All these barefoot posts.....

Horsesforever1 said:
i'd like mine to be barefoot but theres too much tarmac here and i do like to trot on roads and ride for hours. And dont tell me the feet will "condition" and grow quicker i response, not to the extent they need to they dont ;the hoof just wears down too quickly and therefore needs a shoe.
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Ok, I wont :D
 
Horsesforever1 said:
i'd like mine to be barefoot but theres too much tarmac here and i do like to trot on roads and ride for hours. And dont tell me the feet will "condition" and grow quicker i response, not to the extent they need to they dont ;the hoof just wears down too quickly and therefore needs a shoe.
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Well, for some people they do grow fast enough to keep up with work load if given a chance for the growth rate to adapt. Personally I hate trotting on roads with shoes on but will happily trot for miles barefoot. There are 6 barefooters at my yard, we all do a lot of roadwork and wearing down has never been an issue.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
i'd like mine to be barefoot but theres too much tarmac here and i do like to trot on roads and ride for hours. And dont tell me the feet will "condition" and grow quicker i response, not to the extent they need to they dont ;the hoof just wears down too quickly and therefore needs a shoe.
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Why not Horsesforever? Why wouldn't you want people who are doing exactly what you say is impossible to tell you about their experience? I don't think they're lying :D

Re. Horseforever assertion above, Is there much research about the amount of impact and concussion that is transmitted through a horses legs by having metal shoes on? Just wondering as it seems so illogical that humans choose soft shock absorbing footwear to run on roads and yet think some metal would be a really good idea for horses!?
 
I would just want to know why my horse couldn't do work barefoot. This is where the differences can come in. If a horse is very short of a mineral (for eg.) in your grass and hay isn't it a good thing to know about? If your horse is especially sensitive to grass or sugars in it and some hay, wouldn't you want to know so you can adjust diet to ward off IR in the future for eg?

Hooves reflect the horses body system so for me they are like windows into a horses health/physiology. I could chop them off and use a trolley (tongue in cheek reference to the trolley mentioned earlier in the thread) but the horse is still the same.
 
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Horsesforever1 said:
i'd like mine to be barefoot but theres too much tarmac here and i do like to trot on roads and ride for hours. And dont tell me the feet will "condition" and grow quicker i response, not to the extent they need to they dont ;the hoof just wears down too quickly and therefore needs a shoe.
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OK I won't either.

But I will ask you if the horse actually went sore?

Or if the horse was sound and you are just unaware how short barefoot feet are supposed to be? I once shod one for that reason, because unfortunately my farrier didn't know either.

Or if you never actually tried it in the first place because you "know" that you do too much roadwork for the horse to grow enough foot?

And if you did try it, how long you gave the horse to condition itself to the amount of roadwork you wanted it to do? I have one who takes a couple of months to respond to his work wear and produce foot more quickly, and two who grow it back in a day.
 
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horserider said:
This is one of the issues I have with the Barefoot extremists, they bang on about their way is the only way and then when challenged claim, 'we never said that.'
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Horserider it is very easy for you to prove who said what on this forum. Every word anyone has ever written on it has been saved and there is an advanced search function.

It is not my responsibility to prove that I did not say what you say I said. It is for you to prove that I did.
 
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tallyho! said:
Does this mean we need to adapt hoof care to individual cases as Oberons' posting of the links from tribeequus.com.

Or, does this mean we need to change the way we keep the domestic cousins of the wild horse? Provide the varied terrain of feral horses.
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I am finding that the more I learn, the more questions I have.

I reckon we still have a long way to go to fully understand what keeps horses, and hooves truly healthy.

No one has all the answers. But that doesn't mean we should stop asking questions. :)
 
tallyho! said:
Originally Posted by Horseyscot
My two , in my books, aren't barefoot, they're unshod. And fed and maintained as they would be if they were ( and sometimes are) shod. Who actually invented the whole barefoot thing??? it amazes me how so many are sucked in by new fangled terminology ... Never mind, I'll just go and crawl back under my stone..

It was a FARRIER that "invented" it.

It was not "invented" as such, it was just used in normal conversation and obviously struck a chord with some people and so it was just used MORE. It is not a new word by any stretch of the imagination.

I am glad though, because you don't get much on the Internet when you google unshod. You get more info if you google barefoot because worldwide, it is accepted that, this is the term to use when researching about horses who live without shoes.

Now, it's a sore point for some people like you Horseyscott :) and it certainly ruffles feathers on HHO based purely on personal preference.

I think the barefoot diet should be called "natural" diet because there is no difference between it and a natural diet. Perhaps it pays more attention to certain aspects of nutrition... Perhaps.
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I probably don't really put myself over very well, and reading some other replies others say what I'm trying to say much better than me lol!

I actually dont care what people call 'it' either. I appreciate some horses wear shoes others don't for a variety of reasons. As I have said neither of my two have shoes on, I don't mind saying they're barefoot, but I do say unshod. I suppose this is where I get confused, it's maybe more who does the trimming that mixes it up for me. My farrier trims mine, I trust him after all he's trained for four years to do his job ( and more importantly he's does a good job). But all of a sudden, barefoot trimmers have popped up, and as has been mentioned it doesn't take much to take on this 'qualification ' I'm not saying all barefoot trimmers know nothing, and this post proves how many of you think highly of the trimmers you use. I have taken on your points about nutrition, but surely all horse owners want to feed and maintain their horses well no matter what is or isn't on their feet? :)
 
Horseyscot said:
I have taken on your points about nutrition, but surely all horse owners want to feed and maintain their horses well no matter what is or isn't on their feet? :)
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They do. But unfortunately, what the horse considers good feed and what most owners (and I have been there myself) and some feed companies consider good feed can have a yawning gap between them.

There are many horses out there who suffer with crumbling, poor quality hooves, sensitivity, excessive wear, weak laminae attachment, behavioural problems, ulcers, poor coat condition etc etc because of the diet.

But the owner will swear blind the diet isn't the problem :(

No one wants to listen to the hippys
lol.gif
 
Horseyscot said:
I have taken on your points about nutrition, but surely all horse owners want to feed and maintain their horses well no matter what is or isn't on their feet? :)
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Absolutely they do. :) Shoes have a numbing effect as well as lifting the hoof off the ground, so often any sensitivity is not noticed in a shod horse.
 
Horseyscot said:
I probably don't really put myself over very well, and reading some other replies others say what I'm trying to say much better than me lol!
But all of a sudden, barefoot trimmers have popped up, and as has been mentioned it doesn't take much to take on this 'qualification ' I'm not saying all barefoot trimmers know nothing, and this post proves how many of you think highly of the trimmers you use.
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You know, I have to tell you something... there are not that many farriers like yours in this country. The quality varies. I have a question though... why? Why if the WCF are such a respected body of authority on foot care, is the quality of farriery so variable?

So, when you find the answer to this, apply the same logic to everything.

Where there is a gap in the market, something will "pop" up to fill it :D:D:D:D
 
Oberon said:
I am finding that the more I learn, the more questions I have.

I reckon we still have a long way to go to fully understand what keeps horses, and hooves truly healthy.

No one has all the answers. But that doesn't mean we should stop asking questions. :)
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Tell me about it... :D
 
Horsesforever1 said:
i'd like mine to be barefoot but theres too much tarmac here and i do like to trot on roads and ride for hours. And dont tell me the feet will "condition" and grow quicker i response, not to the extent they need to they dont ;the hoof just wears down too quickly and therefore needs a shoe.
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I could have written that post until my horse showed me different.
 
Goldenstar said:
I could have written that post until my horse showed me different.
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:D hee hee.... There's a barefooter/unshodererer in every one of us I reckon.... :D

Someone once said to me (he was in fact a farrier, be in his 90's now) "the horse will teach you everything you wanna know. You only gotta listen" he cold shod horses if only he felt it was absolutely necessary. He had a forge in Somerset which all the kids rode to. He didn't shoe that much, mostly just gave them a good trim. some of the members may know him...
 
Interesting article Tallyho!

I can see some sense in what they are saying.

It does worry me how the front cover suggests using acupressure as a dewormer though. :eek:
 
tallyho! said:
Not sure why I am posting this, it is not new but for those that think trotting on roads with shoes on is acceptable for long periods of time.

http://www.easycareinc.com/app_system/lib/content/home/education/articles/Hoof-Loading-NHM.pdf
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A 'wholistic' horsecare magazine which is actively promoting homeopathy for colic and acupressure for worms? Hmm, not so sure about that, and bar the magazine I can't find anywhere else the author's work is published :confused: though her company 'Hoof squad' sounds like it would fit in well with the Barefoot Taliban :D
 
Alright guys! Let's not get a firkin hernia about homeopathy and witchcraft!!!!

It was the article I was interested in, not the front cover!

Jeez... Try and look past the hocus pocus and you will see something of value.

I am a bachelor physiologist with a pharmacy postgrad, and I work in pharma. I would not feed you lot trash if I can help it but sadly there are a lot of unpolished gemstones out there......
 
*sigh* Just to clarify... The Barefoot Taliban does not believe homeopathy, voodoo or witchcraft can cure cancer.
 
Not for worms no, too wriggly for my liking... Be hard to get an accurate pinpoint on something so slimy.
 
iPads are resilient little beings... I find applying absorbent paper material very efficient. Works on accidental baby sick too.

P.s. not my baby.
 
rhino said:
A 'wholistic' horsecare magazine which is actively promoting homeopathy for colic and acupressure for worms? Hmm, not so sure about that, and bar the magazine I can't find anywhere else the author's work is published :confused: though her company 'Hoof squad' sounds like it would fit in well with the Barefoot Taliban :D
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Hmm, a redunant engineer and owner of one horse who teaches herself on the internet to become a hoofcare expert, lecturer, author and self proclaimed authority in all things hoofy.
Attends a 2 week Parelli course and rides her laminitic horse. Its ok though, because she also flogs easycare boots which she slaps on the horse so she doesn't miss the fun.
Along with promoting homeopathy for colic and acupressure for worms, she's surely at the cutting edge of equine health.

At a $100 a visit, I could have both a vet and farrier with 10 years training between them or a self internet-trained trimmer. Difficult decision. Maybe I'll just go with Angle Grinder Woman, another self trained expert.
 
Oberon said:
*sigh* Just to clarify... The Barefoot Taliban does not believe homeopathy, voodoo or witchcraft can cure cancer.
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Lol again. Glad there is a spokesperson to clarify these matters. :D

Some of us are obviously failing miserably to dispel the myths of voodoo, quackery and general love of chainsaws/grinders etc.
MUST TRY HARDER. :D :p
 
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