Going from shoes to barefoot

[alove4horses]

Hi there,

Does anyone have any experience going from shod to barefoot? My horse has had 4 shoes the entire time I have owned him but I think his feet are contracted and I have heard that going barefoot can help this.

thank you,

[peppysan]

My QH is 100% barefoot and is sound on just about any terrain. I say give barefoot a shot. There might be a bit of a transition period while your horse adjusts to barefoot, but if you are willing to be a bit patient then I do think barefoot is better for the horse in the long run. I see a lot more hoof issues in horses that are fully shod.

[horse99]

There is nothing wrong with going barefoot for a while, but it sounds like you need a new farrier that won't contract the feet.

[joanpeterson]

I agree with horse99. You need a good farrier. Ask around your area and see who others are using. If someone knows of a good farrier out of your area, consider hauling your horse to the farrier.

Most horses will adjust well to being unshod and will go through a brief period of adjustment while they harden up to being in direct contact with the ground. But it normally does not pose any real problems.

The old saying is 'no hoof, no horse', so you definitely want to stay on top of his hoof problems.

[alove4horses]

Thank you for the responses.

Update:

So I decided to pull the shoes for winter and see what happens as I figure if I am going to do it, now is the time. I found a really good barefoot trimmer that is slowly getting his feet back on track. At first he was really ouchy and then he abcessed, but he is getting better day by day. His feet were indeed contracted. What a process. If I do put the shoes back on I will for sure find a different farrier. I am hoping that by spring his feet will have adjusted and I can just stay barefoot after all this.