Advice on barefoot

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elliebate

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Right, i'll try and keep this as brief as possible!
When I got my TB he was barefoot which he stayed for a while but when I started to do more with him it was decided that he would be shod due to him having typical flat, no heels, tiny tb feet which weren't coping with the increased work load. He was shod for about a year but then his feet began to break up so decided that he would go bare to allow his feet to rest.

Then he was diagnosed with navicular in both fronts and a suspensory in left fore. Vets advised Jim Blurton shoes with a heel wedge which is was doing well in, had about 5 shoeings max and has decided that he doesn't want to be shod. Slams feet down and appears very uncomfortable with the nailing on even with sedalin and caught the farrier with a nail so we agreed to just leave him as one of us was going to get hurt.

So he has decided for himself that barefoot is the way which isn't too much of a problem as he is mostly a field ornament with the odd hack and tbh he feet really need a rest as there wasn't much for the farrier to nail to anyway!

So I was wondering on advice regarding feeding. He currently gets a very small amount of A and p calm and condition and a handful of spilled happy hoof, garlic and linseed (once a day). He is out 24/7 on okish grazing not lush at all and not a huge amount on the field- has to be turned out as his head has gone since leaving racing and is very stressed in a stable. Is this diet ok?

He has been barefoot since Friday and I have a full set of boa boots so may put those on and take him for a walk to see how he is, he appears sound on the field, w,t and c.

Thanks, Ellie
 
I give mine an additional scoop of biotin because they are not fed the full quota of happy hoof/safe and sound, and those quotas are what the mins and vits are based on so if you are giving less then you need to give additional vits and mins, esp at this time when his feet need some help, mine have been brilliant but starting to chip this summer so have added biotin, might get some seaweed in to mine as well for a while.
 
elliebate said:
Right, i'll try and keep this as brief as possible!
When I got my TB he was barefoot which he stayed for a while but when I started to do more with him it was decided that he would be shod due to him having typical flat, no heels, tiny tb feet which weren't coping with the increased work load. He was shod for about a year but then his feet began to break up so decided that he would go bare to allow his feet to rest.

Then he was diagnosed with navicular in both fronts and a suspensory in left fore. Vets advised Jim Blurton shoes with a heel wedge which is was doing well in, had about 5 shoeings max and has decided that he doesn't want to be shod. Slams feet down and appears very uncomfortable with the nailing on even with sedalin and caught the farrier with a nail so we agreed to just leave him as one of us was going to get hurt.

So he has decided for himself that barefoot is the way which isn't too much of a problem as he is mostly a field ornament with the odd hack and tbh he feet really need a rest as there wasn't much for the farrier to nail to anyway!

So I was wondering on advice regarding feeding. He currently gets a very small amount of A and p calm and condition and a handful of spilled happy hoof, garlic and linseed (once a day). He is out 24/7 on okish grazing not lush at all and not a huge amount on the field- has to be turned out as his head has gone since leaving racing and is very stressed in a stable. Is this diet ok?

He has been barefoot since Friday and I have a full set of boa boots so may put those on and take him for a walk to see how he is, he appears sound on the field, w,t and c.

Thanks, Ellie
Click to expand...

A&P Calm and Condition is 18% starch and sugar - you should not be feeding any more than 10% starch and sugar in a bucket. Remember the grass is very high in sugar during this time of the year.

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/grass-your-horse-and-managing-risks.html

HappyHoof is molassed (albeit with Molglo - 40% sugar molassed additive) and has alfalfa, which is 'too much' for some BF horses. It is 4% starch and 3% sugar = 7% total, which is OK....but add that to the 18% C&C....= 25% combined sugar and starch in the bucket at one sitting...so much more than the 10% recommended.

Garlic is accused of messing with the gut flora - so it is a personal preference. I chose not to feed it any more.

Linseed - how are you feeding the linseed? Oil? Micronised? Lozenges?

Flat soles and footiness are very often side effects of diet and can be improved by feeding a low sugar/starch, high fibre, balanced mineral diet.

It becomes more apparent when diet isn't suited to the horse when they go BF as the hooves mirror the health of the horse.
 
Thank you for your advice, what feed would you recommend for him? I feed the linseed micronised, only a 25ml scoop per day.

I feed the linseed micron
 
Fast Fibre is a good carrier for supplements :) I feed my two a small mugfull of linseed a day, also salt is important, about a tablespoon a day.

Oatstraw chaff is good, Honeychop do one.
 
In summer I would feed Fast Fibre with 50gm m/ linseed [half a coffee mug], plus a scoop of Equimins Advance, plus 25gm salt. With any foot/skin/digestive problem I think one has to support the system with the basic building blocks. Many people don't feed anything in summer, but these tend to be native types, TBs are usually "a bit soft" :D
In winter add non molassed s/beet for energy without sugar.
I rasp off the front hooves once a week if he is on grass and no roadwork, just try to keep the shape the farrier is looking for.
 
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elliebate said:
Right, i'll try and keep this as brief as possible!
When I got my TB he was barefoot which he stayed for a while but when I started to do more with him it was decided that he would be shod due to him having typical flat, no heels, tiny tb feet which weren't coping with the increased work load. He was shod for about a year but then his feet began to break up so decided that he would go bare to allow his feet to rest.

Then he was diagnosed with navicular in both fronts and a suspensory in left fore. Vets advised Jim Blurton shoes with a heel wedge which is was doing well in, had about 5 shoeings max and has decided that he doesn't want to be shod. Slams feet down and appears very uncomfortable with the nailing on even with sedalin and caught the farrier with a nail so we agreed to just leave him as one of us was going to get hurt.

So he has decided for himself that barefoot is the way which isn't too much of a problem as he is mostly a field ornament with the odd hack and tbh he feet really need a rest as there wasn't much for the farrier to nail to anyway!

So I was wondering on advice regarding feeding. He currently gets a very small amount of A and p calm and condition and a handful of spilled happy hoof, garlic and linseed (once a day). He is out 24/7 on okish grazing not lush at all and not a huge amount on the field- has to be turned out as his head has gone since leaving racing and is very stressed in a stable. Is this diet ok?

He has been barefoot since Friday and I have a full set of boa boots so may put those on and take him for a walk to see how he is, he appears sound on the field, w,t and c.

Thanks, Ellie
Click to expand...

Hello,

I have been training in natural horsemanship and have decided to take my horses barefoot and this is what I was took and did for mine:-

Have the feet trimmed every six weeks
I'm feeding soaked with seaweed and magnesium oxide
For the first 7 days I painted all of the hooves including underneath with NAF hoof and sole I think it's called (it's purple :D)

Mine have been fine like this and have adapted very quickly, the hooves seem to be coping with the freaky weather much better too, my farrier/trimmer said that with these sort of changing conditions barefoot is really a good way to go :D

Good luck!!!
 
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