Hoof Question. Is this normal?

Okay so on Friday I had my farrier come out and take off my gelding's shoes since I don't ride him that much and I usually take them off for 6 weeks about twice a year. He trimmed them too. Well today I was working him in the round pen and I noticed he was acting like his hooves were tender. He wasn't, like, actually limping, but I could tell by the way he was moving that his hooves seemed sore or something. Is this normal? Do you think he's just adjusting to them being off or something?

Yup, for a lot of horses, this would be quite normal. He has to harden up his sole a bit. Think of it like you walking on rocks with only socks, instead of the shoes that you were once normally used to.
His feet will toughen up again :)

Oh good. I was worried! How long does it usually take for them to get used to no shoes?

It is definitely quiet normal. To put on shoes, the farrier has to scrape off whatever calus that has built itself on the bottom of the foot. The calus protects the hoof from rocks, etc, so if you remove the calus it will be prone to sensitivity.

It's perfectly normal...my horse was sensitive on his hooves when we had the pre-purcahse because he had just had his shoes taken off. But since he has a calus on, he's fine barefooted.

yup! Its just like my feet at the beginning of summer when I start wandering around barefoot again. My feet are all soft and sensitive because they have been in shoes all winter. Then after a few weeks of walking around barefoot again my feet have toughened up

It depends how long the shoes were on. I took my horse's shoes off last winter and it took him a good month to not be sensitive. But he had been on shoes for at least the 13 years that I had owned him. It is worth it though...my horse has a few cracks to deal with but overall his feet are tougher than ever and he can walk on all sorts of things that he couldn't with his shoes.

Since he's used to being shod, then yes, it is normal for him to be sore. Depending on the condition of his feet, he could be sore for 4-6 months of being barefoot after being shod for a long period of time. If you have a good trimmer/farrier, then he should only be sore for 1-4 weeks (for riding in the arena or in a soft pasture).

Sounds perfectly normal to me. He'll get used to it. Watch out for rocky roads and he should be fine. Do check the hooves regularly for any cracks or the like. Some horses tend to develop those when their shoes are taken off after such a long period. If you keep him outside (in a free pasture) it might take longer for the hooves to adapt, cause they're going to be wet/humid fairly often.

I agree, definitely sounds normal. I don't think it will take too long for him to be adjusted.

Well it's definitely not moist or humid in this state lol. He hasn't had shoes on for that long... like I said, I take them off twice a year. Thanks guys, I was scared there for a second