Shoe or Barefoot

[lonepaz789]

Do you to keep your horses barefoot or to have them shod?


Lilly will be getting her first set of shoes this weekend.
She is going to be getting a lot more saddle time soon so she will need them.

I will approach the subject with Serra and Dee Dee after they go through training.

[sunnyks]

There's a couple kinds of barefoot.  There's the folks that go with a farrier that specializes in barefoot and have a real strict trimming routine.  Then there are folks that keep them barefoot and use a regular farrier.  Then there are folks that keep them in shoes 24/7 no matter how much use they are getting. Sometimes with just a front set and sometimes with a full set. Then there are folks like me that tailor it to the horse.  I always try to keep them barefoot using a regular farrier.  Then depending on the individual horse's feet and how much use they are getting I might put shoes on if they really need it.

[Wildcat]

Mine are barefoot all the time.  They don't get much use, but Matt has taken Thor out for day long trail rides without any trouble.

[Faceman]

I never shoe mine - I have gravelly type shale soil, so they have reasonably tough feet, and my trails are the same - not real rocky. The only time I would shoe them would be if I took them into the mountains on really rocky terrain or if one developed some type of problem, of course...