Do you feel that it is necessary to keep your horse's hooves picked out? Or does it matter? I've always found that they are less likely to get thrush if they don't have shoes so you don't need to pick them out as much. What do you think?

Shoeless hooves are wider and flatter and so pick up less muck. When it's dry I sometimes just use the brush on the back feet as there is nothing to pick out. (my horse has has her back shoes removed for much longer then her front shoes and her front feet haven't finished changing shape.) Shod feet can become very concave and you really have to dig in at the bars.

As for thrush I wouldn't know as my horse has ever had it, shod or bare. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

When doing some reading on barefoot management I came across an interesting suggestion: When you bring your horse in from the field don't remove the mud (but check for any stones). The mud slows down the drying out of the hooves, like a natural moisturize. The hooves would still have to be cleaned and checked properly though before the horse is turned out/ridden

In answer to the question: It's easier to pick out a shoeless hoof and there's not always anything to pick out BUT it is necessary to CHECK the leg and foot. Stones can still get wedged in, minor bruises and cuts may not cause lameness so must be looked for, and you'll find any lumps, bumps or heat in the legs or hoof as you run your hand down.

If your horse lives out and you don't ride everyday, you don't have to bring the horse in to brush off and pick out the feet. If they a half-way behaved you can just do it in the field without tying them. It takes no time at all.

Barefoot horses are less likely to accumulate packed in mud,manure, etc than shod horses. They also have better circulation and tissue perfusion within the hooves so that their immune functions are at optimum and better at staving off infections. So, they are much less vulnerable to diseases like thrush, but they can still develop thrush. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
That said, though, there are still other good reasons to regularly pick the hooves. One very important reason is to allow you to inspect each hoof for things like embedded foreign objects or changes in the tissue that need attention. Another is just to keep the horses compliant and used to having their hooves handled on a daily basis. So, it's best to pick them out daily whether you ride or not if just for those reasons alone. You should always pick the hooves before and after you ride.

57 years with horses

Less likely to get thrush? BS. One of our horses had sever thrush when we got him, and he was barefoot and had never seen a hoof pick. Horse that are barefooted are just as likely to get thrush as horses that are shod. Crap and mud still get packed into the hoof which allows for bacteria to grow. I think that a horses foot needs cleaned out daily or nearly daily to keep healthy feet.

Boyfriend owns horses and I work at a breeding and training farm.

Debris can also still get caught in the frog of the bare-foot, so you still want to check your horse's foot daily. Also, picking up your horses feet everyday is a good way to catch any lameness, cuts, puffiness, or other issues that you may not see without getting under your horse, on other parts of his body besides his foot. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Picking up your horses feet everyday also makes your farrier's job easier, as your horse will be very familiar with having his feet handled.

You will also be able to catch white line, cracks, abscesses, chips, and other defects in the foot early. The hoof of your horse is the foundation of your horse, so it's important to keep it healthy.

Edit - if you live where there is snow, sometimes it can accumulate around the coronet band. I usually brush that off when my horses come in at night so that it is not adding any extra moisture to the foot.

I do pick out less for my barefoot horse than I did with my shod horse as I find that the mud/bedding etc falls out of the barefoot hoof and the shod hoof it kinda balls and sticks in the hoof. I do check every day as they can still get stones and still occasionally get thrush which I prefer to jump on right away, but most days I don't need to actually pick the hoof as there's nothing there. I find when it's wet theres a lot less in the hoof than in the summer when the pasture is dry.

You always need to pick out your horses feet, especially before a ride, whether they are barefoot or not. They could have a nail, a rock, a piece of glass, ect in their foot - great way to end up at the vets office!