am i going too fast?

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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taz had his shoes off 3 weeks ago.. i gave him the first week off but he was walking over the gravel track and tarmac to his stable twice a day and he wasnt being picky he was just powering over them and trotting if he was in a real rush for food :o

the first time i rode him i road him down the road and back and he tried to take off with me because we were heading home and my dog spooked him so while i was waiting for my mum to catch up i stood him on the gravel track and he stood their fine and then carried on up the road really striding out almost breaking into a trot again

so i took him out for the second time except we had to do about 10 mins of gravel track and then the rest was tarmac, sand, grass and mud so no problems there although we only managed 5 mins of that hack as we got attacked by a loose horse and ended up dancing around on the gravel track so i dont really know whether it was the adrenalin stopping it hurting or it didnt hurt anyway

he walked over the gravel fine the only time he he took a short step was when he stood on a big sharp stone which is understandable and he was lame on the way home because the horse had kicked him in the top of the leg and he developed a hematoma (sp?)

so a week later when he was back to his normal self i took him out on the ride i was planning to do on the second time i rode him out and he walked along like he had never had shoes on before even too the time to throw him self around when he saw someone hiding in a bush :o

but i cant help but feel im going too fast :( he hasnt had shoes off in 8 years and i wasnt expecting anything special, tbh i was expecting him lame but he certainly isnt when hes galloping across the field and throwing him self about on the gravel track but i feel mean and that im doing too much too soon, everyone is saying 3 weeks on tarmac, i have done about 3 days. he is sound after i ride and the day after i ride, i havent trotted him yet except when he took off and his feet havent broken up that much... well not compared to what i thought they would

but i just need a bit of reassurance/ guidance as to what to do

btw he is fed on topspec balancer, badminton just grass and fast fibre with ad-lib hay and he has managed to keep his weight on so far :)

this is his foot just after he had his shoe taken off (front right) sorry havent got pics of them all but they are all in the same condition except the one with the scar which has a slight deformity :o but they are looking a bit more worn and slightly broken but not too bad :)
barefoot.jpg
 
I am glad you posted as I to am not sure how much to do on the roads. At the moment I am leading out in hand, I haven't ridden regularly for some time and he has a very thick winter coat and is unrugged so often too wet and muddy to put a saddle on. I look forward to any replies.

Jane
 
Janah said:
I am glad you posted as I to am not sure how much to do on the roads. At the moment I am leading out in hand, I haven't ridden regularly for some time and he has a very thick winter coat and is unrugged so often too wet and muddy to put a saddle on. I look forward to any replies.

Jane
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I would recommend a light rug to keep pony clean so you can get him in to work, I did the walking in hand for a while, also fed linseed and other feet oriented additives, but I think you need to ride out on tarmac at least 20 mins every day, and get the feel of the feet from the saddle, also inspection of the feet every day or so to see how the frog, soles, wall and heels develop. most people find the walls chip a bit at first, I have a rasp which I use to round off the walls every week, usually there is nothing to remove. My farrier says people who do their own are "on the dark side" , so I don't tell him! he gets trimmed as required, maybe 6 to 10 weeks.
The pony has been in light work for three months, and is now getting daily exercise on roads and in an arena. I would not think he is yet able to do a lot of road work.
 
StormyMoments said:
taz had his shoes off 3 weeks ago.. i gave him the first week off but he was walking over the gravel track and tarmac to his stable twice a day and he wasnt being picky he was just powering over them and trotting if he was in a real rush for food :o

the first time i rode him i road him down the road and back and he tried to take off with me because we were heading home and my dog spooked him so while i was waiting for my mum to catch up i stood him on the gravel track and he stood their fine and then carried on up the road really striding out almost breaking into a trot again

so i took him out for the second time except we had to do about 10 mins of gravel track and then the rest was tarmac, sand, grass and mud so no problems there although we only managed 5 mins of that hack as we got attacked by a loose horse and ended up dancing around on the gravel track so i dont really know whether it was the adrenalin stopping it hurting or it didnt hurt anyway

he walked over the gravel fine the only time he he took a short step was when he stood on a big sharp stone which is understandable and he was lame on the way home because the horse had kicked him in the top of the leg and he developed a hematoma (sp?)

so a week later when he was back to his normal self i took him out on the ride i was planning to do on the second time i rode him out and he walked along like he had never had shoes on before even too the time to throw him self around when he saw someone hiding in a bush :o

but i cant help but feel im going too fast :( he hasnt had shoes off in 8 years and i wasnt expecting anything special, tbh i was expecting him lame but he certainly isnt when hes galloping across the field and throwing him self about on the gravel track but i feel mean and that im doing too much too soon, everyone is saying 3 weeks on tarmac, i have done about 3 days. he is sound after i ride and the day after i ride, i havent trotted him yet except when he took off and his feet havent broken up that much... well not compared to what i thought they would

but i just need a bit of reassurance/ guidance as to what to do

btw he is fed on topspec balancer, badminton just grass and fast fibre with ad-lib hay and he has managed to keep his weight on so far :)

this is his foot just after he had his shoe taken off (front right) sorry havent got pics of them all but they are all in the same condition except the one with the scar which has a slight deformity :o but they are looking a bit more worn and slightly broken but not too bad :)
barefoot.jpg
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His feet don't look great tbh, it is difficult to tell from photos but they seem very shallow, ideally the hoof and pastern angle should be continuous, and the heels should be well developed., I think you could do a lot of self education from Rockley Farm
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/
and http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/search/label/barefoot boots
I found the book Feet First to be excellent, though it is quite intense!
Regular work and limiting grass intake seems to be the way to go with most horses.
There are loads of threads on this forum, I would ask your farrier or trimmer to check them regularly until they have settled down.
I am not sure about feeding a balancer and Fast Fibre and personally, I would not feed grass nuts, you need to cut out excess sugars in the diet, but he needs to be doing forty minutes riding per day to get him over his antics,.and progress with his education.
 
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Topspec balancer is excellent for feet. Not sure about your previous history/reason for shoes coming off. If it's lammi related then use the TS Lite. Ring them up if you need more advice.

Again, not sure why you have taken the shoes off, but Star went barefoot 3 years ago this month. We tried every surface and if she was a bit tender, we just avoided them for a while, then tried again. Road work is good. To me, you sound like you are doing fine, don't worry. He'll tell you what is right and wrong.
Star's feet chipped a little bit at first, but now, they are fab.
 
i am aware his feet arnt good, they never have been hes a mainly tb ISH so that probably doesnt help, he had his shoes off as it was costing alot to have them on, also in the hope that his feet will improve, as i have mentioned before in previous post i know he has crap feet i am well aware, his feet also dont grow that much, he is 17.2hh has no other problems and is having the winter of light work
 
I think you should be aware that horses cost a lot, and if the main reason for not shoeing is cost, it probably will not work for you, you should have had him on a supplement as indicated on your first post, and you had to start him on the diet, exercise, and management regime as previously advised.
 
From what I can see Taz 'has had his shoes off', there doesn't seem much to indicate that he has had any sort of trim aside from a quick rasp across the toes. The height of the old nail holes indicates that his feet are rather long and, although it's hard to be sure from the photo, his heels appear to be approaching underrun.

Really he needed to be fed in preparation for being barefoot and not just as an after thought after the event. His feet really are not great and I find it hard to imagine that he is sound. Why not have him shod in front and barefoot behind? It would lessen your bill and give you a chance to improve those front feet before taking the shoes off again.
 
MRSD123, I am loathe to put a rug on as he is better left naked to regulate his own temperature. He is mostly too warm, coat almost damp at times. I do feel a rug would make him too warm. I did consider taking some coat off but if we have a really cold spell he would get cold. I think there is a difference to a pony using energy to keep warm and a cold pony. I am in hurry to get him going on all surfaces just curious to get an idea of what, or what not to do.

Thank you for your advice, and when we get colder weather I will do a lot more with him. At present I am happy doing in hand leading out and ground work in the arena. His hooves haven't broken up and seem to have kept a good shape. His frogs have already become bigger.

Jane
 
Ditto - if he was mine I'd keep front shoes on and take the hinds off. I've found this successful for a few of mine, including TBs BUT all mine have good hard feet.

TBH, with your boys feet the way there are and the fact you have to ride on gravel I'd say you'll end up with him lame if you carry on as you are. If you only rode on tarmac or grass it'd be different...
 
MrsD123 said:
I think you should be aware that horses cost a lot, and if the main reason for not shoeing is cost, it probably will not work for you, you should have had him on a supplement as indicated on your first post, and you had to start him on the diet, exercise, and management regime as previously advised.
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i am perfectly aware that horses cost a lot i have owned taz for 8 years and have owned 4 horses previous to him and also i have owned 4 horses at one time. both my parents are horsey so they are also both aware of the costs of horses but thanks for the consern. i have posted before i took his shoes off with a picture of his feet and people have said that having his shoes off would benefit his feet. he has been fed for over a year on supplements for his feet to improve them and they have. taz will not be doing much work at all this winter which is why i have taken his shoes off and also from recommendation from both people on here and my farrier.

and unless you are unaware topspec balencers have the full range of supplements for feet. and that you should not feed additional supplements on top of that.

taz is perfectly sound and is happy to gallop around his field and trot himself along the yard. he is sound.
 
And the barefoot evangelists wonder why they evoke so much venom from the rest of the horsey community. Some of the replies on here are patronising, appear not to have read the OP and aren't helpful. I'm not going to comment on his feet - I'd rather leave that to a farrier. I will say I took one of mine's shoes off after 12 years, without changing his feed (he was just on grass) and didn't do any "rehab" on tarmac - I spoke to my farrier, he said just to play it by how he seemed. It's been months and he's been sound thus far - and I have to go up a gravel track to hack...

The reason I don't refer to my horses as "barefoot" is that I don't want to be lumped in with the barefoot extremists. Sure, not all barefooters are extremists, but the extremists are all barefooters ;)

That said, I don't see the point of threads like this - it only invites the internet "experts" - often indistinguishable from the nutters. Ask your farrier, if you have doubts, get a second professional opinion, check with your vet - but most of all, just listen to your horse!
 
JFTD said:
And the barefoot evangelists wonder why they evoke so much venom from the rest of the horsey community. Some of the replies on here are patronising, appear not to have read the OP and aren't helpful. I'm not going to comment on his feet - I'd rather leave that to a farrier. I will say I took one of mine's shoes off after 12 years, without changing his feed (he was just on grass) and didn't do any "rehab" on tarmac - I spoke to my farrier, he said just to play it by how he seemed. It's been months and he's been sound thus far - and I have to go up a gravel track to hack...

The reason I don't refer to my horses as "barefoot" is that I don't want to be lumped in with the barefoot extremists. Sure, not all barefooters are extremists, but the extremists are all barefooters ;)

That said, I don't see the point of threads like this - it only invites the internet "experts" - often indistinguishable from the nutters. Ask your farrier, if you have doubts, get a second professional opinion, check with your vet - but most of all, just listen to your horse!
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Echo this entirely. I would refer back to your farrier after all he is the expert, if you are not happy with this get a second opinion. You are going to get conflicting advise on here.. consult a professional.
 
JFTD said:
And the barefoot evangelists wonder why they evoke so much venom from the rest of the horsey community. Some of the replies on here are patronising, appear not to have read the OP and aren't helpful. I'm not going to comment on his feet - I'd rather leave that to a farrier. I will say I took one of mine's shoes off after 12 years, without changing his feed (he was just on grass) and didn't do any "rehab" on tarmac - I spoke to my farrier, he said just to play it by how he seemed. It's been months and he's been sound thus far - and I have to go up a gravel track to hack...

The reason I don't refer to my horses as "barefoot" is that I don't want to be lumped in with the barefoot extremists. Sure, not all barefooters are extremists, but the extremists are all barefooters ;)

That said, I don't see the point of threads like this - it only invites the internet "experts" - often indistinguishable from the nutters. Ask your farrier, if you have doubts, get a second professional opinion, check with your vet - but most of all, just listen to your horse!
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Well said. Agree with all of that, saves me writing out the same thing!
 
Ladyinred said:
From what I can see Taz 'has had his shoes off', there doesn't seem much to indicate that he has had any sort of trim aside from a quick rasp across the toes. The height of the old nail holes indicates that his feet are rather long and, although it's hard to be sure from the photo, his heels appear to be approaching underrun.
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StormyMoments said:
MrsD what do you mean by this?
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Sorry OP, I thought you had a previous thread about a naughty horse, must have been a different one, sorry if I was patronising, but you did say the reason for taking shoes off was financial, which is fine, but tbh the feet are not in a great shape, either "shape" or condition, so one might be forgiven for thinking that the feet need "fed" and the farrier is, well, I hesitate to say it, but not doing as good a job as my farrier!
To my mind [I admit I am only five months in to barefoot], the horses need regular ridden exercise on the road to get the feet "working", most horses are fine in the field with a paddock trim , it is when we ask for ridden work that they get footsore.
 
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