Anyone got a full TB barefoot and in work?

Rascal - 14yo, shod since 3yo until this summer, 'typical' TB feet... Told he'd never have good feet in shoes and could never cope out...

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Indy - 6yo, barefoot nearly a year...

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Started with these...

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Now stands on these

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Find a good trimmer, keep them moving and monitor diet and it's totally do-able, but you have to be willing to adapt yourself to help your horse. I have another TB in a field who was diagnosed with navicular/soft tissue (ddft) damage due to poor hoof balance, she is also sound and will remain unshod when she returns to work.
 
Re trimming in an ideal world you will be doing enough work not to need much, in work I used to have a tidy up about every three months.
It's not that there is a different barefoot trim, it's just that a few farriers are very attached to trimming the frog and sole and this can make them footy, it did mine.
However someone with experience may be useful to offer advice and reassurance and suggestions about diet. And you want someone who thinks it can work not someone who has decided tbs can't go barefoot before you even try or tells you it might be OK if you don't do any roadwork.

I feed
Speedibeet (or other brand of unmolassed sugarbeet)
Coolstance Copra
Bran (but only because of the phosphorous levels where I am)
Linseed
Brewers yeast (for b vits inc biotin and gut calming properties)
Minerals balanced to forage.
 
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We try and keep everything pretty simple but am very open to changing his diet if it wll help...at the moment he has ad lib haylage in his field and 2 feeds per day at the required amount of baileys no4 though this may get reduced now he is having a break with a balancer. He also has activated charcoal, a pro biotic and linseed. He is out 24/7 and manages very well with this, he really hates the mud but not as much as his nice warm stable which he hasnt used for sometiime!
 
Yes!

Fig is my 8yo TB gelding. Raced until Oct 2011. Came to me Dec 2011. Shoes off Jan 2012. He's been happy and barefoot ever since!

Did someone mention pics??! :cool:

We do this:
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P1130059.jpg


And this:
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And this:
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His feet have changed considerably (top pics Jan 12, bottom pics Sept 12):
RFside.png

RFunder.png

RHside.png

RHunder.png

LFside.png

LFunder.png

LHside.png

LHunder.png
 
criso said:
Re trimming in an ideal world you will be doing enough work not to need much, in work I used to have a tidy up about every three months.
It's not that there is a different barefoot trim, it's just that a few farriers are very attached to trimming the frog and sole and this can make them footy, it did mine.

interesting you mention that because my new farrier did that and Im sure thats why he is feeling it more than normal this time.
I must say though that he is very good at looking at all the options and I certainly feel more confident discussing things with him than the last farrier who was rather old school
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nikkimariet said:
Yes!

Fig is my 8yo TB gelding. Raced until Oct 2011. Came to me Dec 2011. Shoes off Jan 2012. He's been happy and barefoot ever since!

Did someone mention pics??! :cool:

We do this:
P1130061.jpg

P1130059.jpg


And this:
Screenshot2012-11-17at160107.png


And this:
644138_10152130165255195_1726346527_n.jpg


His feet have changed considerably (top pics Jan 12, bottom pics Sept 12):
RFside.png

RFunder.png

RHside.png

RHunder.png

LFside.png

LFunder.png

LHside.png

LHunder.png
Click to expand...

You big showoff! I have smart TB envy..mine currently looks slightly Yak like:( Did you have any footiness at all or was he fine right from the beginnng?
 
Scarlett...Find a good trimmer, keep them moving and monitor diet and it's totally do-able, but you have to be willing to adapt yourself to help your horse. I have another TB in a field who was diagnosed with navicular/soft tissue (ddft) damage due to poor hoof balance, she is also sound and will remain unshod when she returns to work.


That is a gorgeous TB you have there...nice to hear a good outcome with navicular aswell.
Mine are all out 24/7 and we montor his diet carefully but not sure if what he is currently on will be suitable/benifical for a barefooter...so much to learn but I love a challenge.
 
redriverrock said:
You big showoff! I have smart TB envy..mine currently looks slightly Yak like:( Did you have any footiness at all or was he fine right from the beginnng?
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I can't help it, he's my baby :o

I'm *so* lucky; no in a word. Fig had good feet as a shod horse (and/or a very good farrier), and he seemed to slip into BF life pretty easily. He's only ever once been sore and that's because I :taponthewrists: took him too far too soon on tarmac twice in a row. He's rock crunching sound over all surfaces (although don't mistake that we go for hour+ hacks, 30-40 mins on road/grass/tracks is plenty for us!), but works on rubber/sand/grass and waltzes (literally lol) across gravel/concrete/hardcore. Whilst he's very sensitive mentally to what he's fed, he's fairly easy to do otherwise; he's on ex dairy pasture all day every day (but in at night) which I'm aware is not suitable for all horses. Main hard feed is saracens releve and micronised linseed. He gets mag ox to calm his silly fizzy head down, but its really helped develop the concavity of his soles.

Basically.... he's a huge teachers pet :p
 
nikkimariet said:
I can't help it, he's my baby :o

I'm *so* lucky; no in a word. Fig had good feet as a shod horse (and/or a very good farrier), and he seemed to slip into BF life pretty easily. He's only ever once been sore and that's because I :taponthewrists: took him too far too soon on tarmac twice in a row. He's rock crunching sound over all surfaces (although don't mistake that we go for hour+ hacks, 30-40 mins on road/grass/tracks is plenty for us!), but works on rubber/sand/grass and waltzes (literally lol) across gravel/concrete/hardcore. Whilst he's very sensitive mentally to what he's fed, he's fairly easy to do otherwise; he's on ex dairy pasture all day every day (but in at night) which I'm aware is not suitable for all horses. Main hard feed is saracens releve and micronised linseed. He gets mag ox to calm his silly fizzy head down, but its really helped develop the concavity of his soles.

Basically.... he's a huge teachers pet :p
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He sounds like a lovely horse...and his feet are obviously copng very well. I think with the amount of road and track work we do santa may have to buy me some boots!
 
I have one his feet are still getting there (still flatish) but he just did 20km Endurance a few weeks back BF and vetted through, on quite a bit of gravel.

Last weekend he won his 90cm SJ (only clear), Im just getting back into competing, on what shod people described as slippery going (long grass dry ground) didn't notice it myself :)

Have a Standardbred too and he vetted through the 20kms as well both of their first endurance ride.

There are some pics loaded here with before and afters etc Mark
 
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redriverrock said:
That is a gorgeous TB you have there...nice to hear a good outcome with navicular aswell.
Mine are all out 24/7 and we montor his diet carefully but not sure if what he is currently on will be suitable/benifical for a barefooter...so much to learn but I love a challenge.
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Personally I'd ditch the Bailys No4 and feed speedibeet, an unmollassed chaff, linseed and your vits and minerals. I feed Equine Answers 365Complete to my boys and it seems to do the trick, but there are other supps out there.

Once you find the right combo that works it's easy, the hardest bit is finding what works! Good luck :)
 
RRR I think you've shed light on the footiness yourself.

The farrier trimming frog/sole

Baileys No. 4

INGREDIENTS
Micronised Wheat, Nutritionally Improved Straw, Wheatfeed, Distillers’ Grains, Micronised Soya Beans, Molasses, Soya Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins and Minerals, Calcined Magnesite, Sodium Chloride

I cant find a sugar/starch content for it online - can you get it off the bag OP?

Suggest you switch him to something like micronised linseed, bran, speedibeat/fast fibre - if he needs more energy but not fizz then mature oats do the trick without being sugary.

Also suggest you leave his feet alone for 8-12 weeks, let him put down what he wants then see if you can get someone out to just roll the edges and not attack the frogs!
 
My TB has been barefoot for 10 months now, had such thin soles to start with that he had to be tuned out in boots for nearly 3 months!
He is doing quite well now considering his problems we can ride on the road bare for up to 30 mins and he can manage an hour in boots, I am going to try to increase this soon!
These are his fronts taken a couple of months ago!
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TigerTail said:
RRR I think you've shed light on the footiness yourself.

The farrier trimming frog/sole

Baileys No. 4

INGREDIENTS
Micronised Wheat, Nutritionally Improved Straw, Wheatfeed, Distillers’ Grains, Micronised Soya Beans, Molasses, Soya Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins and Minerals, Calcined Magnesite, Sodium Chloride

I cant find a sugar/starch content for it online - can you get it off the bag OP?

Suggest you switch him to something like micronised linseed, bran, speedibeat/fast fibre - if he needs more energy but not fizz then mature oats do the trick without being sugary.

Also suggest you leave his feet alone for 8-12 weeks, let him put down what he wants then see if you can get someone out to just roll the edges and not attack the frogs!
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Well im down to the last little bit of baileys so have phoned feed supplier and asked for speedi beet instead and Im thinking of feeding that with spillers horse and pony nuts which I have used in the past and has been rec' by the barefoot guru! I am currently reading oberon(baubles) very useful advice re barefoot diet. Ordered pro hoof last night...the wonders of online shopping. I ordered 60 tonne of pea gravel for our driveway so was good to see the info about having a pea gravel area for them to mooch about in...I am def' going to do that.
As far as farrier trimming frogs...I was pretty shocked when I saw him doing it...and did mention to him that I thought the reason he was sore was because his frogs had been trimmed and he did admit that was probably the reason....I cant understand why he did it but he def wont be dong it again! He is due back at the end of jan so it will be very interesting to see how things develop.
Ths is probably a stupid question but does anyone know what type of salt I should add to his feeds...25g per day has been rec but not sure if it a special salt? He does have a salt lick but the two ponies trash it and I often find it trampled into the mud in pieces :rolleyes:
If I get chance I will try and take some photos today as a reference for the future...hopefully the start of a succesful transition!
 
cant do pics at work but CS came to me shod as a4yo,w ent BF straight away with no footiness and is now 7yo and at PSG.

doubt he will ever need shoes TBH he's got feet like iron, one show centre has a car park with great big broken bricks and concrete rubble, he stamps over it like it isnt there.
 
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My boy passed away recently but this is a photo of us out hacking - can just see his feet - no closer ones Im afraid :D he was fine to hack on roads but a little sore on stoney surfaces ...

My TB mare still has her racing shoes on - one came off the other day is now sore on it but looks like she's over-reached and caught the bulb of her heel so hoping it's that rather than lack of shoe - hopipng to take all off over winter whilst she has a break then possibly two fronts on if she's struggling come spring :D
 
I got my tb mare off the track, and she had shoes on. One dropped off, so had the farrier take the rest off, and she never had any back on.

Only being a 3yo, she wasnt in much work, but would happily go out for a walk/trot down the road, a walk through a field, and work in the school. She had her feet trimmed by the farrier and was just fed on "normal" horse food. Never had a problem with them at all. Unfortunately she developed other problems, but not foot related.
 
Well good news on my foot sore TB...he seems to be almost miraculous in his recovery! and now is more than happy to pretend he is a dressage horse hooning around the sand school acting like a wally...he 'escaped' and thought it would be great fun to have me chasing after him just as the sleety snow started. He is never naughty so when he is I kinda of like it...does that sound strange :confused:
Anyhow I have spoken to my feed supplier and this is what I am considering...equibeet with allen and page fast fibre + pro hoof, 25g of salt, activated charcoal and bio premium protexin, the last two are for his gut. Obviously ad lib haylage in bare field and approx 5 hours of grass grazing. Also thinking of adding linseed oil but not sure if that is vital...The first photo is him about 1 month ago...with shoes and the shiny clean one is what I aim for him to look like in the summer...though dont always achieve as he seems to love showing me up!
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I was trying to get some good photos of his feet when he had his escape around the school so will try again tomorrow but at least you can all see who im talking about.
 
we have a tb who has just recently retired but for many years he did a lot of work including a lot of road work barefoot. even when racing he only wore shoes for races. :)
 
redriverrock said:
.equibeet with allen and page fast fibre + pro hoof, 25g of salt, activated charcoal and bio premium protexin, the last two are for his gut. Obviously ad lib haylage in bare field and approx 5 hours of grass grazing. Also thinking of adding linseed oil but not sure if that is vital....
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Not sure about the activated charcoal as there is a theory that it can inhibit the absorbtion of some minerals so I am in two minds about it. I did try it when I couldn't get brewers yeast and found the latter worked better for us.

Protexin is good and if you can get micronised linseed that is good for their gut too.

I had problems with equibeet as it has slightly higher sugar than kwikbeet and speedibeet. Not foot problems but he got a bit hyper.
 
criso said:
Not sure about the activated charcoal as there is a theory that it can inhibit the absorbtion of some minerals so I am in two minds about it. I did try it when I couldn't get brewers yeast and found the latter worked better for us.

Protexin is good and if you can get micronised linseed that is good for their gut too.

I had problems with equibeet as it has slightly higher sugar than kwikbeet and speedibeet. Not foot problems but he got a bit hyper.
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I may go onto speedibeet if the equibeet sends him loopy though he is extremly laid back...verging on horizontal most of the time. The activated charcoal is for his gas and he does seem alot better with it so unless it causes problems I would like to continue with this...
can I ask is there a significant difference between micronised linseed and regular linseed oil?
 
redriverrock said:
I may go onto speedibeet if the equibeet sends him loopy though he is extremly laid back...verging on horizontal most of the time. The activated charcoal is for his gas and he does seem alot better with it so unless it causes problems I would like to continue with this...
can I ask is there a significant difference between micronised linseed and regular linseed oil?
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Micronised is the whole seed rather than just the extracted oil, it has amino acids and lignan as well as the omega oils.

It also works out cheaper and doesn't go rancid as quickly as oil and is really convenient to feed.

Mine is really odd in that he is so laid back and can actually cope with cereals with no effect, but equibeet was a problem as was molassed chaff.
 
criso said:
Micronised is the whole seed rather than just the extracted oil, it has amino acids and lignan as well as the omega oils.

It also works out cheaper and doesn't go rancid as quickly as oil and is really convenient to feed.

Mine is really odd in that he is so laid back and can actually cope with cereals with no effect, but equibeet was a problem as was molassed chaff.
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Oh dear...im wondering if I should maybe of gone with speedibeet :confused: Ive onlt bought 1 bag though to see how we go..will keep an eye on him and see how we go. Ive found this site http://www.charnwoodmilling.co.uk/mail-order/Horse_Food.html which sells the micronised linseed...is this what i need? thanks for the help by the way :)
 
Yes that's the stuff. Lots of feed suppliers will order it in for you which saves on the postage. I'm sure yours will be fine with the equibeet, Frankie's a bit special in lots of ways.
 
Charnwoods ace - its where most of us get it.

I use seasalt.

Can I ask why you're feeding the protexin? Has he had gut issues? If so hay would be better than haylege as its less acidic on the gut.

Key thing with feeds is to keep it simple and read your labels. Sugar and Starch should be 5% of lower - not sure what equibeat is!
 
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