# Are shoes necessary?



## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I can't say if shoes should be necessary without knowing your horse and seeing the trails for myself, but I can say that boots have worked for a number of horses I know. Some people do 35 miles a day in rocky, muddy conditions with just boots. Sometimes the boots came off, but with the addition of straps that problem was minimized (our association didn't allow the straps to be used until this year).

Boots are especially good if you're only going to need them for trails a few times a week. I thought of investing in boots for my mare since we only need shoes when we go out of state. 

Also, easyboots are sold individually. I'm a fan of easy boot epics.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

It depends on many things....

What are you planning to do with your horse? Are ALL the places you plan to ride soft and easy footing?

What kind of feet does your horse have? Large and tough? Flay and shelly? Some feet can do well barefoot....other not at all.

What discipline do you ride? Some are very demanding on the foot.

So, we cannot answer whether YOUR horse can go barefoot without know more detail. In my experience, shoeing requires little more than good trimming as far as obedience goes.


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## coffeegod (May 6, 2011)

I'd try pleading your case to the BO. All you can do it try it once and see how Aries does. Tough hooves must be a draft thing. The farrier was impressed with Hugo's dinner plates when he trimmed them last night.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Allison Finch said:


> It depends on many things....
> 
> What are you planning to do with your horse? Are ALL the places you plan to ride soft and easy footing?
> 
> ...


Right now, we're just going to be trail riding and doing arena work. There is only one trail that has soft, easy footing and we might be losing access to that trail (if we had access to that trail, I wouldn't be asking if he has to have shoes).

Aires feet are definitely large and tough. Our farrier commented on how good his feet are and that he'd do well barefoot.

As I said, right now, we'll just be doing trail riding and arena work. Aires is in the process of being broke right now, so we're not going to be doing anything heavy duty for a while. Eventually, I want to do hunter, maybe XC (he has the stamina for it), and anything else we can do. He will always be a trail horse as well, though.

As for shoeing verses trimming and the obedience required. Aires was basically untouched for a year and a half before I got him. He has a distinct dislike for men (our farrier is a man and the only way he tolerated him was if the farrier slid in behind me while I was scratching Aires' shoulder...once the farrier got a hold of his hoof, he was fine) that we don't know where it stems from. There are only two men that he tolerates/likes. One is our BO and the other is another boarder who has a distinct way with horses. Aires hadn't had his feet touched in at least a year.


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## Oakley Eastern Miss (Aug 10, 2010)

I don't have shoes on my arab-x mares backfeet, she hasnt had them for years and never had them when I got her. But her feet are brilliant and always have been (touch wood!!), they don't crack at all and i'm really lucky with her as she doesn't seem fussed in terms of being picky where she walks either.

It really does depend on the horse, some horses naturally just have poorer feet than others - my friends horse goes lame straight away if he loses a shoe. Suppose there is only one way you are going to find out.


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## heartprints62 (Feb 27, 2010)

Shoes really depend on the horse. I personally don't think it's wise of the BO to require it for outside horses. I have a paint gelding that has never had a shoe near his feet and I have ridden him threw rocky mountain trails, canyons, and sheet rock/lime stone creek beds. He's never missed a step! However on the same note, my mare has great hard, black feet for most trail riding but when I tried to ride her in shoes (for a really, really rocky trail), she sliped on and tried to jump over rocks. It would have been better to leave her barefoot so that she would of paid attention to her feet and placement instead of freaking out from slipping and then trying to jump. 
I say that to say, if the BO only enforces that rule for the safety of rider and horse, and IF you KNOW that your horse can handle the trails barefoot, then he should listed to you and allow you to ride sans shoes. 

IMO, the boots aren't worth the money. On a hard trail, they tear up and fall off. They have been such a pain in my experience with them.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> However, in order to go up the trails on Granite Mountain, I've been told by other boarders that our BO *requires* that the horses be shod.


Before you get yourself all worked up about shoes or no shoes on your horse why not simply ask the BO if there really is such a requirement?

That discussion might lead you to either find out that the barn owner does not require shoes or that the barn owner has a very good reason why they think shoes are a must have on this trail.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I think I'm going to talk to the BO. I know that all his horses are shod and they all go up Granite Mountain. It was my friend (who owns two arabs, one of which HAS to be shod or he goes "lame" and the other who started getting rocks jammed up in her soles from the trail, but she has fairly soft soles) who told me that the BO requires all horses to be shod to go up the mountain. We're not on trails yet (Aires has only had one ride on him as for yet), but I'd like to try the trail at least once without shoes before deciding to go shod or not.

Yeah, I'm going to do that today, AlwaysBehind. It's not that I'm getting worked up about it...it's just that I am trying to figure out expenses and such (monthly budget planning and all that). I would like to be prepared for the cost of shoes ($70 for fronts with our farrier) if they are required.


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## coffeegod (May 6, 2011)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> As for shoeing verses trimming and the obedience required. Aires was basically untouched for a year and a half before I got him. He has a distinct dislike for men (our farrier is a man and the only way he tolerated him was if the farrier slid in behind me while I was scratching Aires' shoulder...once the farrier got a hold of his hoof, he was fine) that we don't know where it stems from. There are only two men that he tolerates/likes. One is our BO and the other is another boarder who has a distinct way with horses. Aires hadn't had his feet touched in at least a year.


Hugo has hoof issues as well. The farrier had a bit of a struggle last night but thanks to a one quart container of apple bits and carrots, a small bucket of carrot horse bars and a stack of ritz crackers, he actually picked his hoof up for the farrier towards the end.

Keep working on Aries. He will get there for you. After all, he LUVS you. :wink:


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

He was actually REALLY good once the farrier got his hoof up and picked it up with no resistance at all when asked. It was the farrier approaching him that caused the problems. I got there a wee bit later than I had wanted to (and the farrier was early lol) and my friend tried to halter Aires and bring the farrier into his stall so that the farrier could do his feet in the stall (somewhere that Aires was comfortable). Apparently right before I got there, the farrier tried to go in the stall and Aires actually reared up and almost hit his head on his shade. 

My friend brought over some of her apple/carrot treats (which Aires loves), and they helped distract him from the farrier, but I don't like giving Aires treats like that because he's lippy anyway and he gets VERY pushy if you give him treats. 

I've had just about every man at the stable try to approach Aires and he completely freaks out (even with me standing there trying to keep him calm) any time one of them approaches him. I seriously don't know what his deal is. He has NEVER been abused or anything. 

However, that's all beside the point. lol I'm going to ask the BO today if he really does require every horse to be shod in order to go up the mountain.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

There is a charity ride near me that requires shoes or boots. I will always go the boots - I'm not going to bang shoes on for one ride then have them pulled because I don't need them then wait for the nail holes to grow out. I just put boots on, and off they come after the ride.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I quit shoeing my horses 12-13yrs ago, my horse shoer is the on getting me into the natural hoof. It did take my 7yr old about a year for his feet to toughen up but my 3yr old who had only a single set of shoes on took to it like a duck to water. 

I've ridden over all sorts of really rough terrain barefoot and the horses have come out the other side fine. The only thing they don't like barefoot is gravel roads. For that, a pair of boots for their front feet does wonders. Just keep a pair strapped to the saddle and put them if needed (just like a set of chains in the car).


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

How did the talk with the BO go?


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

I use boots, there are different styles so you need to study the easyboot site well to figure out what would be best for your horse. I boot for trails that are rocky for the horses that need it. They go barefoot on the barely rocky trails. 

You might have the men who are around feed your horse from a bucket. You do need to address this issue as there will be men around at some point and you don't want anyone to be harmed.. If you can get the guy your horse likes best to help with this it would be great.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

I don't like putting shoes on my horses. I had one mare back in '08 that I put shoes on, but it was corrective. She was walking on her soles. All my others have been barefoot and happy.

I don't like the way shoes constrict the hoof. I don't know very much about hooves, but the difference between my mustang mare's never-been-touched-by-shoes hooves & the QH horses that have had shoes on forever is very apparent. I have a good farrier (he worked the WEG) and he does a great job on her hooves.

If you're taking a walk on gravel every day though, I think boots would be best, since horses can still get stone bruised regardless of whether their wearing shoes or not.


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

We are strictly barefoot. We ride everything from dirt to rocks to sand to gravel. The only place Mr. Big doesn't like is a gravel road where the gravel is sitting on hard pack--that's the worst condition possible! But on rocky trails where it's just big rocks he's walking on, not problem.

In a week I'm taking him into the Wilderness Area in Central Idaho for a week and I've been told it's a very rocky area. I'll have boots for him, if needed, but only for his fronts. Earlier this week was the first time I've had to boot him in months--because of a gravel road, not anything on the trails I was riding.

Also keep in mind that not shoeing doesn't mean less expense. Someone still have to trim his/her feet regularly. We trim monthly, more or less. I think most people shoe every couple of months. The Mrs does the trimming for our horses with me sometimes helping but mostly me staying out of the way!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

If shoes are required, it might be that the trail is extremely hard on bare feet. I have never been anywhere that shoes were required. If the trail is really rocky, it could damage your horse's hooves if you do it barefoot.


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

All 3 of my horses are barefoot, my arab/quarter(had him 13 years and only wore shoes for a short while, hasn't had them in years) an appaloosa who I got last june, he had a full set of shoes when I got him which i had pulled as soon as our farrier could come out, he is sound even on driveway gravel, and *gasp* a thoroughbred lol I got her last may and she came with front shoes which I had pulled the next day(good timing) She was 100% sound on everything until I moved her to a boarding stable and had a farrier who they used trim her, she's not very tender footed and I have to boot her for riding anywhere other then the indoor arena :-(.
As long as you have a trimmer/farrier that knows how to trim a barefoot horse you shouldn't need shoes at all. If his foot shape isn't great from not being done a lot you may have to wait to get boots as they don't fit odd shaped hooves. I used the easyboot epics, it cost me 125 for both fronts. It does take some getting used to getting them on and taking them off but i'm getting the hang of it, i've only used them 6 times  I hope that your BO doesn't require shoes, that is just crazy!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Alwaysbehind said:


> How did the talk with the BO go?


Sorry...completely forgot about this thread! lol

I talked to the BO and he said that it's NOT required, but he does generally recommend it for most horses. However, with as hard as Aires' feet are, he doesn't think we'll have any problems at all. He wasn't sure where my friend got that shoes are required by him to go up the mountain. I know she put shoes on her arab mare after her mare kept getting rocks stuck up in her bars (made her bleed at one point), but even the farrier said her mare has relatively soft feet for an arab.


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## AdventureRide (Aug 14, 2011)

I agree that shoeing requires little more than good trimming as far as obedience goes. On a hard trails, they really can tear up and fall off.


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## christabelle (Feb 13, 2011)

I like boots way better than nail on shoes. I ride endurance, and easy boots have held up to even the tevis cup. I don't know if a draft would have fitment issues with the boots though. They have some monster feet, lol.


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

I just got back from a week in the Gospel Hump Wilderness Area riding mostly very, very, rocky trails. Think gravel size to sofa size rocks. Ups and downs comparable to climbing onto a picnic table bench then onto the table, or vise versa. Washed out steep trails covered with loose rock. You get the idea, I think.

Mr. Big is barefoot and did fine. On the fourth day I could tell he was a bit sore footed, but not bad. He had no cracking nor serious chipping of the hoof walls.

I used Easy Boot Epics the first day and a half and for a few minutes on the fourth day. Halfway into the second day he stumbled/fell down a ledge (the guy behind me was sure he'd broken a let but he was fine) and lost a boot so I took them off.

On day four I put boots on shortly after lunch. He kept losing one of them in some bogs we had to cross. Up to this point the "lost" boots were held on by the gaiters. But as we were going over/around some down trees in the trail he lost his boot again--and the gaiter tore out and the boot was gone. No telling where. (Happy ending: some other trail users found the boot and returned it to us at camp that night! I was more concerned about "littering" than losing the boot so I'm glad they returned it!)

The boot that kept coming off in the bog was brand new and I think the cable was too long, perhaps--we ended up crossing them to tighten them and the boot still came off and got lost. 

I now have three Epics with trashed gaiters. I like the boots--but I do have trouble with them coming off, sometimes. I'm thinking about designing my own gaiters that will keep the boots from getting lost if they come off. 

Part of the problem is his feet are a bit wide which means it's hard to get a good fit for him. But ALL our horses have wide feet so it seems to be a common problem. Perhaps, someday, there'll be a boot that actually fits horses with less than perfectly shaped feet. Perhaps. Someday. Maybe. Sigh.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

SailorGriz said:


> Part of the problem is his feet are a bit wide which means it's hard to get a good fit for him. But ALL our horses have wide feet so it seems to be a common problem. Perhaps, someday, there'll be a boot that actually fits horses with less than perfectly shaped feet. Perhaps. Someday. Maybe. Sigh.


I think wide feet come with going barefoot. My horses hoofs grew a couple sizes after I quit shoeing. My farrier said that happened to all the horses he stopped shoeing.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

I'll never understand places requiring shoes. My horses have always been unshod (the ones I had from youth never saw shoe). Use to take off on long weekends and did 30+ miles a day with my AQH back in the 70's. Paved road, gravel, rocks, grass, dirt, mud, even swam swollen streams at times. Had everyone telling me that I was going to ruin their feet and have problems, because I didn't shoe them. Never had a foot problem or a lame day in their life. The vet finally admitted that my horses feet were as good as the best in the county.

Today it's accepted by most of the medical community that shoeless is better for the horse. Ok, so you might need to toughen them up, but since your mount has already reached that point it seems pretty stupid (if not unhealthy) to require you to put shoes on him.

I'd tell the "powers that be" to get a better education horse foot health.

(ok, I'm off my soapbox ) )


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I'm fed up with boots and barefoot. Two of my horses have never had shoes until this summer ( they are 7 & 6 yo) I been a major source of income for Easyboot. Just as Salior Griz comments, I tear gaiters every trip and loose the the occassional boot. I started with Easyboots plain, then bought EPICs, then bought BARES and now have the Gloves. They work just fine, but they are too expensive to keep repairing and replacing. With four horses, I'm usually end up being the one that has to go around and put 16 boots on and take 16 boots off. It takes too much time every ride.

Since I committed to going barefoot 5 years ago, I've learned to trim my own horses feet. Got too expensive to have the trimmer out every 2-3 weeks to trim. So he taught me how and I'm thankful for the knowledge. That first year we alternated trimings, I would trim and 2 weeks later he would trim and critc my trim. I learned a lot and feel comfortable with trimming.

I could ride my bare foot horses on any trail for a day. The problem was I couldn't ride them 2-3-4 days straight, It really depends on the type of rocks. This past memorial day I decided I had had enough. We went down to ride the area around Bryce Canyon. Horses did great the first day, Half way through the second day, they were getting tender footed and by the end of the day, They all needed their boots. I destroyed numerous gaiters and lost one boot on the next day. The decision was made, If my horses can not go barefoot all the time, I would rather put shoes on than keep messing with boots. It was just costing me too much in repairs, replacements and time. Too often I have friends, guest, and other non-horsey people on my horses, So the chores are all mine.

I put shoes on all my horses the 1st of July. With my experience in trimming, I decided I would try shoeing. Had my old farrier come out and check my work, He said I did great. Shoes all stayed on and I just pulled them last week and will be reshoeing them next week for the fall hunting season. I bought 16 shoes for less than what one gaiter cost to replace. I spent 2 hours shoeing the horses, But that was less time than what I would have spent over 7-8 weeks of putting on and taking off boots. And it was time spent back at the house vs putting boots on while I have people standing around wanted to get on and ride. 

My horses will still spend 8 months a year barefoot. But for the hardest riding part of the year, They will now wear shoes.

This is what my boots looked like after a weekend at Bryce

















And this is what we were riding across. The rocks around Bryce are very angular and sharp vs be round and worn.








I found it's not the big rocks that are the problem but the smaller ones 









Here are some pictures of my horses when they were barefoot riding through some rocky areas like sailorgriz describes above


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I keep shoes on my horses that actually get ridden. I also got tired of lost boots, cracked hooves, stone bruises. It is WAY less trouble to put shoes on and forget it for 6 weeks or so.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

IF your horses have feet that don't do well barefoot :]

My horses are barefoot and I just forget about them - And no chance of lost shoes. Never had a stone bruise in 11+ years, no cracked hooves, have a pair of hoof boots just in case but never used them :]

Definitely the easiest way for me!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Talked to the farrier again a couple of weeks ago when he came out to shoe my friend's mare. He looked at Aires' feet again (just to get Aires more used to the farrier...we're still having issues with him liking most men) and was amazed that they hadn't grown very much and they hadn't really chipped at all. He doesn't think we'll need shoes, but he said the only way to find out is to try him on the rougher trails. So, as soon as we get our stopping issues worked out, we're gonna try the trails.


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