Hoofin' It

Guapo had his appointment with the natural hoof care specialist, Barbara, today. We do not put steel shoes on him anymore as they are really not necessary, but he does need trimming once a month or so. Shoes became quite expensive - hundreds of dollars every 6 weeks - so we researched having the horses go shoeless. It takes a bit of time for them to recover from years of shoeing, but eventually they become quite sound. We believe that having a steel shoe nailed on to an overly trimmed hoof can cause more problems (and expense!) than it's worth.


Here is a nice, strong hoof. A little trimming around the edges and he's good to go.



Guapo wears what we call his hiking boots when he goes out on a trail ride similar to this to help avoid with bruises caused by stones. He wears them only on the front. At this point he probably does not even need these, but we still use them.