Bare foot question

[WellyBaggins]

Me again

So I have been doing some more research as I hope to start a BF work programme soon, shoes been off 2 months now! I emailed Nic at rockley who was as helpful as she could be, not seeing the horse. She said he needs to be landing heel first, I am not sure that he is ATM, so stupid Q, how do you make that happen? thanks in advance

 

[TwoStroke]

Not stupid at all .

To land heel first, it has to be comfortable for the horse to do so. A heel first landing is bio-mechanically correct, so once the horse realises its now comfy to land heel first, he will revert to doing that.

So to make it comfy, first you need to eliminate any thrush - this is very important. Once thrush is gone, it's a matter of building up the work (stimulation to the hooves) gradually over a period of time. How long it takes should be dictated by your horse - always stick within his comfort levels.

If you have eliminated any thrush, but the horse is still not landing heel first on a smooth surface, then it can be very useful to use boots and pads. This is usually enough to make the horse comfy enough to land heel first whilst the feet are still very weak. It should be a temporary measure, though boots can also be useful during the grass growing months, if your horse struggles with the sugar.

Hope that helps.

 

[TPO]

Baa to Twostroke's post.

I struggled to get this and wasn't sure if I was seeing it when walking over comfortable surfaces (school & smooth tarmac). I've also struggled with a foot infection that wasn't thrush/BF related.

I put boots & pads on and got it straight away. After a week or two I started taking the boots off for the walk home over a red ash/small stone track and I could clearly see the heel first landing. I built up the time with boots off when out walking and now do the odd day with no boots at all. Looking to build this us and introduce totally bare to our ridden work.

I wish I'd put the boots on sooner tbh.

 

[WellyBaggins]

Brilliant, thank you

 

[Oberon]

She said he needs to be landing heel first, I am not sure that he is ATM, so stupid Q, how do you make that happen? thanks in advance

It's really not complicated at all.

With BF rehab the horse does all the complicated rebalancing, remodelling and healing itself.

All you have to do is facilitate that and make the horse as comfortable moving as possible. A sore horse won't move and every step the horse takes now is a step towards health.

Your role in this.......

1) Diet - make sure the diet isn't causing discomfort.

2) Provide opportunity for movement on as many different surfaces as possible.

3) Look at any thrush hidden in the frog. If the back of the hoof is sore - he won't load it and you'll get no where.

4) Keep an eye on the body - hoof pain = shoulder and neck pain. You will find niggles throughout the body and also postural changes from loading differently - horse may well need a decent body worker to help ease any chronic muscle tension.

5) Saddle refit - I can almost guarantee you will need a wider saddle at some point.

6) Trust the horse. He will load the heel when he is ready to do so. Don't fret if you notice toe first landing at the moment - he is loading the strongest and most comfortable area. Time and movement and he will load the heel when it's up to the job.