Alternative to Horseshoes
"For me, Goodsmith is the best alternative to horseshoes that I have tested so far."
Hallo,
I'm Antonia, 29 years old and live on my own small farm, have the horses at home and have been riding for as long as I can remember. I started vaulting at three, at seven I got my first own pony and started competing. I now have three horses of my own, all of which I bought as foals or very young horses and then broke in and trained myself.
And these are my darlings:
Augustin: Gelding, 10 years, Hanoverian, show jumping up to M, eventing up to L, dressage movements up to M/S
Dorle: Mare, 4 years, Rhinelander, backed
Huckleberry Finn: Gelding, 19 years, Rhinelander, dressage up to S, show jumping up to M, now retired
As you can see, we are active in dressage as well as eventing and show jumping.
Initial hoof situation:
We have healthy barefoot hooves and actually no limitations at all. Usually hoof boots for trail rides. We briefly tried horseshoes.
I chose the Goodsmith because I no longer wanted to use horseshoes for riding on hard rough ground, for example eventing or cross-country courses. I wanted hoof protection that I could use for training and competitions, but ideally only put on for riding, as I want to preserve my horse's very good hooves. Plus no more injury risk from a kicked-off horseshoe.
That's why I convinced my hoof care professional to get zertifizieren . I used the Goodsmith for the entire last competition season (7 months). I use the Goodsmith during the competition season when riding, both for dressage and jumping work as well as cross-country in eventing.
My horse moves very confidently on trails with them and has no problems landing after a jump, even on harder or stony ground. Additionally, they are also very non-slip - even without studs. I have only noticed positive effects on the gait, if any.
Fazit:
For me, the Goodsmith is the best alternative to horseshoes that I have tested so far. That's why no horse of mine will ever get a horseshoe again, as the risk of injury and the negative effects on the Hufmechanismus are too high for me, which is not the case with the Goodsmith. So with the Goodsmith I can also ride on grass and cross-country courses to protect my horse and use studs without the hoof quality deteriorating.
