Is it ridiculous to pull your horses shoes because a boarder is worried about their horse being kicked?

tallgurl: Is it ridiculous to pull your horses shoes because a boarder is worried about their horse being kicked?
A boarder at my barn refuses to put her horse out in the pasture with my horse because he was shod. She thinks that if my horse kicks her horse its dangerous. Let me know your thoughts!

Answers and Views:

Answer by Wasabi
When a horse that’s barefoot kicks another horse, he can do damage….but typically, it’s not going to be as severe as compared to if he wore shoes.

Shoes are pieces of hard steel that can do some massive damage. Also, if the nails are sticking out a little where they’re normally broken off by the farrier around the outer hoofwall….those nails can tear skin off if the horse kicks out just right.

Some horses will back up into each other and wail on each other, so this is one way they can do serious damage with shoes.

This is why typically….people who pasture board their horses with other horses, don’t have shod horses.

So, no it’s not ridiculous. It’s the norm.

that said, there are places that allow horses to be shod and put in together, and people just take the chances.

Answer by joanne
At our barn, horses who are shod on the hind feet are kept in separate paddocks. Unfortunately that comes from experience. A horse was just having fun and kicking up his heels-into another horse which ended his show career. From that I can understand her concern.

Answer by Kitty .
You could always separate and area in the pasture for the barefooted horse to please her

Answer by Pony
Your fellow boarder has every right to not want her horse out with one that is shod. If your horse kicks or plays rough with other horses, or her horse will try to dominate or bully your horse, it’s a “better safe than sorry” situation. Also, if her horse is low on the pecking order, it stands a much better chance of being kicked or bitten by other horses. Some people put a lot of money and time into their horses, and they want to minimize as much risk of that horse being hurt as they possibly can.

Shod horses can do a LOT of damage when they kick, and for some horses a good kick in the right place can damage them for life. Many horses that don’t do a lot of work or don’t have hoof issues get their rear shoes pulled when they’re pastured with other horses, just for safety for all involved. A bare hoof hurts, but a shod hoof can lacerate, break bone, or cause permanent damage much more easily.

The boarder may need to consider pasturing her horse privately if that is available, or getting a gentle friend (like a miniature horse or a donkey) so that her horse still has companionship.

Answer by ♦ƈօʍɛ ǟֆ ʏօʊ ǟʀɛ♦
Wow. Just wow. Obviously this woman doesn’t know much about horses.

Does your horse have a record of kicking out? If no, then let her know it is safe. If yes, tell her and ask if she would like her horse out with a barefoot horse.

Honestly, a shoe won’t do much different unless it has road caulks on…

Horses are so accident prone, even if you were to take the back shoes off, he could Still get hurt. Slipping in the grass, eating something poisonous, escaping the pasture and getting hit on the road… you never know with horses. I agree with Fennec, even if you take all precautions, he could still get hurt.

Answer by iron
They are dumb so let them keep their horse in the barn.

Answer by Charleena
Actually, that’s a quite reasonable request. I’ve seen a lot of barefoot horses to damage to others, even when they’re just playing. But nothing compares to the damage done by a metal shoe on the power of a horse’s leg.

The other owner has every right to want to separate the horses. Actually, at my barn, we don’t even let the horse’s go out together because they always injure each other. However, you aren’t required to pull your horse’s shoes, only if you want the two horses to go out in the runs together.

Answer by Izzie
Honestly at any barn I’ve ever been to horses who are shod in the back are always kept in separate paddocks. Getting kicked by an unshod horse can cause some pretty serious damage, add an iron shoe into the mix and you’re just asking for shattered bones. It is perfectly reasonable for her to request that her horses not be placed in a paddock with a horse who’s back feet have been shod, even if that horse doesn’t have a history of kicking.

I, for one, would never put my mare in a paddock with a horse who had shoes on the back feet. I’ve seen first hand the damage that can be done with one solid kick from a shod hoof. Just about two years ago a friend of mine had her two horses out in the paddock, both of them had known each other for nearly fifteen years, had never once been known to kick or bite at each other, and had always gotten along perfectly. All it took was during a round of gelding-games the gelding with back shoes got one solid kick into the other gelding’s knee. It was completely shattered by one kick, and I had to call the vet to euthanize the horse. So yeah, I will NEVER put a horse in with someone who has back shoes.

Answer by Learning Daily
unless wearing boreum, cleats or pulling shoes with heel digs.. there is NO more danger from a shod hoof then a bare one.

People get this idea that the steel makes the foot more dangerous. Frankly it does not. Bare feet have hard sharp edges along both sides that can cut far more easily then a shoe does.

Tell her to get her horse switched to a different pasture if she thinks its a problem or let her horse stand inside all day

ADD: we’ve kept horses shod 4 round and never had a issue. The worse injuries came from barefooted animals whos hooves had rough edges that left gashes that were difficult to impossible for the vet to close with sutures. WHen it gets right down to it, the whole issue is going to be decided by IF its you who owns the barn.. OR what the boarding contract states about horses in pasture.

Answer by Tinkerbell Fairy
the other person needs to get over themselves and stay away from your horse if they dont like it. Leave your horses shoes on..they need them to function

Answer by Fennec Fox
You asked this question already.

The boarder is being ridiculous. A horse can kill itself in a padded room while covered in bubblewrap.

Answer by charm
I think that if I were boarding my horse, I would either expect my horse to be turned out by itself, in a paddock with one other buddy that didn’t care about fighting and kicking, or in a pasture with horses that didn’t have shoes on their back feet.

I think that you have no reason to take her consideration for her horse as a personal slam against YOUR horse.

I think that anyone who insists that being kicked by a steel shod horse doesn’t hurt worse than being kicked by the same horse when it is barefoot has obviously NEVER experienced the difference personally.

If your horse needs shoes, keep his shoes on and keep him pastured separately. If he doesn’t need the shoes, pull them. Whether he wears shoes or not shouldn’t have anything to do with whether he is pastured with other horses– if he needs shoes, fine, if not, don’t waste your money putting them on.

Answer by Marianne
She does have a bit of a point- Although generally people don’t care unless they have borium on their shoes. She’s probably one of those overly-protective, nannying types that’s a pain in the ass to deal with anyways- Don’t sweat it.

Answer by HorseBizGirl
Absolutely! Horse shoes can do some really serious damage and most horses fight by kicking. I have a small boarding stable for retired show horses and the horses go out together. It says right in my boarding contract that back shoes MUST be removed unless they are needed for medical reasons (e.g. the horse has navicular) and then I’d want a note from their vet. Even then, I would have to think about having a horse with back shoes on in with the other horses.

My horse and my friends horse were best buddies and well over 20 years old, but one day CoPilot got too close to Wizard and BAM – Wizard kicked him right in the chest and poor CoPilot needed stitches.

While many horses are turned out together and there’s rarely a mishap, if I had a valuable horse and didn’t want to run the possible risk (no matter how slight) of him being cut, I certainlly agree with the boarder NOT to turn out my horse with those with shoes.

Answer by Jessica
No it is not ridiculous. Most barns require the pastured horses to be barefoot on the hind feet. Otherwise they’re kept separate. Shoes can just do a lot more damage than barefoot. I personally would NOT want my horse pastured with another horse that had shoes. I just wouldn’t take that risk since I spent a lot of money on my horse and I don’t want him getting kicked and injured.
And i am also not a fan of shoeing horses. It weakens the hoof wall significantly, leading to cracks more often and also less absorption of impact during movement. Plus horses are always losing their shoes and whatnot. I choose to just do what’s right and healthy for my horse.