# Riding on the road without shoes



## SophieLee (Jan 7, 2010)

Hey question here.
My horse i recently bought came with 2 front shoes because they road him on the road. He recently threw a shoe a few days ago and im thinking: Should i get the other one off or should i get the thrown shoe back on/get him reshod? 
But the real question i want the answer to is: Is it OKAY to CROSS the road without shoes? Because when i ride on the road, im always on the side of the road. Im never on the road unless im crossing. No trotting along it or anything. Thats too dangerous, specially round here.
So yeah, is it okay to ride on road without shoes?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

To me, it really depends on what kind of road and how the horse's feet are. Is it a paved road, gravel, or dirt? If gravel, what size are the stones? Are the horse's feet relatively hard? 

Generally, as long as the feet aren't really soft or suffering from some other issue, then crossing a road shouldn't be any problem. If there are big rocks, you might pick your way a little more carefully but walking across or even along the road shouldn't cause a problem at all. If you notice him being especially sensitive or limping when you are walking along the road, then you can think about having him re-shod.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Hello SophieLee, yes I agree with what Smrobs wrote. It will depend on the individual horse and their particular hoof situation. Most horses have no problem with pavement, but if there are any gravel or pebbles (here in Maine there is always both because of sanding in the winter months) that could cause ouchy reactions for some. 

Both mine are barefoot and will go over any type of terrain without any problems. A friends horses will be fine on pavement, but any gravel or pebbles and they are practically stumbling from the discomfort. They require hoof boots or shoes.


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

Yes it is perfectly ok to ride on or along side of a road without shoes. I do it all the time. For the horse who is tender on any surface I do put Boa boots on them with a pad inside as needed. Any hoof boot that works for your horse is great. IF you are only crossing roads and otherwise your horse is doing fine on the main surface you ride on then you don't need shoes or boots. Just let them pick their way or take their time if needed as they cross.


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## QHDragon (Mar 6, 2009)

It depends on the horse's foot. I do a lot of road riding. On my QH gelding and my QH mare I got shoes put on because they had flatter feet and would get ouchy on the road. With my current horse he has much more of a natural cup to his foot and really good hard feet, he has yet to show any discomfort while riding on the road so I probably won't get him shod. 

However, the road that I ride on is dirt and I always only walk.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Regardless of what you decide you need to have your horses feet trimmed every six to eight weeks. If a shoe came off you should have the other taken off or both of them replaced ASAP. 

It's fine to walk across a road without shoes.


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

My gelding is barefoot and i do nothing but ride down an along back roads...about 80% of what i ride is gravel roads. My gelding has no problem where he be in the ditch or on the road. He does prefer pavement to gravel (prob cause there arent those little stones that suddenly end up under your hoof when you zone out looking across the road at the neighbors pony lol) but he rides sound on both and hes never had a stone bruise and i have to ride on the roads at points because there isnt a big enough ditch to ride in.

If all you are doing is crossing roads you shouldnt have any issues what so ever...i would just make sure you resolve the situation asap so your horses fronts dont become unbalanced from having one shoe an no shoe.


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## SophieLee (Jan 7, 2010)

Thanks guys. That helped alot. Yes i alreasy have the farrier coming.


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