Barefoot advice needed..

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Beatrice5

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I have all my 3 barefoot and have Easyboot gloves on 2 with great sucess.

Now the old rescue mare has had her back shoes removed after much protest from her absent owner and is doing well other than on very gritty roads. I have been putting my mares gloves on her hinds when doing gritty ground but then my mare feels it a bit - so old girl stride off up the road in my horses boots and we teeter along behind best we can :( .

As the old girl isn't mine I really don't want to fork out £140 for a pair of boots for her. Her feet are good it's just her heel bulb that is sensitive to the grit. What can I do to help her?

Alternatively what are the most cost effective boots I can get or is there another option? Can I improvise with some vet wrap or something - suggestions please as I dearly want to help her but long suffering husband gets narky when I spend money on someone elses horse which is quite understandable .
 
Since you know the size you need (at least in the Gloves), see if you can pick up a pair secondhand, either on eBay or maybe by joining the Phoenixhorse forum (they have an excellent For Sale section, which given that it's a barefoot forum, tends to have lots of boots on offer at good prices :)).

ETA - Cavallos are probably the cheapest boots - you would need to check their size guide and compare with the Gloves size guide, but they are very easy to come by secondhand, as lots of people use them for "first" barefoot boots, and after a while their horses' feet change size and shape and they move on to e.g. Gloves.
 
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You can improvise with yoga/camping/exercise mats, cut to shape (double/triple-layers if necessary) and whack a load of gaffa tape around.
Or look on ebay or the barefoot Phoenix forum for 2nd hand boots. Measure her feet up first though.

Was she shod all around before or just in front? Can u not put the money aside you were spending on shoes, then buy boots?

In the mean time, what are u feeding her? Is there no way you can just stick to smooth tarmac roads for now, to condition her feet? :)
 
Ooohh thank you will look on Phoenixhorse web site. Been searching ebay but she is a size 1 so not a popular size.

She is on long stalky old lay never fertilised meadow grass and old lay hay. She gets a handful of Alfa A molasses free with her equimins veteral vits and a scoop of speedi beet once a day, oh and a scoop of micronised linseed.

She isn't mine > I rescued her from the verge of death in January and have been rehabilitating her and healing her skin for past few months. She is now in fab health and her owner wants her gone asap so I am finding her a loan home at the moment.

She has been shod all around for her whole life ( she is 20ish) but I have only removed hinds as I have been left paying bills since owner lost interest and really really can't afford to keep her.
 
itsonlyme said:
You can improvise with yoga/camping/exercise mats, cut to shape (double/triple-layers if necessary) and whack a load of gaffa tape around.
Or look on ebay or the barefoot Phoenix forum for 2nd hand boots. Measure her feet up first though.

Was she shod all around before or just in front? Can u not put the money aside you were spending on shoes, then buy boots?

In the mean time, what are u feeding her? Is there no way you can just stick to smooth tarmac roads for now, to condition her feet? :)
Click to expand...

So if I cut mats to shape of foot then cover with tape it should stay on for a genlte hack ?

Will give it a go .

Also I saw some neoprene pastern wraps / gaiters on ebay are they worth a go ?
 
Do you have any pics ? Did you gaffer the whole foot ? then how do you get the whole lot off ? Did you wrap the mat up around the pastern then gaffer as otherwise tape will stick to hair and not be easy to remove ?

Sorry for 20 q's just keen to find solution that works.
 
Beatrice5 said:
Anyone else got any suggestions ? Phoenix horse haven't got any secondhand at the moment but will keep a close eye.
Click to expand...

Just stick to softer ground for now and give her time.

Boots aren't always essential, they are a handy tool.

I've never needed to use boots on my horses - tinkering with the diet made them comfy.
 
Glad to hear the old girl is in good hands and doing well.

You mentioned soreness in the heel area. My chap has been fine over all surfaces except fixed rocky cobbles. So being a perfectionist I have looked into improving his fab feet.
On digging and poking with a hoof pick I realised he was sensitive between the heel bulbs. I assumed thrush and started treating as such. I can now see that it is deep seated thrush and his frogs had developed a carapace to try and reduce soreness,thus masking obvious outward signs of the disease.
If the mare you are looking after has been previously neglected,she may have a similar issue.
I have been using Sole cleanse and honey heal,but have now ordered some field paste(long term protection) and Hoof stuff to pack in between the heel bulbs. http://www.redhorseproducts.com/Hoof_Care
Both products would be handy for you own horses and may help your rescued mare.
 
I'd second abitodd's advice with red horse products, I've been using field paste on my boy and he's definitely less sensitive around one of his frogs which just happens to have a really deep cleft in it. I've also found good levels of mag ox help him too. Good luck :)
 
Fab advice - Thank you.

Will get the field paste - my farrier was trying to remeber the name of it the other day he said the red horse bit ;D
 
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