Advice for a barefoot newbie

[Boughtabay]

Hi is there anyone on here who is knowledgeable about keeping horses barefoot and would be happy for me to PM them a slowmo video & give their opinions? I’ve got my young horse barefoot but I don’t think I’m 100% happy with what I’m seeing at the moment, he’s just about landing flat (to my eye) but having had a navicular horse I’m not sure if I should be trying to change things …

 

[Highmileagereindeer]

Knowledgeable with my own horse - but not a farrier! This time of year, with the rain and mud we are having, most barefoot horses are a bit tender. If you check out some of the barefoot sites such as Pete Ramey, Dr Robert Bowker, Rockley Farm etc. and try to get a picture of a healthy foot with well developed heel buttresses and good frogs, it will help to make comparisons with your youngster. In particular, check the frog for any cracks or fissures, and check that the widest part of the frog does not have a crease up the middle that disappears into the heel. Treat for thrush if any of this is evident, as this will cause low level lameness, and heel pain. At the moment, I am soaking my lads hooves for five minutes in Dettol solution once a week, just as a preventative.

 

[ycbm]

This time of year, with the rain and mud we are having, most barefoot horses are a bit tender.

I sincerely hope you are wrong about "most" because if it's true then those horses should be shod. I have never had a tender barefoot horse, irrespective of the weather, except when new out of shoes or if something was going wrong.

 

[ycbm]

Happy to take a look. Not a farrier but very experienced at trimming my own barefoot eventers and hunters in the past.
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[Boughtabay]

Knowledgeable with my own horse - but not a farrier! This time of year, with the rain and mud we are having, most barefoot horses are a bit tender. If you check out some of the barefoot sites such as Pete Ramey, Dr Robert Bowker, Rockley Farm etc. and try to get a picture of a healthy foot with well developed heel buttresses and good frogs, it will help to make comparisons with your youngster. In particular, check the frog for any cracks or fissures, and check that the widest part of the frog does not have a crease up the middle that disappears into the heel. Treat for thrush if any of this is evident, as this will cause low level lameness, and heel pain. At the moment, I am soaking my lads hooves for five minutes in Dettol solution once a week, just as a preventative.

he’s got very solid feet and isn’t lame or soft considering they’ve been on a bog until a week ago! So that’s one less thing to worry about, I’m more worried about angles etc. and that we’re potentially getting a bit long in the toe and heading towards toe first landing but I’m not confident in my own assessment yet - thanks for your input!

 

[Boughtabay]

Happy to take a look. Not a farrier but very experienced at trimming my own barefoot eventers and hunters in the past.
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Awesome if I can get the video to send it will be in your inbox soon! I just want a second pair of eyes over it before i start asking my farrier to make changes - thankyou!