Anyone who has looked at my interview here at the Equinest knows that I was a horseshoer for alot of years. I was ask by Paige for my input about hoof care.
Now, I know you’ve heard the old saying no foot no horse, well that’s very true.
Protection
The only reason we shoe a horse in the first place is for protection or traction. A horse’s foot grows about a 1/4 of an in. per mo. And if you’re doing alot of riding you’ll wear the foot faster than it can grow, therefore you must shoe ’em. Or maybe you trail ride in rocky country, you gotta’ shoe ’em to hold the foot up off the rocks.
Traction
Traction of course is maybe barrel racing, jumping, or what ever the event my be to help keep the horse’s feet under ’em to get a hold of the earth so to speak. If most of your riding is in a soft arena at a slower pace, there’s no reason to shoe one, as a horse is better off not shod if possible.
So my point being, keep your horse shod when you have to, pull the shoes when you can.
How do you feel about using easy boots or the likes instead of metal shoes?
I think those easy boots are just fine for the occasional trail rider, or perhaps parades etc. Bare in mind to make sure that they fit properly. Very important for obvious reasons.