Admitting (a little bit of barefoot) defeat

[Caol Ila]

Both my horses are barefoot behind and booted up front for hacks, which has worked fine for Fin, but now that Hermosa has graduated to 2+ hour rides, she's giving me the impression that she would like boots behind as well. Just for the long ones. Still feels fine on sub-two hour rides. I sort of feel like I am failing barefoot management, but the other thing is that the trails further afield are rocky, really rocky, with loads of pointy ones, and she is very mincy and slow over those sections. She's good on roads and on less rocky bits.

One of our only canter tracks, which we all dubbed The Canter Track, was recently resurfaced with small, sharp rocks. That was nice of Scottish Water. I guess it made it better for prams and wheelchair users because it improved drainage, but it is now known as the Ex-Canter Track. Or perhaps we should re-christen it the "Walk Very Slowly Track." None of the barefoot horses like it. Even the shod ones are cautious there now.

I guess Fin is just more nails, but growing up as a wild pony may have helped.

It seems like barefoot endurance riders often boot all four feet.

Staring at Hoof Bootique's website. Trying to work out what will fit but I'll probably have to go through the faff of taking photos and emailing them. I don't think our beloved Renegade Vipers will fit her hind feet because they are quite slim. Roughly 11cm wide by 13cm long, last time I took a measurement.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

It isn't a defeat.
Defeat would be injury through not listening to the horse and continuing without adapting to the conditions.

My friend needs hoofboots for her horse and if you think you are struggling with fit, please feel free to see what you can find for a Clydesdale with feet 21cm across.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

It’s not a defeat at all. My boy wears Vipers all round and he’s been barefoot for 13 of his 14 years. He just has crap feet, boots are the answer and I don’t beat myself up about it.

Let Liz have her measurements and she will tell you what’s best. Scoots do a slim version and it may just be temporary.

 

[meleeka]

That’s not defeat. It sounds like there’s a lot for them to negotiate and very few would find that comfortable.

You can get fitting kits, so a few sizes to see which one is going to fit. If you know roughly, you could just do that.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Here in the UK we simply do not get the weather to produce rock crunching feet 100% of the time. You are listening to your horse, and adapting accordingly.

 

[Peglo]

I have to boot Tali up on all 4. I also feel like I’m failing but only because I’d like to ditch boots for shorter rides but she isn’t comfortable enough. Hoping I can get her comfier yet.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Not defeat her feet just aren't catching up to the wear just now, once they have a rest in the boots you might find that they deal better.

I don't think anything is a defeat now with hooves, Faran has been barefoot since birth fed a barefoot friendly diet and I still had to boot him up in front as I has hacking loads (5 days a week) and now he's shod due to the concussion Lami he had, the heart bars are coming off and normal ones going on. So many would view the shoes as a defeat but to me he was needing them so he got them.

Just view it as your horse needs them to be comfy and move forwards from that

 

[PurBee]

Pointier stones and surfaces can be an issue for most barefoot horses with prolonged exposure. There’s the ‘rock-crunching’ claims that i think generally pertains to dry hard tracks with the odd boulder to walk across, and the ability to handle gravel and hard smooth surfaces. Jagged, sharp gravel that doesnt move underfoot is the most challenging, but that also tends to be a man-made surface than any surface generally found in nature.

My gelding has incredible soles, naturally solid fronts, and even he will re-position himself when he finds his foot on a sharp sticking-up bit of hardcore. I have various hardcore areas and some parts are less even, some parts have the odd sharp boulder. Its all a very varied surface. He’s fine on it for hours but the fixed sharp rocks he is more mindful of avoiding. He will go across rounded stone solid boulders fine.

I have a stretch of track that has small sharp stones, but now its worn by them and my tractor, many have pressed into the surface creating a smooth ‘lane’ and there’s still rough stones on the edges. However, they both will trot and canter on them when fresh laid because they are only about 15mmx10mm sharp stone which moves about under their (and mine) feet. So they dont mind that size. An area of drain where i have slightly bigger sharp stones that dont move so well underfoot they go more gently over.

Booting all 4 isnt failure, as some man-made surfaces arent suitable for even the most solid at home hooves. The idea that a ‘truly good barefoot’ can handle every surface we throw at them is a myth. My geldings fronts are truly incredible…a work of nature, not my barefoot efforts!….and even he has taught me there are limits.

If a horse grows up and is used to very rough terrain, its hoof will will grow to handle that surface, and likely sole growth will be maximised. Mountain equines around the world are an example. But a horse who is used to softer pasture, and smooth tarmac, or round gravel on occasion can have very good hooves, but will be sore on very sharp hard surfaces. The hoof grows to the ground conditions it meets most regularly. If 18hrs on soft soil grazing is what it knows most, it doesnt need dense hard soles.
My gelding was exposed since birth on varied terrain for many hours per 24, so his system got the message thick soles are needed. (On average with tracks , hardcore and soil they spend likely 12/12 hrs on those surfaces, but for winter its likely 16/8 hrs ratio mostly on rough surface)
Booting a horse who is barefoot sound on all the regular surfaces at home, but struggles with new out of home sharper surfaces is sensible and to be expected, not a failure of their feet.

 

[Nasicus]

Not defeat at all! As much as we've love to dance around singing about how our horses could walk barefoot over a bed of nails without flinching, reality is different!
I started using a pair of Scoots on the fronts for mine last year, we'd started riding across some very stony, flinty ground and she was like Hermosa, mincey and slow.
After getting 'down in the barefoot dumps' as well, I got over myself, slapped some boots on for the really crappy ground and took comfort in the fact that on all other surfaces, she was absolutely fine, just needed a bit of help getting over that bed of nails

 

[nikkimariet]

It’s not defeat, nothing we do with horses is natural anyway.

Boots are great, Fig was so happy with his exracer and lami compromised feet but would go 3+ hours walk and trot on roads in his. Rooni has gone over some serious trails up to 30 miles but I don’t think I could get away with more realistically.

 

[Caol Ila]

Sensible words, as always, guys.

I think when you read lots of barefoot stuff, you get this idea in your head that if it's not 'rock crunching,' literally, you have not achieved the barefoot holy grail.

You see mustangs running over all sorts of mad terrain, but I guess they grow up doing that and there is a whole lot of natural selection going on.

My last measurements of her feet are from two years ago, when she was like 3/4 yrs old. I'll take some more today. Hopefully Hoof Bootique has something that fits. Looks like Evos or Exploras might.

 

[nettle]

It’s not defeat, it’s doing what the horse needs. Our hacking is forestry tracks and many of them are very gravelly. If we have a hot dry summer Fryday will have very very solid feet that don’t mind the gravel. Right now, even with only five hours turnout a day the damp means his soles are softer and we have to boot for the forestry, but if only doing a 30 min leg stretch on tarmac we don’t.
You just do what the horse needs.

 

[SantaVera]

Definitely not defeat. If the horse needs boots then he needs boots. Mine certainly does.

 

[SantaVera]

Sensible words, as always, guys.

I think when you read lots of barefoot stuff, you get this idea in your head that if it's not 'rock crunching,' literally, you have not achieved the barefoot holy grail.

You see mustangs running over all sorts of mad terrain, but I guess they grow up doing that and there is a whole lot of natural selection going on.

My last measurements of her feet are from two years ago, when she was like 3/4 yrs old. I'll take some more today. Hopefully Hoof Bootique has something that fits. Looks like Evos or Exploras might.

Quite right regarding natural selection, those with less than great rock crunchers won't survive. Our pet horses aren't bred like that. There's also the weather, Britain has a damp wet climate and because of that the hoofs are going to be relatively soft compared to Mustangs .

 

[Gloi]

Get some Hoof Armour on her. A couple of coats and then another a couple of weeks later and I'm sure you'll notice a big difference. It works well for me.

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[pistolpete]

That happened to one of our favourite ‘canter’ tracks. Is very much a walk track! So annoying. I find cavallos incredibly forgiving even though they are clompy horses cope well with them on the whole.

 

[Melody Grey]

Both of my barefoot hackers have boots all round and I firmly consider that a win! One was remedially shod for a time and then went back barefoot but doesn’t grow a lot of horn and the other had bone -bruising and has boots with pads (to avoid remedial shoeing!)

I don’t think you’re losing, just listening and working with what you’ve got (which is the best any of us can do!)

ETA: if it’s in work, comfortable and not shod, you won!

 

[Nudibranch]

Not defeat at all, as others have said!
This has been the wettest winter/spring I've ever known. Farrier said yesterday he's seeing lots of issues at the moment.
I boot all round now, Scoot regulars in front and slims on the back. They stay on well, pretty easy to take on and off, and it keeps us out of shoes. It's not worth the risk of bruised soles, or them carrying themselves wrongly because they're afraid to stride out, and storing up issues down the line.

 

[splashgirl45]

Sensible words, as always, guys.

I think when you read lots of barefoot stuff, you get this idea in your head that if it's not 'rock crunching,' literally, you have not achieved the barefoot holy grail.

You see mustangs running over all sorts of mad terrain, but I guess they grow up doing that and there is a whole lot of natural selection going on.

My last measurements of her feet are from two years ago, when she was like 3/4 yrs old. I'll take some more today. Hopefully Hoof Bootique has something that fits. Looks like Evos or Exploras might.

Also what everyone seems to forget that we put quite a bit of extra weight on our horses and that must make a difference to the amount the hooves wear down as well as putting more pressure on feet that weren’t designed for the extra weight. I could lead my mare who was unshod behind, across the gravelled yard and she was fine but if I rode her across it she wasn’t comfortable. I ended up with her being shod behind , fronts were already shod..

 

[ycbm]

No failure, CI, just reality.

And of course if there's one sure fire way to ensure that the ground dries up and your horse rapidly becomes rock crunching all round, it's to spend 250 quid on a pair of boots
.

 

[Goldenstar]

It’s been a crap winter for horses feet .
It’s not defeat it’s adjusting to allow for changing situations .
I hope you find the right boots for the job without too much hassle .

 

[Caol Ila]

Took a bunch of photos of her feet yesterday and emailed them to the Hoof Bootique.

I hope it's not massively faffy to find her some boots. As per my measurements, she's not perfectly within the size charts. But she's kind of close to some of them.

 

[suestowford]

I have an old boy here who had fronts only for nearly 20 years, had them removed a couple of years ago and now has technically perfect feet. They should cope well with hard ground, and they do. But stony ground is another matter and I think what you describe would tax a shod horse also.
I took the old boy out for a walk the other day and as we weren't going far, I didn't put his boots on. He was not happy really, so I will carry on with the boots. I suspect the long wet spell has also affected the hardness of a lot of feet recently, and that's what I'm blaming this on!