There are many theories about shoes, no shoes ect. Personally I feel barefoot is best if you can. Most people have the misconception that you have to have shoes on to show your horse. I can tell you from first hand knowledge that you CAN go to the keuring and IFSHA shows with no shoes on. I personally have shown ALL of my horses at the keuring with no shoes.
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| Look mom no shoes!! |
One of our 12 year old mares that has had 7 foals went back to the keuring to prove that she still had what it takes to be amazing. The comment from Jan Hendricks was how amazing her movement was. She was barefoot. This same mare that same year competed in the IFSHA shows. She was undefeated at her Regional show and WON 3 Championships, and 3 reserve championships at the National and World champion show. I got many many comments on her feet. Most were shocked that she moved so well barefoot. Others were impressed to find out that I had gone against the norm and had her barefoot. The following year she competed in Dressage and went from showing Training level all the way up to 2nd level and didn’t score less than 60 on any of her tests as she moved up the levels. ALL with no shoes. There was not one penalty to being barefoot. There was only advantage. She has healthy frogs, strong hoof walls, correct balance as her training develops, and a tiny perk is that her ferrier bills are very low.
Shoes cost about $8 each so by not putting them on your ferrier should charge you about $32-$45 less per visit. If they are not that much cheaper for a basic trim then get them to break down the shoe cost. Not to mention the extra time they have to take to either make a shoe, fit a shoe, nail the shoe to the foot, take the shoe off to trim at each visit. Needless to say I’m informing you that you do not have to have shoes to show. Your horse may have a condition that requires shoes, but don’t feel like you need shoes to show your horse in IFSHA or FHANA/FPS.
Here is a link to an E-book that further explains barefoot/natural trimming for your horse.
Amen! Great blog and great post. :D
ReplyDeleteFor the 2013 season FHANA has stated that all 4 hoofs must be in shoes or all 4 barefoot. No pads or corrective shoes are allowed. Toe clips are optional
ReplyDeleteFor the 2013 season ANZFHS has also posted barefoot or shoes is ok but if shoes are used they need to be no thicker than 8mm and no wider than 25mm
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ReplyDeleteshoes