Bare foot dilema

[hoofsculpture]

just in reply to some remarks on barefoot trimming.
firstly the people who should be doing all the trimming are farriers. unfortunatly, instead or learning a good working trim, most of them trim for shoeing[flat in prep for a shoe] or a grazing trim [flat as if for a shoe] this did farriers no favours, as this left room for the barefoot trimmers to invent themselves. and pick holes in farriers work. farriery deserves this as they have been taught that shoes are the norm, and that horses with good feet will be fine as long as they dont do much work on hard surfaces. this is totally wrong.
horses were not designed, they evolved, and shoes played no part in this. no horses foot should be flat enough to take a shoe, that is unnatural. no horses quarters should be active except under load, if they are they will flare and break off as they do with shoes. no horse should have forward bars forming a bump on the sole, if it does it will develop corns, inflamation etc under the point loading. every horse should have a good flat strong heel[if possible] 5mm or so, less at the toe and less again at the quarters. no horse should have high heels and long toe, most of all no horse can go truly barefoot untill he has good soles, look at hoof prints in soil sand etc and you will see that the sole ,frog and hoof wall all share the load. when a shod horse walks on concrete or tarmac, he walks full on the shoe and perhaps alittle on the frog. when a barefoot horse walks on the same surface, he walks on the inner part or his hoof wall, a little sole contact[ depending on protruding wall] and full on his frog but secondry to the wall. the main prob facing a horse which has been shod for a long time is, how to let the horse develop good soles without hurting him, this is best done with lots of coarse sand work and no stones.
just a quick thought, when have you ever seen a young horse 2yrs or even less, that could not run over any surface with out any foot protection. see him again when he is older, and guess what, now he needs shoes to run over the same surface.

 

[hoofsculpture]

e s h a good barefoot trim is more about leaving plenty on than trimming plenty off, that is if you,r horse has enough hoof to work with. make sure he has no protruding bars, leave a decent heel if he has it and above all dont hurt his sole, develop it with work on coarse sand and get him boots for walking on rough surfaces. it,s all about the sole

 

[Donkeymad]

[ QUOTE ]
unfortunatly, instead or learning a good working trim, most of them trim for shoeing[flat in prep for a shoe] or a grazing trim [flat as if for a shoe]

[/ QUOTE ]

Again, what utter crap.

Few of us are saying that ONLY a farrier should be used for trimming, but that farriers are perfectly capable of doing what you describe as a 'working' trim.

My farrier has more usnhod horses than shod on his books. many of them work, mine work, on rough tracks, on roads, on concrete, pulling carriages for many hours. NEVER has he suggested shoes, infact, he has said not to. He is a very old fashioned (infact old in age) farrier, He has not been influenced by todays barfoot-itis, he has not done a 'barefoot' course. he learnt to trim properly, to trim well, to trim for requierments, as part of his farriery training.
Is he an unusual farrier? No. Not in the least.

 

[hoofsculpture]

donkey, where did you get you,r name from, or is it obvious. you are very rude, do yo have knowlege of the subject you are talking about ,or are you talking TOTAL CRAP. COULD YOU READ MY POST AGAIN SLOWLY.
I SAID MOST OF THEM. I SAID THAT FARRIERS ARE THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB, BUT THAT A WORKING TRIM IS NOT PART OF TRAINING ,[IT IS STARTING TO BE] ANY FARRIER WHO IS NEW TO THE IDEA COULD LEARN THE PRINCIPALS IN A DAY. 5 YEARS AGO YOU NEVER HEARD OF A WORKING BAREFOOT HORSE . I HAVE BEEN A PRO FARRIER FOR 30 YEARS, I HAVE WORKED AND TAUGHT IN U K USA AND SAUDI ARABIA. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN THE U K WORKING BAREFOOT IS RARE AND NEW, IT HAS,NT EVEN CAUGHT ON YET, MOST HORSE OWNERS WOUL,NT DARE TRY IT. SO YOU,R FARRIER IS A VERY UNUSUAL, HE SOUNDS LIKE HE IS BANG UP TO SPEED, FAIR PLAY TO HIM. HE IS A RARE FARRIER. SIMON EARLE RACING, AND THE HUSTON TEXAS POLICE HORSES ARE BAREFOOT, THIS IS COMPLETLY UNUSUAL BUT EVEN THOUGH IT IT WONDERFULL, THE MAJORITY OF HORSE OWNERS THINK IT IS WITCH CRAFT AND CRUEL. BY THE WAY WHEN YOU TRIM B F HORSES EVERY DAY AS I DO, THE JOB BECOMES VERY SIMPLE, THAT IS SIMPLE COMAPARED TO TRYING TO REHABILATATE A HORSE THAT HAS DESTROYED FEET FROM SHOEING, READY FOR THE CHOP FROM LAMINITS, ROTATION, SINKING ,NAVICULAR SYNDROME ETC. NOW THAT IS REALLY WORTH A LONG CHAT. IT MAKES A TRIM LOOK LIKE NOTHING. ITS A BIT LIKE ASKING A DENTIST IF HE CAN PULL A TOOTH.

 

[Scribbles]

I have a TB, who is unshod, and has always been. he is never lame, never sore, his feet are strong, he does hacking, jumping, school and field work. The farrier trims him, and his feet are in a beautiful condition.

/my two cents

 

[Fransurrey]

If I liked popcorn, I'd get it out, now...

OP, was the horse sound when she came to you? If so, does it matter what trim she had? My farrier trimmed for me when my back was bad and although he took much less time than me, Henry was happy enough being ridden.

If your yard seems to have decent farriers, then give one a go. Why not? I've had some pretty appalling ones in the past (but none of them demanded coffee, lol), but did find one that I would call back time and time again. If your farrier does a bad trim/makes her sore, then use a trimmer (I use myself, ha ha!), but your post reads as though she was sound, then not. I'd also second the suggestion that she's footsore due to grass flush or conditions. Henry started with LGL a few weeks ago (despite being fit and slim), when the rains started after the hot spell, but I caught it in time by treating as if for full blown lami. If wet ground is a problem, try a hoof boot which can be used full time (I know Cavallos can, not sure of which others).

I do feel I should point out that CPD is not yet compulsory in Farriers. My farrier has started it, but I'm sure he said it wasn't compulsory until 'next year', unless that was last year and my life is flying by!! It doesn't have to be anything to do with hooves, either. This year he's been doing First Aid courses as his CPD.

 

[Natch]

[ QUOTE ]
donkey, where did you get you,r name from, or is it obvious. you are very rude, do yo have knowlege of the subject you are talking about ,or are you talking TOTAL CRAP. COULD YOU READ MY POST AGAIN SLOWLY.
I SAID MOST OF THEM. I SAID THAT FARRIERS ARE THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB, BUT THAT A WORKING TRIM IS NOT PART OF TRAINING ,[IT IS STARTING TO BE] ANY FARRIER WHO IS NEW TO THE IDEA COULD LEARN THE PRINCIPALS IN A DAY. 5 YEARS AGO YOU NEVER HEARD OF A WORKING BAREFOOT HORSE . I HAVE BEEN A PRO FARRIER FOR 30 YEARS, I HAVE WORKED AND TAUGHT IN U K USA AND SAUDI ARABIA. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN THE U K WORKING BAREFOOT IS RARE AND NEW, IT HAS,NT EVEN CAUGHT ON YET, MOST HORSE OWNERS WOUL,NT DARE TRY IT. SO YOU,R FARRIER IS A VERY UNUSUAL, HE SOUNDS LIKE HE IS BANG UP TO SPEED, FAIR PLAY TO HIM. HE IS A RARE FARRIER. SIMON EARLE RACING, AND THE HUSTON TEXAS POLICE HORSES ARE BAREFOOT, THIS IS COMPLETLY UNUSUAL BUT EVEN THOUGH IT IT WONDERFULL, THE MAJORITY OF HORSE OWNERS THINK IT IS WITCH CRAFT AND CRUEL. BY THE WAY WHEN YOU TRIM B F HORSES EVERY DAY AS I DO, THE JOB BECOMES VERY SIMPLE, THAT IS SIMPLE COMAPARED TO TRYING TO REHABILATATE A HORSE THAT HAS DESTROYED FEET FROM SHOEING, READY FOR THE CHOP FROM LAMINITS, ROTATION, SINKING ,NAVICULAR SYNDROME ETC. NOW THAT IS REALLY WORTH A LONG CHAT. IT MAKES A TRIM LOOK LIKE NOTHING. ITS A BIT LIKE ASKING A DENTIST IF HE CAN PULL A TOOTH.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you thought Donklet was being rude, how rude are you being back? Ever heard that two wrongs don't make a right?

I don't know the difference between a working trim and a farrier trim - TBH I don't know the technicalities, but am interested and am going to be studying barefoot trimming as part of a holistic horse diploma shortly.

I have met people who swear by barefoot trimmers and wouldn't see a farrier again, I have met people who think barefoot trimmers are overpriced and unnecessary, people who always shoe their horses, people who try never to. Mine is barefoot at present, trimmed by a farrier, and has had shoes on in the past, and more than likely will have them on again in the future, although I do prefer him barefoot. I have had conversations with knowledgeable people from all of the above categories, and my current thinking is that, like all things, you will get good and bad farriers and barefoot trimmers. I certainly do not want a horse to go lame because of a trim or shoeing - that IMO is a sure sign that something has gone wrong.

To say that a farrier cannot trim a horse who is never intended to have a shoe on properly is IMO incredibly arrogant and a case for libel. Yes, there probably were in the past/maybe still are farriers who can only trim to fit a shoe, but these are rare these days, as (I hope) are barefoot trimmers who trim so much off that the horse is made lame.

Barefoot working horses are not anything new - 15-20 years ago the riding school I went to had all their working ponies barefoot, and if any needed shoes because their feet were being worn down too much, they had shoes on, but only fronts if we could get away with it. It wasn't a new concept then, so I think you are misunderstanding the UK market. Its just that they paid a lot less on average for a farrier to trim than a as then unheard of barefoot trimmer. And given the choice again now I am sticking with a farrier.

On a final note its food for thought that the msot evangelical adopter of barefoot trimming I know has recently had front shoes put on her horse, for a while until his horn grows enough to be sound barefoot again. So not all barefoot advocates are anti-anti shoes, and the more that both farriers and barefoot trimmers realise the benefits of each others' work, the more it will ultimately benefit the horse.

 

[ESH]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know the difference between a working trim and a farrier trim - TBH I don't know the technicalities, but am interested and am going to be studying barefoot trimming as part of a holistic horse diploma shortly.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is exactly what I am trying to find out what is the difference ???

 

[Donkeymad]

Rude? I am not the one shouting. Your post does not relate to what I have written either. Maybe your farriery skills are much better than your english skills

 

[cptrayes]

I don't give advice on barefoot, sorry. Trimming is not the main issue with barefoot. Conditioning, environment and feed are bigger issues than the trim. Provided the frog is on the floor, that is.

The Farrier, your post is wonderfully balanced and I am desperately sorry to disagree with you, please believe me on that. But research by Bob Bowker of MSU and all the evidence of the study into curing navicular horses, plus all the performance barefoot horses I know of (and it's into the hundreds) show that you are not correct. Horses were not designed for their feet to land flat. They were designed to land heel first and roll onto the toe callous and break over.

For anyone interested in studying more on the subject try barefoothorses.co.uk and it will point you to many more websites and to Bob Bowker's research.

I know I sound evangelistic and I make no apology for it. We have to stop killing horses who are unsound only because they are wearing shoes.

C

 

[TheFarrier]

Horses are not designed to land heel toe, if they were they would not have the wonderful suspension system of the fetlock.

 

[TheFarrier]

The first footfall is off but the rest the horse is landing level as i desribed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHOqtCZOwkA

eta a few more (see these horses (barefoot) landing flat footed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z5OjjoBQNo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIU8Y90KYOo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REReSZKMnkg&feature=related

 

[cptrayes]

Chestnutty Mare the study into the cure of navicular syndrome is only part way through but I think the interim results are on rockleyfarm.co.uk When it is finished it will be peer reviewed and published, like any other serious scientific piece of work.

 

[cptrayes]

I am sorry if this sounds rude, but anyone saying that horses are designed to land flat must be looking at the movement of shod horses or shoeless horses with inadequate heel structures (thin lateral cartilege, lack of digital cushion, frog not in contact with the floor, collapsed bars, underrun heels).

Horses in serious work with no shoes on, after proper conditioning, with the right food, environment and trim land clearly heel first.

If you want to see pictures of how lame horses change to heel first landing and become sound, look at back threads on UKNHCP.myfastforum.org

The suspension of the fetlock is a wonderful mechanism for moving freely over uneven ground, irrespective of how the foot lands. The presence of the fetlock suspension says nothing about it being right for a horse to land with a flat footfall.

Just because you see horses walking flat all the time does not make it right. Most lambs have no tails, but they were born with them and man changed them, as we have changed horses by shoeing them.

The Farrier, I'm sure you're a good man, you sound like one. Please do some more research and you'll find that you are not right about flat footed movement. Get in contact with the UKNHCP and they will show you a dozen examples of horses who were shooting cases that they saved, and dozens more horses like mine that perform at high level on all surfaces with a heel first landing and no shoes. They can introduce you to farriers who can talk to you professional to professional and to vets who understand that they were wrong to interpret heel first landing as toe pain and now realise that heel first landing is the preferred way of moving of truly sound horses.

 

[Chestnuttymare]

TheFarrier - that was really interesting. I have never studied the way a horses foot landed, i haven't really ever given it a lot of thought. I leave the technical stuff to my farrier, i just clean them and keep them maintained until his next visit. I am a bit ashamed of that now. Not much i cna do though really, is there. I do think i ought to know a bit more about it though, so will do some reading up lol.

cptrayes - thanks for the info. i will have a look and pass it on to my friend.

 

[ISHmad]

That's interesting as the DAEP who trims two of our horses says the foot should land flat, not heel or toe first... We also use a farrier to shoe the rest of our horses and have no complaints about either.

And what is equally nice is that they have no issue with each other so you get nobody trying to do the "yeah but this, yeah but that" routine.

When people get evangelical about shoes or barefoot that switches me right off. EVERY horse is an individual and you cannot make sweeping generalisations about all shoes being evil or barefoot trimmers all being rubbish surely. And yet that seems to happen on here a lot.

 

[cptrayes]

The Farrier your Utube shots are interesting. In the first one, have you looked at the horse's back feet - clearly touching down heel first? (back feet are often better than fronts, of course, which is why many people can go shoeless on the back but not the front).

Of the front feet, the near fore, which can only be seen a couple of times, appears to me to be touching down heel first. The off fore is not. The near fore also seems to have a lower heel than the off fore, which may mean that it is a better functioning foot with a stronger heel and more frog contact. The heel on the off fore looks as if it may be high enough to prevent the frog contacting the floor and if so, that foot is compromised, shoe or no shoe.

The availability of a few Utube vids of unshod horses landing flat is, to be honest, neither here nor there. How long had the horse been out of shoes? What is his feed regime? How is he kept? What work does he do? Is his trim correct? You could probably find dozens more videos of horses landing heel first. There are ten horses here or within one mile of here that I could video for you myself.

The clincher for me is that the navicular horses do not become sound until they land heel first and once sound they don't stop landing heel first.

We are so used to seeing horses land flat that we have begun to believe that it is correct. Do you know that anesthesia was developed by dentists because early surgeons believed it was correct for patients to scream? They had invested so much time and skill in learning to operate quickly to end the screaming that they thought it was the right way.

 

[cptrayes]

I've looked at all the vids now. The second has shoes. The third clearly states that he has been trimmed with the frog not in contact with the floor.

For the record, since I confess to being evangelical, perhaps I should explain my position on shoes. Shoes compromise the foot, a fact which has been established through scientific studies. They are, I believe, a necessary "evil"

(strong word!) for many owners, who simply are not as lucky as I am to be able to find the time, take the huge responsibility, and have the facilities to manage my horses barefoot. They are a necessary "evil" for anyone who feels that they have to use studs in events where boots are not allowed (eg BE). But there are thousands of horses in this country being unnecessarily shod, only to work in arenas full time, or who could be booted up to hack out.

And back to my favourite rant, I believe that it is simply indefensible any longer to shoot a horse with navicular syndrome without first trying a professionally guided barefoot rehab.

 

[hoofsculpture]

yes ,i am a lot better working with horses than i am at writing, spelling. but i dont go on forums and tell people in need of advice that they are talking crap, if you tell someone they are talking crap, it is very rude, and also you would need to know a lot about the subject, most people need advice from someone who actually knows.
BAREFOOT. before i go i want to explain a fiew point to intrested horse owners who for whatever reason wish their horse to be unshod. when you deshoe a horse you must access the foot to establish certain things, a foot may not have enough sound hoof horn to achieve a good trim, so a little shaping of what you have may be all that is possible for now, you must wait for growth. next you must establish the thickness of the sole, i f the horse has not got good thick,concave sole then walking on rough ground is out of the question for a while. gentle work on stone free sand etc will be required to toughen his feet and stimulate growth. he must not get bruising to the sole. as the removal of shoes lowers the sole closer to the ground, it is very important that any bumps ie folded over bars that are sticking up above the sole must be trimmed, in fact the entire solar surface must be level with the sole, no situation like a stone in you,r shoe. also the frog[after the shoe is removed] may now be over loading. so if safely possible, alittle can be trimmed of each side, this will create a more narrow wearing surface. even then a little can be trimmed off the wearing surface, this is provided there is enough surplus frog. when all this is done, some horses may be tenderfoot, this being the case the horse must not be allowed to hurt his soles, in this case he may need protection for a while. hoof boots are an option, also there are products on the market these days which are wonderfull, and can either be used to make a horse comfortable, or leave him fit for work while letting him grow new hoof without the use of nails. vettec make soleguard which can be used to protect the sole, this product works great if a horseshoe shaped rim of vettec superfast is applied first and the sole filled with soleguard. the main thing to remember is that many horses need quite a long time to toughen up, while others can go straight to work, it all depends on the sole quality. i hope this is helpfull.

 

[Hollycat]

The simon earle website used to have footage/a dvd avaliable as to how exactly a horse lands when moving correctly but it doesn't seem to be there anymore which is a shame.

At the end of the day - the horse's welfare should be paramount. As has been mentioned there are good and bad in every profession. Many farriers (my own included) recognise their training did not contain enough information on equine nutrition and the environmental factors that affect the horse's feet and have undertaken extra studies at their own cost. Many trimmers recognise that their courses, whilst good for performance barefoot are not adequate to trim anything other than a horse with no real foot problems and smilarly have sought to gain more experience/qualifications.

Surely farriers and trimmers and other equine professionals should be working together to pool knowledge and learn off each other for the best interests of the horse? The whole horse and its environment should be considered, not just one small (but important) aspect of it - i.e. the way its feet are trimmed.

 

[Scribbles]

I know nothing, so I'm sorry, but I study neuroscience, and the arguments about how navicular horses NOW land is very similar to what happens in humans after stroke, particularly that any assumption made is completely irrelevant. In neuro we call it plasticity and diaschesis - the ability of the (brain) to readapt so that it is functioning, but in an abnormal way/area. For example the visual area of a blind person will respond to auditory input.

In my roundabout way, I'm saying that once an injury has occured (or navicular etc) the horse will readapt itself to cope with that, the bone and muscle structures will change. And so no, it probably won't move the same way as a healthy horse.


Again, I'm sorry to anyone if I'm completely wrong and off the mark.

 

[Tinypony]

That is one of the most interesting posts on the discussion so far for me Scribbles, thanks. So I'm interested now to hear what the professionals have to say about it.

It is a shame, because for every farrier like our Farrier, who seems open-minded and interested, there is another who is spoiling the image. There is a 6 year old horse where I keep mine and he does nothing, he maybe leaves the field once a week. Yet the farrier comes along every 6 weeks and puts shoes on. I am 99% sure the horse would be fine without, and it would certainly benefit his hooves which are damaged by all the nail holes. I am guessing that Farrier here would have suggested pulling the shoes long ago. And be earning less from the owner of course.

 

[TheFarrier]

Woeisme if you were refering to me then yes in would have suggested that. IN fact there are a lot of horses that i suggest quite frequently should be going barefoot... for various reasons.
Its the owners choice at the end of the day, i present the facts as i know them and they make the decision i am of course only the tradesman.

Scribbles what you are saying as far as my training goes is correct, which is very similar to what horses in the wild do (and to remedial trimming) and that is that a horse will wear its own feet down to a shape that IT finds most comfortable. With remedial work on a young horse that is still developing you can correct many problems but with an older horse you trim to make them sound and comfortable (and i am NOT saying that you would not be making the young horse sound or comfortable either)

The very first thing i suggest to an owner of a horse with navicular is to turn it away barefoot as the feet and the horse need a rest and recuperation period.

The only thing that bothers me with the barefoot movement as it is called is that i am now told i only want horses shod (not true), that shoes are evil (this is not true, but they are a necessary evil (strong word i agree) but they have their place)
and the biggest one is that i dont know how to trim. of course i know how to trim. (and before you all pipe up i dont know how to trim for barefoot) go and talk to all my clients whose horses work barefoot. The way we are trained to trim is very scientific, there are lots of standard angles and measurements we have to follow to help the horse achive and ideal foot shape (can be individual to the horse and also its breed) that keeps it sound and functioning and dare i say it in work.

Be all this as it may, i am doing my research, im not done yet and may not be for a while... i also have a giant house move to contend with. but for the record i know how to trim a horse, i dont insist horses have shoes (infact if none of my clients ever wanted shoes again i would cope as my job isnt just about putting the shos on... should i admit that the trim is my favourite part? and if i wanted to keep working metal i would really like to have the time to go into blacksmithing more) Anyway there is always room for learning but so far i have seen barefoot trims that are no different from my own, really really bad barefoot trims and then methodsof barefoot trimming that i dont like and will never use.

Hoofsculpture i have sent you a pm, you are fairly new here and perhaps dont know i sent one. Go to the top of the page where it says check messages and do so, i would really appreciate a reply.

 

[TPO]

QR- Just to add my 2 cents worth.

I have a QH mare with navic and having reached the end of my tether with my old vet practice and farrier I contacted a UKEAP trimmer. I went through the whole transition thing, altered the mare's diet, supplemented as advised, walked her out over various surfaces as advised so on and so forth. I done everything to the letter. I had previously read up online and visited various websites and forums in a quest to learn more about it. I bought hoof boots for stoney ground (as advised) and used the pads UKEAP sold. I should point out mare wasn't ridden and "retired" to the field.

She was crippled by "barefoot" is the long and short of it.

I changed to a new vet practice and farrier, he shod her with remedial shoes (under vets advise) and she was sound as a pound landing heel first immediately. To make her comfortable she has to land heel first and that wasn't, and couldn't, happen whilst she was "barefoot". I, obviously, regret the decision to try a trimmer but I was at the very desperate and clutching at straws.

Having now seen the x-rays of my mare's feet (old practice never showed me despite my numerous requests - I was told it was nothing to worry about) I can clearly see the cyst on her navic bone and how this is creating pressure on DDFT. To alleviate the pressure the angle of her (small) feet had to be changed this was only possible with wedged eggbar shoes. The vet said it doesn't work for them all, some just say no, but thankfully my mare was on the % that they do work for.

What I would like explained is how barefoot/trimming can heal/improve/make sound a horse with navic? I know someone posted that a scientific paper is in the pipeline but where is the evidence now, with x-rays/MRI scans etc to prove it?

I truely don't understand the mechanics of it? How could trimming have lifted my mares heels the way remedial shoeing did? How would trimming ease the pressure on the internal structure of the leg?

I also don't understand the £ arguement. The barefoot trimmer I used charged £60 for the trim and "advice". My farrier is £20 to trim horses and £60 to shoe. Surely a farrier would make more money only trimming unshod horses as they can do more trims than shoes in a day.

 

[TheFarrier]

TPO not all horses can go barefoot and not all horse should be shod.

is perhaps the bottom line.

If people want to pay more for a trimmer im not going to stop them

With navicular and collapsed heels it is often easier and faster to rehabiliate the foot without shoes on, there are still products and frog supports one can use in this stage. There is also improved circulation to the foot when being barefoot that allows for faster (i dont want to say healing because navicular disease/syndrome is a life long condidition) and can mean the horse comes sound faster. There is a shoe i often recommend to owners of horses with navicular who need or want the horse shod especially for work as its a plastic shoe (bar) and has no concusson. steel shoes are concussive which can add to the pain and problems of Nav D/S

 

[TPO]

Thank you

Mare won't be ridden and is only on "hard ground" walking from field to byre (instead of stable so she can move and not get stiff

).

Have you any experience of the easywalker shoes? If so what do you think about them? Thank you

 

[TheFarrier]

Those are the shoes to which i am refering, and they are great

 

[TPO]

Will PM you if that's ok?

 

[TheFarrier]

no problem at all

 

[My_chestnut_mare]

I just dont think i would get a bare foot to my cob.

Had farrier yesterday and was asking him what he thought of them.

Now dont shoot me down in flames im just quoting what he said

He said they were ok but charged about £40-£50 for just a trim also the farriers are trained about diet changes they can see in the foot etc etc and that they were idiots and could talk the hind legs off a donkey and they only do a short coarse.