[Dawn]

It might be a good move for you, but you still have to deal with the issue of finding someone to trim her feet.

The more movement she gets without shoes on different surfaces, the 'tougher' her feet will become. If she requires boots to be comfortable on a given surface, that's okay. It is possible that she might never be comfortable on a given surface though depending upon why she's not comfortable.

[JBandRio]

Originally Posted by Jess!

The hoof needs to be fixed, first.

Yes As WB said, that is a separate process from the decision to leave shoes on or not. The best thing may be to leave the shoes on for the time being while the hoof form is being corrected. Or it may not Depends on the feet.

I need to get the toes shortened, but the heel has to come up first

You'll never get the heels up if you don't shorten the breakover.

I'll take pictures this afternoon, I am really upset with this last shoeing on my farrier's part. It was only about two and a half weeks ago they were done. And all he did was reset the shoes, because they didn't shoe enough wear.

Yeah, well now they're almost ready to fall off [super super thin in some places] because I'm back to riding all the time.

Your biggest issue is finding a competent farrier. What have you done to this point in your steps to finding one? www.hopeforsoundness.com might be able to help. Are there any barns near enough for you to take a look at their horses' feet?

[Jess!]

Well, this is my third farrier. My first two just flaked out on my completely, and while conversing with someone else via PM, the one flaked on her as well. Also, they flaked on my two friends that used them, as well. Supposedly "too many clients". But ignoring our calls, cancelling schedules, etc is not the way to tell someone you don't want them anymore - just tell us. I always pay my farrier in cash, on time, and sometimes tip.

I would love to go barefoot, and just get a pair of Renegades. It'd be cheaper in the long run [I'm paying $80 for fronts right now, $150 for full sets].

I suppose I could go out and see this other farrier's work, but I'm not sure.

Usually I judge by the first two or three times they do my horses. Like Kandee's, they looked okay the first time, but these last two times [with the last being the worse] I wasn't too happy.

[JBandRio]

Even if you go barefoot, you at least need a trimmer. Have you looked into trimmers, as opposed to farriers?