Shoes or barefoot for winter? We recently learned it’s a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no. It is true, wild horses obviously don’t have the steel shoes that ranch horses sometimes wear, and they do just fine, right? Ranch horses who work all day running cattle might need additional protection against bruising caused by rocks and uneven terrain, but those who are worked less often could stay barefoot throughout the year.
All our horses have been barefoot their whole lives and haven’t had an issue. They, however, are not classified in the “work all day” category.
The horses’ hooves were trimmed 5-6 weeks ago and immediately afterwards Shine was favoring his front left. That has happened in the past, but usually the stiffness passes in a day or two with light exercise. This time it got better for sure, but then he appeared to be favoring it more again. I gave him more time off and it got better, but not to where I could ride or even our young students could get on bareback. Time to call the vet!
The vet came out today and we got some interesting news we wanted to share. Barefoot is definitely preferable, especially in the winter because the hooves expand and contract more in the cold weather. As the hoof expands the frozen ground, manure, rocks, etc. will fall out. The shoes have a tendency to hold the frozen ground against the hoof which could be bad news.
The ideal horse hoof is round, meaning when they step down, they would leave a round impression on the ground. In Shine’s case, his hooves are elongated in shape, meaning the toe is on the long side and the heel is smaller. His weight cannot be as evenly distributed as it could if it was round. This is one of the confirmation “issues” that can’t be fixed over time. As the vet said, it is something that can only be fixed when sperm and egg come together to make a baby horse to begin with.
In Shine’s case, the vet suggested front shoes to give him more protection. In his case and others, horses should wear shoes even in the snow because the positive protection they provide outweighs the disadvantages. For horses who wear shoes, remember to check their hooves, especially in the winter to make sure they stay cleaned out.
Lameness scale: Our vet explained it to us like this…the scale is 1-5. 1 favoring occasionally, inconsistently. 5 being unable to bear weight. Shine is thankfully at a 1 on the lameness scale.
We are planning to have the farrier do front shoes for Shine when he comes next week.
