Advice from the Barefoot Taliban needed, please

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TheoryX1

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Well I have decided to do it - my cob is going barefoot. He has always had great feet, and was only shod as I did a lot of road work with him. We arent doing quite so much now as he is nearly 20, and his feet are so good I asked my farrier on advice. He recommended taking off the hind shoes first of all and feeding him biotin, seeing how it goes and then taking the front ones off. Now before I get shot down in flames, I believe in keeping matters dead simple - good hay, plenty of turnout, a tiny bit of coolmix just to feed him his glocusamine and of course biotin in (he is only fed that because he is stabled next to my daughters eventer and gets very, very uptight if she is fed and he is not).

Now apart from being sensible and taking it steadily do I need to worry about anything else? Advice from the Barefoot Taliban please, and please be kind to me. (Also posted in CR).
 
Sounds like a good plan :).

Watch the grass and keep an eye out for any little signs of thrush. I would use pro balance instead of biotin - horses manufacture their own biotin, but they can't manufacture the basic minerals which tend to be lacking in uk grazing.

Work-wise be guided by what your horse is comfortable with, and gradually increase accordingly. Don't be worried about roadwork - it's fab for bare feet! :D

If you have any probs the folks on here will be happy to try and help. Good luck :)
 
Cant remember which I use pro hoof or pro balance but it is a miracle substance. My cob went barefoot fairly easily it her hooves were raggedy and chipping with a white line that Oberbaubles said she could have parked a bus in :D but after I started feeding this from pro earth I noticed massive and rapid changes, increased concavity, soles as hard as nails, white line has shrunk nicely.....

I remember I chose the cheaper one of those two...
 
Pro balance and ditch the cool mix. You can use anything that doesnt have mollasses (or molglo) in it instead. Mine gets speedibeet and readigrass :D
 
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