Re: Going barefoot

[Penny McCauley <penny@zianet.com>]

Beth,
My horse has very hard, black feet. I ride in the sand a lot with some 
rocky hills and jeep roads thrown in. I usually have Ladde shod 6 weeks 
before a ride then a week before a ride. I only ride 2 or 3 rides a 
summer. The rest of the time Ladde goes barefoot. All of our ranch 
horses (15) go barefoot until about a month before the spring and fall 
cattle works. The softer footed horses are shod sooner than the tougher 
footed horses. A bruised sole is somewhat a rarity. The reason why we 
shoe is because when the horses are rode they are rode hard and over 
rocky ground. They become "ouchy". And the endurance rides here require 
shoes and suggest pads, I use easyboots on the front in competition.

I say it depends on your horse. If he doesn't show signs of being 
"ouchy"...go for it. At the very least I'd only shoe during the heavy 
riding season.

Good luck,
Penny (NM)