all you with unshod horses! do answer me a question...

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Megibo

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my welsh mare has been barefoot quite a long time now as farrier said she'd be fine without shoes and she has indeed been fine, however i've not hacked her properly on a road until today.
She seemed a bit 'footy' coming down hill on a gravelly road and was tripping a lot in front in general. When we got back to the yard i noticed bit's of hoof had chipped off especially at the back. Would her feet gradually harden if i took her out on the roads more or would she be best shod? maybe shoes on the front?
She'll be doing a lot of hacking this winter and where my yard is she'll have to do anything from 5 to 20 minutes of road work.
Any advice welcome!
 
I have a unshod welsh, we do approx 3 hours a week road work, he sometimes get chipped but they smooth themselves out within a few days:D
 
I removed my horses shoes only because I retired him and was horrified to find a huge chunk which left about an inch/& half of hoof at the side on the back. But he was fine..was worrying about it and my farrier just told me he is fine and it will settle. We have lots of flint in the mud etc so I know thats why I shoed him before. I tried quite a few horses to buy and a lot barefoot recently and they do seem more footy or sensitive on stones than my old boy ever did. But I am no expert on the barefoot saga.

However his shoes have been off and he has had one trim since and the last few days his hooves are starting to look a bit more rounder on the rims! Am sure once the nail holes are completely gone his feet hooves will be stronger.But I suppose ask your farrier etc mine never really commented on me and the barefoot debate!

oh the feet I saw on my horse search the barefoot ones hooves did all seem nice and hard though and smooth on the edges. ie healthy.
 
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before I begin, I'm no expert, I just have an unhealthy interest in hooves :)

mine gets footy coming downhill, that isn't actually an issue. I now know it's because he has more grip than when he has shoes so it feels weird.

Hoof chipping off, generally means, forces are trying to "wear away" areas that need to wear away. I just file these smooth.

However, if they are chips to do with weak horn, you wonder why. It sounds like your horse is sound normally so I could rule out diet, so probably just wearing away as nature intended. You could post a pic if you get time, then perhaps some of the more experieneced members could be a guide?
 
In my experience the chipping is excess that they are self trimming off... I need to do about 8 miles a week on roads to maintain hooves. I would also suggest that if your horse is feeling it's feet that there maybe a thrush infection in the frog (frog should be almost as hard as the hoof wall.. is it?) also if there is a very deep central sulcus then you probably have some thrush that is not helping the frog structure at all. Another important factor is diet... diet is absolutely crucial to successful barefootedness.
 
tallyho! said:
before I begin, I'm no expert, I just have an unhealthy interest in hooves :)

mine gets footy coming downhill, that isn't actually an issue. I now know it's because he has more grip than when he has shoes so it feels weird.

Hoof chipping off, generally means, forces are trying to "wear away" areas that need to wear away. I just file these smooth.

However, if they are chips to do with weak horn, you wonder why. It sounds like your horse is sound normally so I could rule out diet, so probably just wearing away as nature intended. You could post a pic if you get time, then perhaps some of the more experieneced members could be a guide?
Click to expand...

good idea, i'll post some photo's tomorrow! i didn't think she'd have any to wear away as farrier trimmed her 2/3 weeks ago and her hooves don't look to be outgrowing yet. though i notice a little 'trench' round the outer-rim of her hooves when i'm picking them if that make sense. like the extra bit that is growing out...i bet that makes no sense!
 
Zuzan said:
In my experience the chipping is excess that they are self trimming off... I need to do about 8 miles a week on roads to maintain hooves. I would also suggest that if your horse is feeling it's feet that there maybe a thrush infection in the frog (frog should be almost as hard as the hoof wall.. is it?) also if there is a very deep central sulcus then you probably have some thrush that is not helping the frog structure at all. Another important factor is diet... diet is absolutely crucial to successful barefootedness.
Click to expand...

as i said above she was trimmed 'smooth' about 2/3 weeks ago so should she still chip off?
her frog is pretty hard and farrier would have said if she had thrush. how does diet help? she's always on healthy hooves or happy hoof and has soaked hay, no supplements.
 
Tazhazzamoose said:
good idea, i'll post some photo's tomorrow! i didn't think she'd have any to wear away as farrier trimmed her 2/3 weeks ago and her hooves don't look to be outgrowing yet. though i notice a little 'trench' round the outer-rim of her hooves when i'm picking them if that make sense. like the extra bit that is growing out...i bet that makes no sense!
Click to expand...

2/3 weeks is enough for new growth. Especially when first transitioning from shod. New forces come into play and the hoof moves more and changes rapidly.

It's not unusual. I tidy nearly every week in between proper trims. There's always a new chip. Nothing to worry about, but I don't like it (owner's perogative :)) it's untidy and I like a smooth hoof so I just file smooth. It's not a full trim.

Trench.... hmmm are you referring to the white line maybe?
 
Perfectly normal for bits to chip off especially yougsters as they tend to be clumsy with their feet. My Hunter mare only has shoes on for the hunt season as soon as it's over her shoes are whipped off and she's back to light work over summer, It's normal to be footy over gravel after all wouldn't you be bare foot? Once the feet harden up it'll be less noticable, but if your worried just pick up the phone to your farrier for advice afterall we all pay them enough lol!!!;)
 
tallyho! said:
2/3 weeks is enough for new growth. Especially when first transitioning from shod. New forces come into play and the hoof moves more and changes rapidly.

It's not unusual. I tidy nearly every week in between proper trims. There's always a new chip. Nothing to worry about, but I don't like it (owner's perogative :)) it's untidy and I like a smooth hoof so I just file smooth. It's not a full trim.

Trench.... hmmm are you referring to the white line maybe?
Click to expand...
hoof.jpg

that ridge along the outside of the hoof. the raised line or whatever you call it :o
she hasn't been shod for a couple of years now it must be-oh and that isn't her hoof! :D
 
N Reid said:
Perfectly normal for bits to chip off especially yougsters as they tend to be clumsy with their feet. My Hunter mare only has shoes on for the hunt season as soon as it's over her shoes are whipped off and she's back to light work over summer, It's normal to be footy over gravel after all wouldn't you be bare foot? Once the feet harden up it'll be less noticable, but if your worried just pick up the phone to your farrier for advice afterall we all pay them enough lol!!!;)
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Ok, as long as her feet harden it's okay..i'd hate to cause her pain though!



Another question then, would she be alright with just fronts on for lots of hacking this winter ? I regularly put Kevin Bacon hoof stuff on her feet if that makes any difference!
Any feed supplements that may help ?
 
Hi to all as this is my first post on here!,

Just thought I could contribute to this thread as my horse is a T/B X and is shod on the fronts, but has never had shoes on the back. He doesn't do an awful lot of roadwork (about an hour a week prob). I find that his backs wear themselves down naturally and nicely, and I have never had a prob with them not being shod. I think that if he was to ever do a lot more work and he became footy I would have them done.

Your horse would be fine to have just shoes on the front, but if I were you I'd wait to see how she/he goes without them. A small chip out of the side is fine, and I too would keep them tidy with a rasp, but I wouldn't suggest anyone did this if they don't know what they're doing. Could have nasty consequences!

I've heard that magnesium is very good for the feet (I feed CalMag), and cornucrescine helps them to grow healthily and quickly:) x
 
Yeah she'd defo be ok with just fronts on, your farrier will tell you if you need shoes, or if going barefoot is causing any bruising and therefore would need shoes, don't worry it's their jobs to tell us. The only supplement with I've used and i've got a comment from my farrier about the condition of my horses feet improving is blue chip, pricey but does work not just on the feet but the top line and general condition improves and then stays consistant too
 
LIP2806 said:
Hi to all as this is my first post on here!,

Just thought I could contribute to this thread as my horse is a T/B X and is shod on the fronts, but has never had shoes on the back. He doesn't do an awful lot of roadwork (about an hour a week prob). I find that his backs wear themselves down naturally and nicely, and I have never had a prob with them not being shod. I think that if he was to ever do a lot more work and he became footy I would have them done.

Your horse would be fine to have just shoes on the front, but if I were you I'd wait to see how she/he goes without them. A small chip out of the side is fine, and I too would keep them tidy with a rasp, but I wouldn't suggest anyone did this if they don't know what they're doing. Could have nasty consequences!

I've heard that magnesium is very good for the feet (I feed CalMag), and cornucrescine helps them to grow healthily and quickly:) x
Click to expand...

Hi welcome to the forum!
Thanks there's some good information in your post x
 
N Reid said:
Yeah she'd defo be ok with just fronts on, your farrier will tell you if you need shoes, or if going barefoot is causing any bruising and therefore would need shoes, don't worry it's their jobs to tell us. The only supplement with I've used and i've got a comment from my farrier about the condition of my horses feet improving is blue chip, pricey but does work not just on the feet but the top line and general condition improves and then stays consistant too
Click to expand...

ok, yeah our farrier is really good and i'd imagine if he said take em off in the first place he'd know if they need to go back on :)
she'll be in regular work over winter so may get front shoes with road nails in so she has some grip-or do they have better grip naturally? wow it's so confusing!
i'd probably use Horse First Hoof First as a supplement as it has some good reviews
 
Tazhazzamoose said:
hoof.jpg

that ridge along the outside of the hoof. the raised line or whatever you call it :o
she hasn't been shod for a couple of years now it must be-oh and that isn't her hoof! :D
Click to expand...

lol... yes the raised line is the hoof wall, the "trench" is the white line - it's actually the laminae you see there and that is a very good hoof! The white line is nice and tight. Then you have the sole.

In my experience, the sides of the hoof chip the most, as it would in the wild and is naturally thinner there. It allows for expansion on landing heel first. This is completely normal. As I say, I smooth them off. It's not really an issue.

As long as you have no other issues, it sounds as if you have some good feet there.

I thought about shoeing fronts this winter for hunting, but I see more and more evidence of people hunting unshod, I might see how we go...

Have you seen www.rockleyfarm.blogspot.com? Worth a look.
 
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