Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Shoe shopping...

Sunny and I have logged over 32 miles of gravel road this week.  Calendar-wise, he should be about due for a trim, but....   

  
 I think he's already plenty short, if a bit ragged around the edges.  

Except for the few months he was with the trainer as a three-year-old (and covering several miles of gravel road every day, with all the resulting hoof-wear), he's never needed shoes.  Good feet, and he wears them pretty evenly all the way around.
 Front right
 
Right hind

Unlike Rufus, who we've pretty much determined needs shoes to be comfortable on anything other than pasture, Sunny doesn't get sore-footed on gravel.  But he is getting pretty short in the toes.  Rufus will get his shoes pulled while T's gone unless I decide to ride him a lot - but I'm contemplating having shoes put on Sunny.  I think it's that or invest in some barefoot boots for him, but there are so many varieties out there... Anyone have any experience with those?

2 comments:

4RRanch said...

I've always had to shoe our horses at lest on the front, in this area if we wanted to do any riding other than the show ring. It seams a lot of the endurance riders I saw used the easy glove or glue on shoes. I got a pair of davis boots as a back up but haven't needed them yet. The fit is a little off for the horse I got them for.

SunnySD said...

Most people shoe around here, too. You hit the nail on the head as far as what concerns me about the barefoot shoes I've seen - finding a pair that fit properly, don't rub and don't come off... Seems like it could get to be a very expensive proposition!