, but would be good to have in case.


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## orangetictac (Nov 4, 2008)

The only time I ever had a problem with Cope was when we first moved to South Carolina (last May). He'd always had shoes on his front feet because I rode him enough that the rocks would tear his hooves up if he went barefoot, but he never was ouchy from stone sores or anything. The time I had problems was for only a little bit after he'd gotten his hooves trimmed for the first time here. It's sandy here, and there aren't many rocks. I rode him about a half hour after the farrier was done trimming, and he was just a little ouchy crossing the gravel drive, but on the way back in from that ride we crossed it and he did fine. It really just depends on the horse and on how comfortable you are with pushing them a little to get them used to it.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Our kids have always been barefoot. The only time I've felt the need to boot them (not shoe) is in an area where the trail owners recommended shoes. We tried it barefoot and did fine, but I wouldn't have done it for very long. It was extreme rock riding and mountainous. The rocks were large and loose so they would move with every step. I don't think shoes would have been much help either. 
If you want to toughen up the feet, I suggest getting a load of rocks like what you plan on riding on and put it around their water tank. They will walk on them several times a day and "naturally" toughen up their feet.


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

My haflingers & my husband's draft cross can do just about anything barefoot. They have never had shoes on in their life - nor boots. We trot and canter down the trail and ride gravel roads all the time. Our pastures are pretty rocky too - so they pretty much trail ride on similar footing as they live on - which is important. You can't take a horse that lives 100% in a cushy rock-free pasture or cushy stall and expect it to be able to handle rocks. 

Now my paint on the other hand does get a little ouchy if we ride on a lot of rock, but if he can get a break once in a while on some grass he does just fine too. I don't think he will improve much more because he has also been barefoot his whole life and his feet are smaller vs body size than my haflingers.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Our mares are all barefoot and can go over just about anything without getting sore...they go everywhere the shod horses that I ride with go. Common driveway gravel (the sharp stuff that is 1 1/2 inch) that isn't packed is probably about the harshest stuff I've seen for horses, but they are never sore after even that.
I trim myself, but I've noticed that many trimmers/farriers like to take a lot of sole off the toe, and that can make many horses ouchy/sore.
They will toughen up over time and riding on asphalt roads will also help (and does a nice job of wearing their soles/hooves).


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

If they have time to adjust to new terrain, then yes their feet will toughen up. My new horse had shoes on when I got him, I pulled them and after a few weeks is is going fine. I do everything barefoot, even getting stock off the hills, which is super rocky. They go fine. The only time I use shoes is if they need them to prevent huge chips, but there aren't many horses like that. 

Horses run over all types of terrain in the wild, and don't have problems. As long as you keep him trimmed to prevent chips and cracks, he should be fine.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

I have some that are great barefoot but get sore on trails, others that need shoes for ANYTHING (TB...lol), and my Arab that is great barefoot, on trails, cantering on gravel, no issues. I'm taking him camping in the Adirondacks this summer and I'll pack boots just in case but he'll be bare for that too. I use Boa Boots when I need - I LOVE them. They stay on well, the gaiters are great in case they chafe, and they will go through any terrain that I've been on - even in water through deep streams and in ponds and stayed on. I think for the money they are the best boot out there. Keratex also can help as well as my farrier said rubbing corona ointment into the coronay band is also supposed to help the hoof growth but I've never tried it. I have used the Kertatex with good results though.


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## bilyeuamber (Mar 2, 2009)

All 8 of my horses are barefoot and their feet are solid as the rocks that they climb! My horses had a little bit of soreness when I got their shoes pulled. It takes a little bit of time for them to get used to not having shoes but it is much better for them. My horses have no problem on rocks now. I can climb rocks uphill on trails, run them on gravel... whatever you can think of, they do. Their hooves are nice and strong and very healthy! Hope you keep your horse barefoot.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

The horses I had were just fine barefoot, never had any trouble other than a mysterious stone bruise that was just fine in a couple days (no abscess or blowout) that happened _in_ the pasture.

As far as the title of this thread, I was ready to respond with how* I* do barefoot... :lol: I can walk down my gravel driveway and run through the yard!!! hahaha :wink:


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I am entering my 4th summer with no shoes on my horses. My 6 year old gelding and his 5 year old sister have never had shoes. The other gelding and mare both had shoes on for 6-7 months a year for 5-6 years before I pulled them.

My horses can travel ANY trail for one day. But if I try to do too many days in a row, they get ouchie. I ride long hard trails. With as nasty of rocks as anybody. A trail ride for me is easily 20 miles.

There are several factors that make a barefoot horse's feet sore.
Triming. They need to be trimmed frequently. It's like your fingernail. If they get long, you have a tendancy to get dirt packed under the nail, the weight of a horse can really pack dirt into the whiteline groove and it begins to seperate and flare the lamina. This is painful to the horse. If you keept he hooves trimmed short, You will have less problems with this. I usually trim every 2-3 weeks.

The second factor is the thickness and toughness of the sole. Do not trim the sole of a barefoot horse. Let it caulous and thicken.. Also if you can get your horse to spend some time each day on gravel, it will help toughen the sole. My horses stand in a corral that has great dirt in it and no rocks. I've refused to haul gravel in, since I compost my manure and use it in my garden and don't want to have rocks showing up in my excellent garden soil. and hence my horses just don't seem to get to that final stage where they can go day in and day out barefoot. If you will haul in some gravel and have your horses stand on it each day, It'll do wonders for their feet.

So if I go for a Saturday ride, we go barefoot. If we stay for 3-5 days and ride every day, I take some boots or other protection for their feet. I've used some of the SoleGuard by Vettec. It has stayed in my horses feet for 2 weeks, ( the company suggest it will stay 3 weeks if installed correctly) And it has provided excellent protection to my two mares. It's a little pricing and not real easy for a novice to put on the soles by themselves.

I have many friends who also go barefoot. All of the pictures below are barefoot horses. And they do great.


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## southerncowgirl93 (Feb 5, 2009)

the horse i've got now has been barefoot her whole life. she's an app and they have tough feet. she's pretty good unless she gets a big rock like on her frog or something.


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## happygoose123 (Jan 19, 2009)

her hooves will get tougher over time. My horses are bare foot and i can canter them down a gravel road without any problem. But if i dont ride them for a while or dont ride them on tough surfaces for a while their feet get softer and they go ouchy ouchy when you walk on gravel. Just keep riding her on the gravel but not too much so she gets sore feet, jsut enough to get them tougher. She wont blink an eye at the rocks after a while. How long it would take, i cant say. Its different for every horse. Might take a week or it might take a month. It also depends on how often you ride her.


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## Tazmanian Devil (Oct 11, 2008)

Count me as another one that has no problems barefoot - with two horses at least. 

One horse has very good feet. The trimmer believes he was raised barefoot although he came to me with shoes. I pulled the shoes about two weeks after getting him. He was ouchy on gravel for about the first two weeks or so. After that he toughened right up.

If he is not ridden for a few weeks and spends most of that time in a stall/paddock (i.e. not much movement on varied terrain) he seems a little ouchy on gravel. It takes less than a week to get him back in "shape." When ridden regularly, he can take virtually any terrain at any gait. I have loped on gravel without any problem. Granted, I don't have the beautiful rocky terrain shown in a previous post, but we do have some very rocky and gravely areas.

The other side of the coin is my other horse. We tried to take him barefoot. After about a year we gave up. His backs are barefoot, but the fronts just couldn't handle it. Keratex, hoof boots, different transition methods - he was always ouchy on rough terrain and didn't perform his best even in the ring. I still "believe" in barefoot, but after a year I can easily see how much more comfortable and happy this particular horse is in front shoes. No more "tiptoeing" no more abcesses.

To answer your original question - yes, a horse can do just about anything barefoot (just about, because you can always argue that you need sliders for a competitive reining stop, etc.). However, not every horse will be able to do everything barefoot. Some horses will also take right to it - others will need more time to transition. Some will need Keratex and/or boots to help the transition.

It also has to be practical for both owner and horse. The horse may be able to handle it after a several week, several month transition. However, if your thing is competitive trail riding then a transition period may not be practical for you right now since the "season" is starting.

Also remember that mileage plays a role in the decision. If your horse does many miles on pavement or sand for example, the wear on the hoof may exceed the growth. (I once did a 15 mile ride on a hard sandy trail and basically got a free hoof trim out of it). In that case, shoes or boots are necessary. I don't expect many people are in that situation, but it is something to consider.


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## Zab (Oct 4, 2008)

It's very individual what they can do and adapt to. I kept Crow barefoot for a long while on various grounds, but when I started riding him more I had to shoe him. He didn't get sore by the ground, but he wore his hooves down to the point that made him a bit sore. I didn't feel there was much point in trying to make his hooves adapt to the surface we ride on since he had been barefoot for years already. I like barefoot when it's possible tho.

Our draft has bad feet, if he goes barefoot he'll get sore on grass even. He's good with shoes tho.

Remember to pay attention to your horses feet even more if they're barefoot, especially before you know how much he can do. The hooves adapt some to the ground they walk on, but they can only do it so much and it takes time. So shoe him before he gets sore, if you notice that he wears the hooves down way more than they can grow, and be careful about how much pain he has to go through in order to toughen his hooves up on rough ground.. it's ok to some degree but not too much. 

I know barefoot horses tht can do anything a shoed horse can, plus they don't slip on concrete as easily.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Everything. He's been barefoot all his life. We did our medieval gaming and swordfighting shows, he goes on the trail we do horse soccer now.

We have some horses where I board that can't walk across the parking lot barefoot. It just depends on the horse.


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

My TB needs front shoes, he wears his hooves down not even being ridden (he's very active and has not-so-hard hooves I guess), but even barefoot he's not ouchy. None of my others wear shoes. I ride over some SUPER rough and rocky ground, and my driveway is gravel. No problems for my horses  I show (h/j and/or driving) barefoot, as well.


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## Trails (Jan 28, 2009)

We've always kept ours (TWH gelding and a Standard/QTR cross) barefoot. We've never had a problem with stone bruises or anything of that nature. Granted our terrain in OH was much different than what Painted Horses shows above. 

Here's a link to some typical southern Ohio terrain pics
Paint Creek - scroll down the page and if you hover your cursur over the map points you'll see what we rode in.

Cheers


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## Cowboys girl (Mar 13, 2009)

my horse has never been shooed, i ride on gravle a LOT... we live on a gravle rode, and soon her hooves jst stoped hurting her... but i do have 4 other horses and they cant ride without shoes cauze there WIMPS!!! lol.


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## ruger (Mar 9, 2009)

the only horses that i had trouble with without shoes, are tennesee walkers, do fine on very long trail rides, ride about 5 miles down blacktop and their rear hooves will wear into the sole mainly at the heel, reason twers slide their back feet, they dont get sore but its not a good idea to ride more than a couple of miles on pavement, as for normally gaited horses have some that can be rode 20miles a week on pavement, wouldnt want to ride that far in one day, the only part of the hoof that wears on pavement on a normal horse is the toe will start wearing into the sole.


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## shmurmer4 (Dec 27, 2008)

anything...

Well, I wouldnt ask any of them to walk across hot coals?


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I've been thinking about this very thing for some time and following this thread.

Bobo is coming 12 and has always had on front shoes at least but I was planning on trying him barefoot. He is due in a week - any advise on what my farrier should be doing?


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> I've been thinking about this very thing for some time and following this thread.
> 
> Bobo is coming 12 and has always had on front shoes at least but I was planning on trying him barefoot. He is due in a week - any advise on what my farrier should be doing?


I would suggest not trimming (or very little) the soles at the start, especially at the toe. That's the biggest problem I've seen in the past.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Don't touch the soles.

Only trim the parts of the frog that have layed over where bacteria can be 
trapped.

Do trim the bars down just slightly lower than the hoof wall.

Trim any flares off the hoof wall. Make sure the hoof wall trimed short. give the hoof wall a good Mustang Roll. 

If you are going to go Barefoot, YOU WILL need to trim more often than you did with shoes. I take a rasp to my guys every 2-3 weeks. Of course if you ride a lot on hard terrain, your horses may self trim from the natural abrasion.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Thanks PH, I'll pass that along to my farrier. Any other advise or suggestions?


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

For starters you might want to ask your farrier if he is open to what may be a big change in how he trims a hoof he isn't going to shoe. Not all farriers are willing. If he is, ask him if he would be willing to look at some barefoot trim sites online. Discuss with him what you are wanting and not wanting done. I had a farrier who was willing but just couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the fact that she was rasping sole as she rasped down the hoofwall. Horse was way tender. 

My trimmer is Barefoothooves here on this forum. Check out her site for some great content and links to other barefoot sites.


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

My draft and Thoroughbred have always been barefoot. I'm probably going to have Victor shod for showing and jumping this summer, though. But he does have really hard hooves for a TB. He's a little ouchy on gravel, but other than that he's fine. Norman, on the other hand, can walk over just about anything and it won't phase him.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

My farrier was out last Thursday and did a barefoot trim/mustang roll. I let Bo alone for a few days to get him used to it in the pasture then took him for a short ride on Sunday.

My driveway is well packed gravel and I rode him on and off the side then across the blacktop street into the woods. We were out for only about an hour and he did fine. He's got tough feet and was always barerfoot in the rear (at least for as long as I've owned him and when he got to me as well).

Thanks for the advise!


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

Awesome!


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## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

all my horses are, and always have been barefoot. They will walk through gravel, water, sand, stone, on pavement, you name it. It may be the trim that's the problem.


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## Rissa (Feb 10, 2009)

I should just google this...

BUT.

Mustang roll?


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

It's a method of trimming the hoof: mustang_roll


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## dynamite. (Jun 21, 2008)

My horse has been barefoot her whole life. We don't do any intense trails, but there are stones uneven ground where we ride.


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## Cowgurl060405 (Jun 7, 2009)

All three of mine are barefoot. I prefer it that way, unless they are showing and have to be shod. I do put easyboots on them if we go on a lot of gravel or something, but in general they do fine and their hooves are very healthy.


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