I keep shoes on my horse all the time...We ride regularly and a lot of our riding around here involves rock logging roads...If you want to get there,logging roads are it...

Now maybe I hear feet need a rest every now and then and a horse needs to be barefoot some..

So am I creating a problem down the road??? I plan on talking to my farrier about it at the next shoeing and was wondering on your thoughts???

Yes ... shoes year-round lead to plenty of pathology ... but mostly heel contraction.

Many people don't think their horse can go barefoot, as when the shoes are removed, the horse is tender. This is not because the horse has bad feet ... it's because the sole is too thin, and usually because the digital cushion and lateral cartilages have atrophied due to the shoes.

Most farrier texts support a long shoe-free (barefoot) time. The barefoot crowd supports it as well. It's the one thing they all agree on.

If you ride in rough rocky country you need shoes on a horse, end of story or you will be afoot...

I normally jerk the shoes off my horses during the cold months when snow is on the ground as snow sticks to metal and the snow balls up in the foot and that also will cripple horses..I leave the shoes off for 30 to 45 days each year, I may ride them barefooted some to rope steers in an indoor arena with a good dirt floor, but I still keep an eye on them as to chipping up.

Hoof care is very important and shoe will contract the heels if your not diligent about it.

Nature created a horse to go barefooted, but not to pack a 200 lb. man at a dead run and go barefooted..thats a whole nuther ballgame, thus the invention of the shoe.

There are some horses that can be ridden barefooted and have very hard feet, but they are rare even in Mustangs..Some mustangs I have seen had horrible feet.

Anybody use them new fangled 'boots', that you clamp or velcro on? I have been seeing more about not using shoes on horses. Am not sure what to think...any opinions...?

LeRoy

Mr. Atkinson better not look at the Tevis Cup riders, many of which run barefoot over a 100 mile mountain course -- with a rider, of course.

The key to barefooting is proper sole build-up and a concave trimming -- neither of which is possible in his 45 days/year of barefooting. Such a recently-shod horse will ALWAYS be tenderfooted, due to inadequate sole ... but very few horses are incapable of building that up.

I don't want to turn this in to a shod-vs-barefoot thread, though.

"Boots" that you refer to like Easy Boots are useful in several instances: For the first 4 months after being shod to develop that sole I talked about above, or when travelling to a region where the soil is different, like Ohio-to-Wyoming. (Many Wyoming horses, though, with adequate sole for the region, do fine barefoot, with riders.)

Boots are also useful to have if you lose a shoe in the back-country. Slap a boot on, and you can make it home. We've always carried them for that purpose on our shod animals.

Thats fine and to each his own..but it's time to raise the banner..

I have been using iron shoes for 60 years or so I suppose. I have never had contracted heels on a horse I own..I trim and shoe regularly, and I pull the shoes for 30 to 45 days in the winter...

Once you trim a foot your toast for hard feet fromt that day on..For years my mules went unshod until I found out how much better they were with a set of shoes on them. They lasted longer without getting tender and they got around better except in slick rock country..

I keep all my rope horses shod and wouldn't consider trying to team rope in a pair of boots, that would be a death wish.

That's just my opinnion but Easy Boots just don't have a place in my agenda, I am sure they work in some disaplines, but I don't know any cowboys on working ranches that have any use for them..

Shoes are fine ... but the question was about boots.

Boots can be used over long distances -- 100 mile races in the Rockies; I can't imagine much more punishment. They have advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that they are pretty darn easy to replace in the backcountry, unless you happen do be a farrier.

The advantage of shoes is that (as long as they stay on) they are out-of-sight, out-of-mind. The downside is that it takes a skilled farrier to do it well, and it takes good stock. Laminitis and Navicular are not seen in barefoot stock, by-and-large.

There are no people like horse-people for getting stuck in ruts and doing something because that's how dad/cowboys/dressage riders/the latest holistic nutjob did it.

And, Mr. Atkinson, I mean no disrespect when I say that you prove that last point well. In fact, as long as whatever you're doing is working for your animals, I admire your "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"-attitude.

That said, it ain't working for quite a few of us, or our animals.

I should say that the boots have disadvantages as well. Obviously, although well-fit boots do very well, they're not nailed-on.

But as far as durability, they do very well, much better than you'd imagine.

And if done correctly, with the correct trim, they won't be needed at all, on any terrain (even Mr. Atkinson's). The trouble there is that there are few who know how to trim that way. A "pasture trim" is not a "barefoot trim." Therefore, it's no wonder that those who have tried it as such have seen their animal fail.

Hey, I'm not telling anyone what works for THEIR stock. When you read about this stuff, it's easy to fall back on shoes (IF you haven't had trouble with them.) There are a lot of very strange people out there with barefoot horses, treeless saddles, and bitless bridles. They're the ones with horse chiropractors, homeopathy practictioners, and so on. BEWARE.

But also, read Teskey (he's a cowboy from the southwest, by the way -- kinda rough soil down there, you know) and Bowker (from Michigan State University.) These DVMs have so actual, you know, common sense on the subject.

Or if you really want a neutral voice, Dr. Roomey of "The Lame Horse" fame will tell it like it is -- not anecdotally, like me and Mr. Atkinson.

And I would bet that'd be a lot more "common sense" approach.

Where I work cattle, its rough but more importantly its big and a long walk home, so I dont' need a barefooted horse..I don't go barefooted and don't ask my horse to.

If I had a horse that has hard enough black feet and I would keep him trimmed then I would be glad to do that, but when I trim him he is going to get tender and quit on me. I also don't want to chase a cow across Lord knows what with boots on him anymore than I would run a foot race in waders..If you don't trim your horse then the angle of his foot will put undue pressure where it doesn't belong and you will cripple him up plenty fast that way.. A wild horse is not asked to compete in the same arena as using horses and is not packing the extra 200 or so pounds.

A couple of vets and some pleasure riders may have an opinnion but a million or so ranch cowboys have just got to know something about this subject, and they all like shoes on their horses..

Have you ever seen a set of boots at a rodeo or in a horse race or barrel race or at a roping or dogging? nope, and don't tell me you have, been to to many every weekend for the last 40 years, team roping my hobby and real love,not hunting!

Mr. Atkinson, my hat is off to you.

You stand where you stand, man. Good for you.

I've just got that 40 years under me now, and not all of them have been in the saddle, so you've got me there.

That said ... I think I understand hooves pretty well. I know I understand that your trim won't work for barefoot work just as well as you do. And I know that that 200 extra pounds isn't the factor that you think it is.

One of the reasons I like being around hunters and horsemen is that they like to argue about things that don't really matter -- good campfire talk. Horsemen can argue about just about anything, for no apparent reason -- Mr. Atkinson, can't we agree about that?

I've got a friend (a damn good farrier, by the way -- a real Steel-on-hoof-wall man) who's a college prof, too ... he likes to say that college politics are so heated because so LITTLE is actually at risk. A truer thing of horsemen has never been said.

Atkinson, you'll see 'em soon. Not just boots. Barefooted horses in the mountains ... with 200 pound riders like you and me. They'll be fine, and maybe even whitefooted, like some of mine.

Shoes are not the end-all of hoof care -- they're just not. Nor are boots. The bottom line is that we are asking an animal to do things that they wern't designed to do. Don't let any barefooters claim to be "natural." "Natural" is unmounted -- just ask the horse.

And just because you've never seen navicular doesn't mean the next guy hasn't. (I don't believe for a minute that you've never known a horse with navicular.) Same for laminitis. Same for hoof wall flares and cracks. Your horses, maybe not. If not, you've got a good farrier, and you should tip him well, and send him a Christmas gift. If you do your own farriery, I think that's great, and you're obviously doing a good job.

If you don't believe a man on a horse can cover 20-30 miles per day chasing cattle in the deserts of the southwest, day after day, perfectly barefoot ... you're wrong. And it's not the horse's genetics. That's pretty clear. It's his diet, and his trim.

Dang ... there goes that bag of worms all over the floor! See what you did?

Back to the ORIGINAL question -- boots are fine for both shod and barefoot animals, but for different reasons. Atkinson brings up treating abscesses (I wonder why he's got abscesses) which is a good enough reason. So is losing a boot in the backcountry.

I believe that common sense is not only understanding what "everyone else does" but trying to understand form, function, health, etc. Mr. Atkinson believes that the majority of dead horsemen used shod horses. He's wrong. But no matter -- I'm a LIVE horseman. I'll take physics and biology over hand-me-down farriery any day -- so will the real-steel farriers I know; it's only common sense.

So, to whoever started this thread --- thanks for opening a big can of worms. You might have as well gone over to the .30 cal forum and asked about .30-06 vs .270 vs .280 vs .308 in terms of deer hunting! Use what you shoot well, discard the rest.

And boots aren't for long-term use, anyway, so of course you wouldn't see many people roping with them. What a ridiculous argument. I've got a good friend who's a good roper, and his horse doesn't wear boots or shoes. He says his performance has improved. Don't take my word for it -- that's anecdotal.

If you haven't had a horse with an abcess, haven't had many horses. They come from injuries, of course. If anyone has a preventitive for a horse injuring a hoof, I'd like to hear about that one. I may be a little bit old school, but I also ride cutters which are the most athletic horses in the world. These guys training $300000 horses all have shoes on them. If boots or barefoot would make them more durable and better performing, they would sure be using them. I also get a little bit sideways ( like Mr. atkinson) when I hear someone come up with an argument why something works better than the old ways. These trainers ride horses 10 hours a day and I see owners arguing with them about some technique they read about in a book, like they know it all. I don't think horses have changed that much in 150 years, and the old guys broke more horses a year than we'll ever see.

Hey, I'm not telling you guys to change. He wondered if having a shoe-free period was a good idea. It is STANDARD farriery. Check the Farrier texts. Check Farrier schools.

The next question is "Why?"

Gentlemen, you come from a long line of shod-horse riders. Congratulations. You act as if no one has ever done anything different from you and been successful, and if they have, well, they must've been a fluke.

But I return to the point that it is the farriers who advise a shoe-free period for the hoof wall to heal.

Shoes provide very good hoof wall protection. Your cutters don't need that. In that case, they need specialized shoes that are no different from some of the specialized shoes that human athletes use. Boots wouldn't make any sense for that, of course, and I'd never suggest that.

But come on ... you said it yourself ... you're using 150 year-old technology on your animal. Hey, get a flintlock while you're at it. Do they work? Sure. If hunters had the same mindset as horsemen (not just cowboys, but hunter-jumpers and all that) they'd be up in arms about conical projectiles. "Dad didn't need 'em."

Gentlemen, those who came before us broke a lot of horses ... like you said "more than we'll ever see." They had to, of course. But they weren't the first. Others used horses in rougher terrain and would have never known what a shoe was ... they got along, by all accounts well ... Many of the cowboys of the old west among them, by the way. And you'll need to explain that before I buy in to the idea that my horses need to be shod year-round. You'll need to show me a truly barefoot horse, not pasture-trimmed and lame on rocks, that is abscessed.

I've got ten horses, and about 4 of those get regular use. We ride and drive year round. I have some we don't use much, but have them in part-time training, you know, "we was planning to...". The horses we use get shod. Traction plates for winters. Like Atkinson, they may get as much as 2 months off in February and March, when our use slacks off. Shoes are a godsend on the Belgians, and my girl's Q-horse is far more surefooted. If you want my opinion, (maybe not), after 35 years of off and on horse ownership, read what Atkinson wrote.

Its been stemulating conversation and handled by all of you with class..We don't have to agree, that is not a requirment, and all made good points.

Mr. Atkinson, I'll say again that that is what I like about horse folks even more than hunters/shooters: They argue to no end about minutiae, but generally maintain good manners.

If there's one thing that my kids and my horses have taught me, it's to avoid using the words "always" and "never." There's a lot of different ways to get things done in this world, and it usually pays to talk to people who do it differently, even if it's just argue around a campfire.

All of you guys make good points. bottom line for me is to ask the farrier and the vet and do what they say if you trust them. A working horse need shoes usually. I rock he may need some with a little carbide burned on for traction. I keep my horses barefoot because they are more for play than any thing else.
By the way, a hours with shoes on will put on more weight for some reason.
Are the shoes made today better than the shoes of yesterday, are they hot fitted? Does the shoer you use fit the shoe to the hoof or the other way around? All of this might play in to your decision on barehoofing it.
JS

When talking about any animals, particularly women, you should never use always or never.

Thanks for all the info...It was a lot to digest and I thoroughly researched all of it and settled on a plan..

I am going to invest in a set of boots...Not the easy boots,but another brand,simple boots by Cavallo..

I will run shoes through the high use times starting with spring bear in April and through the summer..Come December I will pull them and use boots for the occassional trail ride during the winter months...That way he will get a rest every year..

Actually, I think boots may be better than shoes for winters here in western Oregon...It pretty much rains all winter and hooves get pretty soft ...Even normally tough footed horses are tender here in the winter..Last winter I stoned bruised my horse and ended up with a abcess even with shoes....I am thinking the extra protection won't hurt....Last summer I rode many a mile elk hunting using gated logging roads for access with no trouble at all...Much harder feet in summer..

I am still going to talk with my farrier...He is due in a couple weeks and I will report what he has to say...

Thanks again for all the info...I learned a lot and am glad I asked..

My wife has bee doing some tharapeutic work on her prize "Einstein". She tried the Cavallos and was not impressed. They didn't fit well and weren't very secure on the hoof. Right now, she is using the Epic boots and is very satisfied. Old Eini has been wearing them for close to two months, day and night, and he managed to lose one, once. she puts soft pads in the bottom and puts a sock over the foot, before inserting it into the boot. with previous boots, he wore all the hair of his fetlocks and became sore. He's out in a wooded pasture and the temperatur has bee less than -20 here the last two weeks. We've tried other boots in the field, but the fact is that in really rugged mountain terrain, they just aren't suitable and every time you cross a stream, the fill with water and chafe.
Grizz

Judge Sharpe,
My horse shoer fits the shoe to the foot and if I ever caught him cuting the foot to the shoe I'd shoot him, and he knows that..

I don't hot shoe my horses, but the shoe is fitted..My horses are used to rope steers in a nice arena and for use in the mountains working cattle, branding, sorting etc...Ocassionally I use them for hunting.

The only weight my horses gain with shoes is the weight of the shoes!

I kept shoes on my horses, Easter to Thanksgiving. giving them the winter months with out shoes. I still rode them, but it was shorter trail rides and indoor arenas.

Two years ago my farrier suggested I go barefoot. Said my horses had great feet. So we have tried the barefoot thing. I can do a 20-25 mile ride barefoot. But I can't do it 2-3 days in a row. So I'll ride barefoot one day, use boots the next day.

My horses are pleasure horses. They don't work a ranch 5 days a week. they usually get a couple hour ride wednesday evenings and an all day saturday ride. A couple times in the summer and fall hunting season they get used 4-5 days in row. And they are doing well barefoot.

A lot depends on terrain. The granite of the Wind Rivers is hard on them, the sandstone of slick country is easy.

I tried the Easy boot Epics and had problems breaking cable and buckles. I changed out to the newer Easy Boot BARES and they have worked fine. I only boot my front hooves nowdays and only when riding several days in a row. Horses have been barefoot for 26 months.

This fellow is a Vet and paid for college being a farrier. His horses have been barefoot for 7 years and he goes anywhere with them, no problems.


This particular trip we rode 13 miles Friday night and 22 miles on saturday all barefoot and the horses didn't miss a beat.


I went out to Vernal area to help mark a Competitive Trail Ride course. The lady I was helping, told me no way would I make it through the day barefoot. At the end of the day, she commented that she had been watching my horses and they had not missed a beat.



Ranch hands riding a horse on rocks 5 days a week, probably need shoes. Reiners doing sliding stops probably need sliding plates, Draft horses pulling loads in wet ground - probably needs traction lugs on shoes. My pleasure horses seem to be doing just fine barefoot with the occassional boot on really rough rides or extended 50-60 mile weekends.

I live in the southwest, on a half million acre cattle ranch. It belongs to my family and I have worked it for almost forty years.
We raise approx 150 head of horses in addition to the beef cattle, and they are raised in the cerbat mountains until they are four before being started.
If anything that is well bred could be closer to being a mustang I cannot imagine it.
We raise them this way so that we can ride them through the rocks of these ranches to gather cattle.
In forty years I have seen a lot of tough footed horses come and go, some were able to be ridden for years without shoes.
Invariably however, and without fail every single one has needed some protection sooner or later.
It is one thing to walk along a trail barefoot and think that everything is fine, it is another thing completely to bust off a mountain after a wild cow..
Yes there have been many horses raised on this rugged old ranch that could have fit a dudes program for the rest of their life and probably never needed shoes if they were given even just a little consideration.
But for the most part, for come what may day in and day out most all horses are going to need foot protection.
If you want to use boots that is sure still protection and yes probably far better than shoes for where most folks ride.
Follow me through the mountains for a day however and you will be walking home.

I also teach horsemanship from Canada to Australia, and have seen many sides of this arguement.
You are all right, at your given view.
Is there one answer that fits all situations? I don't think it exists personally.

There are too many different situations, too many different hoof types, too many different expectations from our horses.
The closest I think we can come is to leave them barefoot as much as possible, shoe them when we need to and always look after their best interest the best we can within the parameters we must operate .

I own 4 horses that are strictly pleasure, I use them hunting about 30 days a year. 4 shoes is almost a hundred dollars where I live and that is why my horses go barefoot. If I had to put shoes on them I wouldn't own them. Hunting is my priority these days.

I'm with Bucko on this one..He is right on the money and anyone that has lived his life on horses knows what he said is a given..

If you can;t afford a set of shoes for your horse, then your one of those folks that shouldn't own a horse IMO..Not trying to be rude, but that is also a given..Learn to shoe your own horse, its not that hard, and the cost will drop to $5.00 from $100 or collect used shoes and no cost.

Of course it all starts with the foot of the individual horse. I have a pony who's never been shod, and barring the need for recuperative protection from an injury or the like, he never will be. I have 10 animals right now, and 5 are currently shod. We put them on where they are needed. Atkinson is still spot on. Out of the 10, I have exactly one that I think could make it barefoot almost anywhere.

i totally agree with bucko and atkinson.
learn to shoe your own horse then if your in a pinch you can fix it.is why i learned.used to cost me 150 a horse and always had 6 to 8 with shoes,done every 5 weeks,some sooner(the farrier was the s**ts).i personally wouldnt use boots,shoes might take a lil bit more work but they worth it.some of my horses had shoes on for 3 years with no time with shoes off.their feet were great.never had a problem with contracted heels either.

Old topic, but I'll chime in. There are no hard and fast rules here. I've seen show horses go years with shoes on and not have any issues due to being shod all the time (contracted heels etc.). I've also seen a bunch of horses that are not ever shod and get ridden pretty hard. I don't shoe my using horse for example. If you ever have to gather calves on a frosty morning in a foot tall ryegrass pasture, or one with a lot of clover, you'd better not be shod. If you have to stop hard, your horse is gonna slide like and ice skater and I've had a few I thought were gonna flip over. That being said, I live in Sounth Louisiana and the closest thing to a rocky ledge that I'll ever see here is a gravel road, so shoes aren't nearly as important as they would be in rocky terrain.
I will say that the boots are designed for emergencies, not for everyday use. If you are in back country and lose a shoe, go ahead and put on a boot. I wouldn't start the trip that way though.
I also think that everyone who owns a horse should have to trim a few, just to get a feel (I'd caution everyone to be supervised, however, before starting to drive a nail into a hoof). You'll also be better able to discuss things with your farrier. Overall, the most important aspect of any of this is the Farrier. Just because you do something for a living doesn't mean that you are any good at it. It's kind of like doctors. Did you ever think that half of all doctors graduated in the bottom 50% of their class? I'd say that there are damned few really good farriers, so cull often and when you do find a good one, treat him right. Many of them are very long on BS and short on GOOD long term experiences, just like trainers (which I am).
Finally, all horses are different. I have noticed that horses that come from farther West seem to have different feet with more cup and thicker walls than locally raised horses. Horses from the flat lands, like here, tend to have flatter feet. I've seen some that were raised in the marsh that you'd swear could walk on water. All depends on the individual animal in the end.

Daniel,
10 - 4, I stand by exactly on you're comments.
Hey, been quite here. Any news, pics???

I agree and I'd like to talk horses, so I figured I'd start reviving some old topics.

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
Old topic, but I'll chime in. There are no hard and fast rules here. I've seen show horses go years with shoes on and not have any issues due to being shod all the time (contracted heels etc.). I've also seen a bunch of horses that are not ever shod and get ridden pretty hard. I don't shoe my using horse for example. If you ever have to gather calves on a frosty morning in a foot tall ryegrass pasture, or one with a lot of clover, you'd better not be shod. If you have to stop hard, your horse is gonna slide like and ice skater and I've had a few I thought were gonna flip over. That being said, I live in Sounth Louisiana and the closest thing to a rocky ledge that I'll ever see here is a gravel road, so shoes aren't nearly as important as they would be in rocky terrain.
I will say that the boots are designed for emergencies, not for everyday use. If you are in back country and lose a shoe, go ahead and put on a boot. I wouldn't start the trip that way though.
I also think that everyone who owns a horse should have to trim a few, just to get a feel (I'd caution everyone to be supervised, however, before starting to drive a nail into a hoof). You'll also be better able to discuss things with your farrier. Overall, the most important aspect of any of this is the Farrier. Just because you do something for a living doesn't mean that you are any good at it. It's kind of like doctors. Did you ever think that half of all doctors graduated in the bottom 50% of their class? I'd say that there are damned few really good farriers, so cull often and when you do find a good one, treat him right. Many of them are very long on BS and short on GOOD long term experiences, just like trainers (which I am).
Finally, all horses are different. I have noticed that horses that come from farther West seem to have different feet with more cup and thicker walls than locally raised horses. Horses from the flat lands, like here, tend to have flatter feet. I've seen some that were raised in the marsh that you'd swear could walk on water. All depends on the individual animal in the end.

The horses we shoe are shod with traction in the winter, and my daughter's show horse is shod with traction all year. Slipping isn't a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by wymple:

quote:

Originally posted by daniel77:
Old topic, but I'll chime in. There are no hard and fast rules here. I've seen show horses go years with shoes on and not have any issues due to being shod all the time (contracted heels etc.). I've also seen a bunch of horses that are not ever shod and get ridden pretty hard. I don't shoe my using horse for example. If you ever have to gather calves on a frosty morning in a foot tall ryegrass pasture, or one with a lot of clover, you'd better not be shod. If you have to stop hard, your horse is gonna slide like and ice skater and I've had a few I thought were gonna flip over. That being said, I live in Sounth Louisiana and the closest thing to a rocky ledge that I'll ever see here is a gravel road, so shoes aren't nearly as important as they would be in rocky terrain.
I will say that the boots are designed for emergencies, not for everyday use. If you are in back country and lose a shoe, go ahead and put on a boot. I wouldn't start the trip that way though.
I also think that everyone who owns a horse should have to trim a few, just to get a feel (I'd caution everyone to be supervised, however, before starting to drive a nail into a hoof). You'll also be better able to discuss things with your farrier. Overall, the most important aspect of any of this is the Farrier. Just because you do something for a living doesn't mean that you are any good at it. It's kind of like doctors. Did you ever think that half of all doctors graduated in the bottom 50% of their class? I'd say that there are damned few really good farriers, so cull often and when you do find a good one, treat him right. Many of them are very long on BS and short on GOOD long term experiences, just like trainers (which I am).
Finally, all horses are different. I have noticed that horses that come from farther West seem to have different feet with more cup and thicker walls than locally raised horses. Horses from the flat lands, like here, tend to have flatter feet. I've seen some that were raised in the marsh that you'd swear could walk on water. All depends on the individual animal in the end.

The horses we shoe are shod with traction in the winter, and my daughter's show horse is shod with traction all year. Slipping isn't a problem.

My wife shows her 16.3 Rheinlander jumping to 4' without shoes. Only problem she's ever had has been on wet grass courses. Was Champion 4 times in her division this summer.

Her 16.1 Thoroughbred, on the other hand, is soft-footed, and has to have front shoes year round, even though it's just a trail/pleasure horse at home (no rocky trails, either).

BTW, Wymple, is your daughter jumping without stirrups in that photo? My wife rides without quite often in practice, and it makes a big difference (in a lot of ways ). She even won a class this summer when she lost her stirrup on the first fence and rode the rest of the course on one leg.

It's just the angles in the picture. It's a regular hunter-jumper english saddle.

She rides with good form Wymple, as does the horse, from this pic at least.

Girls on horses are very competitive. When I was a kid, we just tried to come back still on top.

Actually everyone is Right on this issue, for like a Woman, each and every Horse has different Strengths, Weaknesses, and Needs. My farrier professor told me that you ALWAYS make the shoe, boot, whatever, fit the horse, AND his Work. I'd think the boots would be good in Oregon and the PacNW due to all the rain, for the same reasons we like waders and galoshes. A dry foot is a Happy Foot, Man OR Beast. Barefoot or shod, it doesn't matter so much depending on the horse, but the TRIM is CRITICAL. As for me, I like boron caulks(corks) for use in rocky country or blacktop/pavement. They are Excellent on ice, too. Like putting studs in your snow tires. Just make sure to grind the corks to the same length so's not to mess up pastern and coronet angles on level surfaces. Has anybody ever tried using a layer of the plastic pad between shoe and hoof to protect the frog and inner hoof? It's common around here on Riding horses. Also, I learned from Experience that I'd rather shoe my draft horses, with good toe cleats and longer heel caulks then see them slip, fall, and break a leg on a hard pull. Or rip tendons, cartilage, etc. It's cheaper to shoe him than to replace him. Whichever you choose, you STILL have to of course check his feet OFTEN, daily if possible, and keep him trimmed.
Here's a funny one I also learned from Grandpa. He occasionally had a horse that foundered, and their hooves grew into the familiar sled-runner configuration before the farrier could get to him. Being old and crippled, Grandpa taught them to put their foot up on a chopping block where he could carefully chop the excess off with a hatchet, which allowed him to be able to do a Proper job with nippers and rasps before he tired and had to quit. Honestly, the man did excellent work, nothing like the 'Hatchet Job' you'd expect. When I got big enough to help, we kept them trimmed without resorting to the hatchet, and only needed the farrier to fit the shoes. I still laugh when I think of that!
KY Jim

Like Ray we pull ours in the winter because of the Ice and Snow. We will reshoe in the spring

quote:

Originally posted by bucko:
I live in the southwest, on a half million acre cattle ranch. It belongs to my family and I have worked it for almost forty years.
We raise approx 150 head of horses in addition to the beef cattle, and they are raised in the cerbat mountains until they are four before being started.
If anything that is well bred could be closer to being a mustang I cannot imagine it.
We raise them this way so that we can ride them through the rocks of these ranches to gather cattle.
In forty years I have seen a lot of tough footed horses come and go, some were able to be ridden for years without shoes.
Invariably however, and without fail every single one has needed some protection sooner or later.
It is one thing to walk along a trail barefoot and think that everything is fine, it is another thing completely to bust off a mountain after a wild cow..
Yes there have been many horses raised on this rugged old ranch that could have fit a dudes program for the rest of their life and probably never needed shoes if they were given even just a little consideration.
But for the most part, for come what may day in and day out most all horses are going to need foot protection.
If you want to use boots that is sure still protection and yes probably far better than shoes for where most folks ride.
Follow me through the mountains for a day however and you will be walking home.

I also teach horsemanship from Canada to Australia, and have seen many sides of this arguement.
You are all right, at your given view.
Is there one answer that fits all situations? I don't think it exists personally.

There are too many different situations, too many different hoof types, too many different expectations from our horses.
The closest I think we can come is to leave them barefoot as much as possible, shoe them when we need to and always look after their best interest the best we can within the parameters we must operate .

I make my living as an equine lameness specialist and equine orthopedic surgeon.

I agree with Bucko's thoughts with one caveat. Horses...if shod properly...can stay shod 24-7-365 with out problems. The problems attributed to shoing only arise when improper farriery is applied.

No doubt about it, I have seen horses and mules, mostly out of Mexico that had feet like flint and never needed a shoe as long as you didn't shoe them once and if allowed them in a big rocky horse trap..We used such horses on our Big Bend Texas ranch where I grew up, across from Mexico and they worked..We had a lot of slick rock mountains and shoes just wouldn't work there.

My conversation here has been about American horses, Throughbreds and Quarter horses on most ranches where we have always kept our horese shod.

My horses today are quarter horses used for team roping for the most part. My sons and daughters, grandson and granddaughter and self are all avid team ropers..We keep our horses shod most of the year..I jerk the shoes off for about 45 days in the winter as I am roping in indoor arenas and that gives the heels time to spay. Unless I go to Arizona to rope while its cold in Idaho.

Hi all. My names Matt. Just joined this forum. I am a full time farrier. I have been for close to ten years.
In my opinion and observations, every horse is different. Some have to be shod, some can go barefoot. Their is no reason a horse cannot wear shoes year round for his entire life if he is shod properly. I use snow pads in the winter to prevent the snow from balling under the foot. I trim some feet different if they are to go bare. The Natural trim, or four point trim works well in some instances. I have never observed a horse that was shod properly go better when worked than a horse that was barefoot. I use shoes to give additional traction, provide support, redistribute weight bearing, or correct patholigies in the equine digit. I hot shoe, and hand make 25 to 30 percent of the shoes I nail on. Theirs nothing new under the sun. Ghengis Khan and his crew used grass sandals to protect their horses feet. The Greeks and the Romans learned to make shoes and nails out of copper. Heel contraction isnt caused from horse shoes, it is caused by leaving the heels on a horse foot to long. Bring the heels back to the widest part of the frog, and you normally wont have a problem with contraction. Use Duckets Dot to map the foot, or any of several versions of the same depending on the veiw you have. I try to look at a foot in 3D. I shoe horses of just about every breed, conformation, age and job description. I have no problems with a bare foot horse, if he can do his job and remain sound, but I have a many issues with folks that want to say how evil shoes are and that they should never be used. I want to ask those folks how many horses theyve shod, or trimmed, and what they did for a living. Im sorry if I have ruffled any feathers, but farriery is my life blood. Its not just how I make my living.

Well I learned from my Grandfather and Father about horses and Gramps was a Blacksmith. I always kept shoes on our horse's except mares about to foal or with foals etc.

In the winter months if we were not showing or roping, those shoes were not put back on the horse until early spring.