Advice on sore feet?

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Skhosu

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My tbx eventer has had his shoes pulled off approx 2 weeks ago until christmas as he is out 24/7. The only thing is he is sore, even in soft muddy fields you can tell he's tender and on concrete (with picked out feet) he is still very footsore, and I would go as far as saying lame, reluctant to trot etc.
Should I get the shoes back on? The idea was to let his feet grow and they are and the frogs etc look a lot fatter(they were very narrow) but I'm concerned he is suffering and this is what I always had against barefoot that they think it's ok to have an effectively lame horse kept lame as its 'good for them'
 
I'd at least put his fronts back on. Was he shod all round?

I don't think your comments on barefoot are justified, there's a bit more to barefoot trimming than just taking a horse's shoes off.
 
its common knowledge in barefoot that horses may be sore during the 'transition'. foot sore or lame, your choice of terms..
 
I think you're getting the strasser trimming method confused with barefoot trimming. The strasser method CAN result in sore feet, bruising and abcessing. Generally the transition from the original foot conformation to the desired shape is done fairly quickly.
A responsible farrier will look at the foot balance and any remedial work will be done slowly over time to limit any discomfort to the horse.

Shoes work by limiting the blood flow to the foot and restricting the natural expansion & contraction of the hoof - deadening any sensitivity and feeling in the foot. A shod horse will have cold feet due to restricted bloodflow, a barefoot horse's feet will be warm.
Understandably, when a horse that has worn shoes has them removed, there is a return of blood flow and sensitivity to the feet, making the horse sore.
 
no..I'm not..I know what I'm talking about and its as you might say from the barefoot peoples mouth.
I wouldn't bother defending barefoot to me
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I have firm ideas already.
 
Well there's no point in trying to educate someone who knows everything is there?

Sorry, my mistake, I thought the title of your thread said you were asking for advice.

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I agree that any decent, caring, 'barefoot person' does NOT accept that it is OK for a horse to be lame because 'it's good for them'. It absolutely isn't and people like that give barefoot a bad name. There may be times during transition when the horse is not fully capable on all surfaces and needs to be booted/padded to help him out but long term unsoundness and a horse in pain is not acceptable IMO.

I am assuming that your intention is to put his shoes back on after December (?). Assuming that is the case and given his current discomfort I think I'd go for reshoeing, at least in front.

It may be worth taking a look at his diet to see if there's anything there that can be tweaked to help his overall foot health.
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yup.
His diet- grass the cardinal sin I know ;p which isn't going to change due to me believing my horse is perfectly happy on it, save for being sore in the feet. I have left a message to ask my farrier for advice as well obviously, so just looking to see if he is abnormally sore
 
LOL :-)

In seriousness though horses that tend to be in a lot of work (and being an evener I'm assuming yours is) don't tend to suffer half the problems that those who aren't do. My fella has had no real problems with the 'evil' green stuff at all :-)

Hope you get him comfy soon :-)
 
You can either have shoes put back on and try and address his foot growth with supplementation or look at putting hoof pads on. There are sole mates pads or this new product that lasts for a few weeks. I wouldn't leave him in discomfort
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Tenderness can be expected with some horses but that is very different from being actually sore - which should not be tolerated.

I also have to add you sound a tad patronising re barefoot people. You certainly don't know everyone's views. Its like saying all white people are racist. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I don't know any barefoot people that would take a horses shoes off then leave it lame with no support like you seem to have done. I don't mean to be nasty and I am sure you meant well but ignorence isn't really a very good defence where welfare is concerned.
 
I agree hence the farrier being rung
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I'm not here except the odd weekend so that's all the chance I have to evaluate him. I expect soreness for a while, and in fairness he's not too bad in the field (he just was standing still today..probably to worry me ;p sister says he's been galloping around) in the mud, but I don't like having a cripple on concrete!
 
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