Barefoot advice please!

For anyone interested I just thought I would do another update..

He has now been barefoot for 5 months, I recently rode him for the first time in the best part of a year! I thought he would never be ridden again, so its unbelievable the difference. He has also been on bute ever since he was diagnosed (nearly 2 years ago). He is now sound off bute!! And has stayed sound!

I just want to thank you all again for your help and advice, I honestly didn't believe in before I tried it but to have a sound horse off bute now is unbelievable compared to 6 months ago when he was on 2 x bute a day and could hardly walk. He is also much happier in himself and back to super chilled Rebound, rather than trying to buck me off everytime I ride him!

And pictures of being back on him.

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(I apologise for the mud and fluff!!)

I meant to get some photos of his feet today and totally forgot! But will try and get some before and after photos if anyone is interested.
 
Thats great news, I also have a navicular horse, he is 3 months into barefoot we have just started walking out in hand and he is much better, down to 1/2 a danilon a day now so I am hopeful that I will be able to ride him again fairly soon!
 
Great news. I took my navicular boys shoes off last week although he was sound in the pads with a small heel. This morning he was right fore lame not just footy.
Reason for posting is that it was lovely to read your post to see the light at the end!
I am awaiting my sample kits from forageplus so onwards and upwards I hope. If I can't see an improvement in 8 months I will send him to Rockley (if they will have him!)
 
Great news. I took my navicular boys shoes off last week although he was sound in the pads with a small heel. This morning he was right fore lame not just footy.
Reason for posting is that it was lovely to read your post to see the light at the end!
I am awaiting my sample kits from forageplus so onwards and upwards I hope. If I can't see an improvement in 8 months I will send him to Rockley (if they will have him!)
Best of luck for the future.
 
Archie73 said:
Great news. I took my navicular boys shoes off last week although he was sound in the pads with a small heel. This morning he was right fore lame not just footy.
Reason for posting is that it was lovely to read your post to see the light at the end!
I am awaiting my sample kits from forageplus so onwards and upwards I hope. If I can't see an improvement in 8 months I will send him to Rockley (if they will have him!)
Best of luck for the future.
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Mine was lame straight out of shoes, turning out in boots and pads for 2 months
helped loads, he is now managing fine, it can be quite daunting when they look so bad when the shoes come off and it is tempting to just put them on again!
 
That's really good news, you must be so delighted for him to recover so well and be able to ride him again :)

Thank you for the update :)
 
Wonderful news, I am so happy for you.

I wonder how much longer it will take before all farriers and vets, instead of the enlightened few, start to notice just how many "permanently unsound" horses are being returned to full work without their shoes on.
 
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Lovely to hear - just made my day
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Please follow the link Brucea suggested and share your story there.

We are hoping to create a database of rehab stories for people to read for when they get that initial diagnosis and don't know where to turn.

You could save other horses just by sharing your story
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Well done the pair of you.
 
Fantastic news, thank you for sharing it with us.
I remember that feeling of getting on the back of your beloved horse when you have gone through so much worry and heartache, wondering if the navicular would spell the end of your relationship.
I too had retired my horse for the previous twelve months before I finally decided to take his shoes off in 2006. Rockley and the barefoot help and advice on this forum probably weren't around then, I just had to hope it would work.
I was riding him again within three months, gently at first but built up with the help of Epics and comfort pads and eventually without the boots. It was such a great feeling to up there riding my lovely boy.
He was off all pain relief and the biotin I was supplementing to stop his hooves cracking within twelve months.
Great news for all us barefooters, well done for believing and having faith.
 
cptrayes said:
Wonderful news, I am so happy for you.

I wonder how much longer it will take before all farriers and vets, instead of the enlightened few, start to notice just how many "permanently unsound" horses are being returned to full work without their shoes on.
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Might take a while - based on the fact that a large equine vet refuses to come out and see a horse they diagnosed as navicular - now the horse is sound and hunter trialling barefoot (not booted) - unless the owner puts shoes on.

The owner had to get another vet out for soundness checks - and I'm delighted to report the horse passed with flying colours including trotting a 10m circle on concrete.
 
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LucyPriory said:
Might take a while - based on the fact that a large equine vet refuses to come out and see a horse they diagnosed as navicular - now the horse is sound and hunter trialling barefoot (not booted) - unless the owner puts shoes on.

The owner had to get another vet out for soundness checks - and I'm delighted to report the horse passed with flying colours including trotting a 10m circle on concrete.
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That takes the biscuit for ignorant, stubborn small minded attitude! :eek:
 
LucyPriory said:
There is a kind of logic to it.

If they refuse to go and see sound, unshod/barefoot, hardworking horses they can honestly say they have never seen one.
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Very good point.

I use a large vets and initially when my horse was still under insurance claims for Navicular, the Scottish lameness expert advised that she did not recommend it for my horse at all but if I wanted to do it she would consider referring my horse for barefoot rehab (i told her about Rockley) anyway to cut a long story short when i actually phoned up and said i was going to do it, she did not bother coming to the phone or even offering to call me back, she sent the receptionist to tell me words similar to this "i dont think its a good idea now you dont have the insurance to back you up if it goes very wrong" Luckily i can afford to pay for my horse but always intelligently plead poverty at the vets:)
I had already stupidly posted on here saying I had a supportive vet......now I have one vet (the one that comes out other one stays at vets fulltime) who is "interested" in what I am doing and says I can call her anytime on mobile but I suspect she will just advise me to reshoe.
The EP that was recommended to me whom i met was good and seemed to know what he was talking about but I did not actually like him and I have a problem trusting someone I dont like SOOOOOO
I am left with my very surrportive FARRIER of all people who has been a star so far and as mentioned somewhere in another post, he took "Feet First" book as shoes off visit payment.

Anyway, I am waiting for mineral anysis kit AND the main reason why I jumed on this post (if you got this far) is because I would love to get somone who is experienced in BF rehab to pay my boy a visit, not really as a trimmer (nothing to trim yet at 5 days!) but as a hand holder and advisor. Any ideas am based Bromley BR4:-)
 
Archie 73,
Lucy Priory is doing my boy, she is very knowledgeable and helpful, I had a consultation with her before he needed trimming and she is based in Kent!
 
Its wonderful to see those photos of you back on him well done you be very proud of yourself.
The attitude of the vet described by LP astounds me how can they have so little curiousity, it was curiousity not lameness that made me try the barefoot thing with my first one ( have a second just starting now) my vet ( also my BF ) was really anti now six months on the horse is working fab ( he hacks jumps a little for fun but is mainly a flat work horse) he had one period of footiness , my trimmer got boots for which I used twice before it resolved but now I have them if needed.
It's between my BF and me now I can't discuss him and she pretends he does not exist its mad .
However during a conversation about another horse ( problems with farrier toes too long heel support crap etc etc ) no other farriers round here that you could try I said can you understand why I took T,s shoes off she prevaricated a bit but it's progress !!
It can't just be the money thing can it ? I mean barefoot rehab does not build up the huge bills of the conventional approach does it just seems too awful to think that is the reason.
 
My vet was cautious about doing it too quickly, before we had a full diagnosis and wanted to try farriery first. In addition he was keen to point out that it is a long term fix and would require a sig amount of effort/changes on my part (I think he just wanted to make sure we weren't planning on taking shoes off and everything would be ok!)

He actually is very interested to see how we get on, as a practice they have had success with a few with caudal heel pain/navicular but not tried it with a coffin joint djd yet ;) so I will certainly be keeping him updated.
 
LucyPriory said:
There is a kind of logic to it.

If they refuse to go and see sound, unshod/barefoot, hardworking horses they can honestly say they have never seen one.
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Ostrich logic never helped anyone or moved knowledge forward though. Very sad and disheartening imo.
 
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