Barefoot or Shoes?

Question
Gwen, I have a 5 year old Arabian gelding who has been barefoot all his life. He's a little bit pigeon toed and is sometimes a little unbalanced on his feet. This coming June i would like to take him to a week long clinic that requires 1 hour of riding, twice a day. In the past i have taken my mare to the same clinic and shoed all four of her feet because the clinic is a lot of work for the horses. I now am wondering if i should shoe my gelding's feet for this clinic or will he be ok just barefoot? He has never had shoes on before so will his performance change if i shoe him this year? please let me know, thanks

Answer
Hi Kristen!  Personally, as long as you've been riding him regularly and his hooves are healthy and sound on all terrain, I see no reason why he needs to be shod. If it would make you feel better, "just in case", instead of getting him shod get some OLD MAC G2's to have on hand. You can also get some pads and gaiters to go with them and he'll be all set!  You can find out more information about them here: http://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/old_macs_G2/Old_Macs_G2.aspx

Another good brand of hoofboots are EPICS. You can read about them at the same site.

Hope this is helpful to you.