Recently Barefoot

Question
We purchased a 4 yr old gelding from an auction.  He then had  shoes.  Early May we had him reshoed & trimmed.  He was very restless & the ferrier had to do front & back at separate visits due to his behavior.  Because of this we believe he may have had his 1st set of shoes just prior to the auction.  He keeps kicking off his front shoes, has now injured his leg & tore his hoof so another shoe cannot be attached unless glued.  I chose to have them all removed.  My son & I ride for pleasure only, on a farm, primarily in the fields.  We do ride 1-2 hrs every day or every other day.  Once his leg heals up & we start riding again, do you have any special recommendations? Do you think it is really necessary for him to have shoes?  Should we re-shoe him when his hoof grows back out?  Or is this just something we will have to wait & see how he does without them?

Answer
Hi Beverly,
if your horse is sound and does not have any issues without shoes, there is no reason putting shoes back on. However, he will still need regular hoof care, that is, be trimmed regularly by a farrier who is experienced in keeping barefoot RIDING horses in good condition. This will likely have to be done every 4 weeks in summer and 4-6 weeks in winter since it is as important to have barefoot horses trimmed as it is to have shod horse re-done. From your description it sounds like your gelding will require some training from you to be comfortable having his feet picked up, handled, cleaned and trimmed. It will be very important that you work with him EVERY day, initially just getting him to lift each foot and putting it back down. This is best done by gently squeezing between his tendons behind the cannon bone or pinching the chestnut inside the leg. Initially you may only get a few seconds per foot, but this will likely extend to longer and longer with exercise. Remember, you cannot force a horse who is not relaxed and comfortable to allow you to pick up a foot for you. You will have to ask him and make him trust you. For a prey animal, not being able to use all 4 legs can mean the difference between life and being eaten so it is NOT a natural thing for a horse to give you his foot. Same with standing still...horses are hard-wired to move their feet when they get scared. That's why you cannnot hold them on a lead-rope or halter and force them to stand when they are scared...they will circle around you and that is ok.
So for your safety and the safety of the farrier that I assume you want to keep coming back to trim your horse, you should make it a priority to stand still to be trimmed. Farriers do not expect to have to train your horse for you and when you do farrier work for a living, your income is dependent to do work efficiently and NOT GET HURT...so it is imperative that you can keep you horse and farrier, and also yourselves safe! This will also be the prerequisite to keeping him sound and happy with or without shoes.
With the level of exercise you expect from your horse, I do not think you need to worry about shoes. He may be uncomfortable initially, just don't ride on rocks and hard ground and pebbles until he is ready...you will know when that is....
Good luck and please let me know how training your horse to have his feet handled is coming along.

Christine