Can You Ride A Horse With A Loose Shoe?

My son and I were strolling down to the pasture early the other morning to go for our traditional weekend rides.

We were both really looking forward to it as we always are.

When we got down, though, we were doing our spot checks of the horses when I noticed that one of the shoes on my son’s horse was loose.

He got a bit upset as he guessed that meant we wouldn’t be able to ride him until I could get a farrier out.

I wasn’t sure, so I decided to look into it.

So, can you ride a horse with a loose shoe?

No, you shouldn’t ride a horse with a loose shoe. The shoe could get caught and pulled off during the walk, seriously damaging the hoof. Beyond that, it also poses a huge tripping hazard, which would be hazardous for you and the horse. Do not ride a horse with a loose shoe.

Loose horseshoes present a whole host of potential problems, so if your horse’s shoe does become loose, you need to get it fixed as soon as you can.

Let’s look into this in more detail.

What to do if a horse has a loose shoe?

If your horse seems to have a loose shoe, you should call a farrier immediately.

Even if you don’t ride your horse at all, a loose shoe should be fixed straight away as it always poses a danger to your horse.

Shoes can become loose for a lot of reasons.

They can get knocked off by the horse just walking around, or they can be fitted loose by less than reputable farriers.

The important thing is that you should always be doing regular spot checks on your horse’s hooves.

Routinely checking your horse’s hooves will mean you can identify any problems as soon as they arise.

Loose shoes are easier to detect than other problems, as you’ll usually be able to tell by looking without even lifting the hoof.

It will probably rattle and move around, and make noise.

If you notice this, be sure to call a farrier immediately, and if you can, take the shoe off yourself.

Better to be missing one shoe than walking around with a loose one.

Can you ride a horse that’s thrown a shoe?

Throwing a shoe and having a loose shoe are two different things, so let’s just make that distinction first.

If your horse has a loose shoe, you should never ride it until its fixed.

As I said, it poses a tripping hazard, and could even come off and rip off part of the hoof.

If a horse has completely thrown its hoof, and the hoof is completely detached, then it will be okay to ride just to get it back to where it started.

If you’re on particularly rough terrain, you might want to lead it rather than riding it.

For the most part, though, missing a shoe is not as bad as having one loose.

There will be a slight imbalance, since one of its hooves will be a bit lower.

But it will be okay for a short while. So, in the case that your horse has thrown a shoe while walking, get the horse safely back and then call the farrier out as soon as you can.

Can you ride straight after farrier?

As is often the case with questions like these it really depends on the terrain.

It’s probably best to always give your horse some amount of time after being treated by the farrier before you start riding.

If you’re only riding on very soft footing, like sand or soft grass, you’ll probably be okay.

If you’re looking to ride on more harsh surfaces like gravel or any kind of solid path, you should wait at least 8 hours.

We would advise that it’s usually best practice to wait in any case, but absolutely if you are riding on any kind of hard material.

How long can a horse go with a loose shoe?

As soon as you notice your horse has a loose shoe, you should be looking to get someone out to fix it.

Every moment that it has a loose shoe poses a potential danger to it.

Tripping, getting it caught and pulling it out—all major problems which could seriously hurt your horse.

Your horse really shouldn’t go any longer than it takes the farrier to get out to you.

As soon as you notice a loose shoe you should call them and keep a close eye on the horse until the farrier arrives.

Some horse owners do learn to remove shoes themselves, which can be a useful skill.

Leave applying the new ones to the professional, but being able to remove a loose one gives your horse a better chance of not being injured.

If your horse seems to have a loose shoe, don’t take any chances.

Get it sorted immediately and do not ride it in the meantime.

Your horse poses a danger to itself with a loose shoe even if you aren’t riding it, so do what’s right for your horse and get a farrier out as soon as you can.

Letting the problem lie will only make it get worse and could even pose a risk of fatal injury to your horse.