Shoeing or Not?

[Fishbone]

Hello!

You may have read somewhere that we are new to the Paso world. :-)

I've read varying opinions about shoeing. What is yours?

Our pleasure mare moves pretty much the same whether she is shod or barefoot.

Thanks for your time ... I look forward to your opinions!

[Mellifluous]

Welcome Fishbone!

I will give you my two cents on pasos and shoeing - I am not a farrier. Most pasos have very tough feet and many of them are able to go barefoot. That being said, if their hooves wear too much you might want to consider shoeing them. It is not the norm to use shoeing to improve action or gait in pasos (as it is in other gaited breeds and/or saddleseat horses) - I think there may even be rules about shoes for the showring, not sure tho. IMO, as far as gait, they have it or they don't. The best thing you can do is make sure that they are trimmed to their natural angles regardless of whether or not they wear shoes.

My pasos are currently barefoot. I keep a close eye on the one that I ride regularly.

[Barbwire]

Hay Fishbone, welcome to the forums. The shoes vs. barefoot topic has been discussed a lot here, and if you do a search under "barefoot" or something similar, I'm sure you will be overwhelmed with information. ;-)

[Terry Wallace]

It depends on the integrity of the hooves in question. I have many unshod Pasos, and I have two that I will shoe for mountain trails, and that is mostly for protection of the hoof as it is decomposed granite here, and very damaging to hooves. I don't shoe anymore (carpal tunnel...I can't hammer)..but I still trim both regular & corrective and have for over 30 years.

Do you get Equus Magazine by chnace? The July issue has (on page 80) a short article on "Give barefoot a Go?" You might like to read. It covers hoof quality, and how conformation relates to hoof problems, the discipline you ride, and footing you ride on.

[Fishbone]

Hi All:

Thank you for the very warm welcome. You are all making me feel so at home here and I appreciate the fact that I can ask questions with ease. If we don't ask, we can't learn. I am a member of several other breed forums and asking questions on some of them can be (ahem) risky!

I have read the rule book about shoeing and yes, there are weight and toe length (I think) restrictions.

I do understand that shoeing the Paso is not for motion or to enhance their way of going. I am curious as to the norm, if there is one.

Our mare has great feet and will be just fine unshod. I will be spending a lot of time at the Miami show this weekend and hope to learn quite a bit more about this topic.

Again, many thanks for all of your kind responses.

Oh, I do get Equus magazine and will go back and reread that article! Thank you for reminding me.

Have a great day, all!

Terri

[Terri]

Yep, this topic has been discussed hot and heavy and we have some excellent barefoot farriers on this forum. I definitely agree with Lexi and Terry. If your horses hooves need shoes to protect them, well, that is what shoes are for. Only you and your farrier can judge your horses hooves and the terrain you will be riding. My guys are all barefoot and I get plenty of good wonderful gait. So in my opinion, if your horse is sound and doesn't crack when you ride barefoot, why shoe?

[Fishbone]

Hi Terri: (Nice name :-) )

Thank you for that response! I think I am in agreement with you!

Have a wonderful day!

(The "other" Terri) better known as TP

[SandyMM]

When I lived in S FL in the 70s/80s, our Pasos were always shod. We rode as much as 20-25 hours a week - most in sand, some woods trails.

We now live in NW GA and all our Pasos are barefoot. We ride some pretty rough trails with no problem.

In this area, 'barefoot trimming' and pasture trims (trimming as if to place a shoe) are very different. The pasture trims caused a lot of problems for our horses - white line separations, substantial chipping, etc. Barefoot trimming has all but eliminated those problems. Whether it's for every horse depends on who you talk to you... it works for our horses in the conditions they live and work in.

[TrueStepPaso]

Hello....My horses (personal & clients) are barefoot & have been doing wonderfully that way for quite some time now. That is the avenue of hoofcare I prefer.
However, always keep an open mind ;-) for your horse. There are plenty of options out there now....

[GeorgeGuns]

Yep, hot topic.

All horses can go barefoot, they were born that way

Some horses need protection for some terrains or jobs (PLEASE use sliding paltes on your reining horses rear hooves!)

Some horses need protection on lots of terrains

Some horses need protection for a short time

Does that protection need to be shoes? Not usually. It can be boots. I do recommend for barefoot horses that the owner have a pair of boots to carry on trail rides just in case, or if they know they are going to be in rougher country than what the horse can tolerate. If a person absolutely hates using boots, then sure, shoe the horse, but make sure you are educated in what hte effects of shoes can be so you can pull them if a heel starts contracting, or the frogs get crappy, or the flares get out of hand.

Horses are individuals. I have 12 here, all barefoot. I know where the 10 rocks on my property are - IOW the terrain isn't that challenging. I have a few that can handle just about anything though, and a few that can tolerate gravel but no more, and a few that need boots for gravel or anything rougher, and one that needs boots if he is going any futher than the barn on anything but grass or solid pavement.

I have trouble, serious trouble with the rulebook specs for hoof length - not more than four inches. OMIGAWD that is a long hoof. There aren't too many pasos that have any business with a hoof any longer than about 3 - 3 1/4 inches, and that goes for most horses bigger than pasos too! This gets into a whole nother discussion of hoof anatomy and where the bones belong, etc, so I'll stop here except to say that a 4 inch hoof is in pain and gonna give you a very quick step.. sometimes this is intentional, sometimes not, so its a bad point to debate form that perspective.

Do let me add though that when a barefoot horse is having trouble, we need to look at all the factors in the horses life, not just the hoof. The wrong diet can cause weaknesses, too much moisture will soften/weaken hoof structure, being fat, saddle fit and rider position, turn out time, companionship.. all these are important factors and may impact some horses mor than others. I was just at a barn where the client was telling me that the other farrier couldn't keep a shoe on any of the horses. I told her to not blame the farrier yet, right now the weather is bieng a bear, we had 5 days of rain followed by a fast dry-out, shod horses are letting their shoes go, and the barefoot ones are furiously trying to self trim!

I'd say though, if your horse is fine barefoot, get boots for backup, and go to www.barefoothorse.com to learn more about keeping a barefoot horse sound and why its such a cool deal for the horse.

[motorgypsy]

For showing no shoes is fine. We have one who is much louder on the sounding board barefoot than most of those who are shod. She just likes to listen to her own feet I guess!

If a horse needs shoes that's fine. If not, why bother? It shouldn't give you an edge in the showring and probably won't. A great horse is a great horse.

[Fishbone]

LOVE that ... a great horse is a great horse and I couldn't agree more! Afterall, no one can give a horse what G-d didn't!

Terri

For showing no shoes is fine. We have one who is much louder on the sounding board barefoot than most of those who are shod. She just likes to listen to her own feet I guess!

If a horse needs shoes that's fine. If not, why bother? It shouldn't give you an edge in the showring and probably won't. A great horse is a great horse.