barefoot advice please....

[coralwings20]

I have just had my 15 year old warmbloods' shoes taken off - backs about 3 months ago and fronts a week ago. Farrier struggling to find new wall to put nails as his feet don't really grow and the horse doesn't do anything but school once or twice a week on a soft surface. For the first few days he was very footy (nearly had farrier out on a Sunday) but now seems just slightly footy. When would you advise bringing him back into work on a soft sand school?? I have just turned him out 24/7 on sandy soil as he was scraping his fronts on his mats in the morning wearing down what little foot he has. I am worried that it is going to take months before I can sit on him again. He doesn't get much hard feed - a handful of speedibeet, scoop of alpha a oil, sprinkle of cool mix, pink powder, linseed, cortaflex and garlic with ad lib hay and grass. My arab and sons pony have taken to barefoot transition with no problems - are some horses just not designed to be barefoot?? woosy so & so that he is.....

 

[Miss L Toe]

I think you may need to feed and exercise for hoof strength and growth, is it possible to hack out on tarmac twenty minutes per day, this is what I did.
I feed non molassed sugar beet, add minerals, and 100gms micronised linseed meal, no sugary feeds. Some are sensitive to alfa.
The feet will grow in response to exercise.
See Rockley Farm site for the full story.
Some people told me to put my pony in a field because he was uncomfortable when I put him out in a track, they had the wrong idea, the idea of putting him out on a track was to harden his feet.
He used to do an hour on tarmac every day, and the feet really toughened up, and self trimmed.
I asked a farrier to look at him today, he said hinds were perfect [not touched for ten months] and fronts just needed a quick roll round the edge, I was due to do them myself, but wanted him to check, to make sure they were OK. He has to walk on a track every day to reach his grazing. and gets a few miles on a stony track most days.

 

[TigerTail]

He needs stimulation for the feet to grow - so if hes just been in a stable he wont be getting any so to his body its a waste of energy growing more hoof.

Start doing 10/15 mins in hand walks down the road, and long lining/ liberty work in the school for a couple of weeks but in short bursts and build him up slowly.

Watch out for lami/footiness with the weather being so warm it makes the grass grow in short bursts which = sugar!

 

[coralwings20]

thanks he is very quirky so hacking is not an option - nor is long reining unless on a circle - wouldn't walk him out in hand either. No, he wasn't stuck in a stable - had 12 hours turnout a day but have decided to leave him out 24/7 as he has a habit of scraping his hooves on the mats. I was hoping to have a sit on him tomorrow but not sure how soon is to soon to ride a horse just gone barefoot after years of corrective shoeing :-(

 

[Oberon]

I have just had my 15 year old warmbloods' shoes taken off - backs about 3 months ago and fronts a week ago. Farrier struggling to find new wall to put nails as his feet don't really grow and the horse doesn't do anything but school once or twice a week on a soft surface

So why is there are problem in the first place?
Poor quality or quantity of hoof is a sign of poor mineral intake.
The shoes preventing ground stimulation also slows down growth - this will speed up now.

For the first few days he was very footy (nearly had farrier out on a Sunday) but now seems just slightly footy. When would you advise bringing him back into work on a soft sand school?? I have just turned him out 24/7 on sandy soil as he was scraping his fronts on his mats in the morning wearing down what little foot he has. I am worried that it is going to take months before I can sit on him again.

Being a WB, he has probably been shod for many years, while eating a diet insufficient to his needs. His hooves will be soft and his digital cushions will be mush. He'll need more than a week to rebuild that
You can ride him as soon as he is comfortable.
He will become comfortable as soon as he has lain down and strengthened tissue where he needs it.
He will do this with - a decent diet for his needs and movement to stimulate tissue growth.
There is the alternative of using boots to get him comfy enough to ride straight away.

He doesn't get much hard feed - a handful of speedibeet, scoop of alpha a oil, sprinkle of cool mix, pink powder, linseed, cortaflex and garlic with ad lib hay and grass.

It's not the quantity of the feed - it's the quality for his needs. Given the problems you have mentioned, I would suggest it needs tinkering with. I would look into adding a high mineral supplement (you wouldn't need PP alongside it) and dropping the garlic and possibly the Alpha A (his workload doesn't really justify it and some horses do better without alfalfa).

My arab and sons pony have taken to barefoot transition with no problems - are some horses just not designed to be barefoot?? woosy so & so that he is.....

Opinions vary, but I don't buy into this. I believe that some breeds are shod from a young age and are fed in a certain way, all to the detriment and under-development of their hooves. And this damage and wastage can take a while to get over.
Some horses are more sensitive to diet than others and have to have everything 'just so' to be fully comfortable.
For some horses there is too much damage and or too many problems that means it's kinder to shoe.

 

[Miss L Toe]

So why is there are problem in the first place?
Poor quality or quantity of hoof is a sign of poor mineral intake.
For some horses there is too much damage and or too many problems that means it's kinder to shoe.

For this horse there was already insufficient growth to shoe the horse, so there was a problem, not helped by removing shoes without changing management regime.
If there was not enough hoof to tack on shoes, it is no surprise this horse is footy as it is now walking on its sole which previously was supported by the shoe, if you see what I mean.
Diet is probably not balanced: cereals, alfa, molasses mentioned
Grazing: means grass = sugar [assuming the grazing is normal UK English].
Exercise: not enough / not the "right" sort
So he has had "years of corrective shoeing" so feet have always been an issue, no change there!............. can you get on to the Rockley site and start to bone up on feet, there are loads of threads on here about hoof problems and barefoot management. It is a new world, and you are unlikely to get a quick fix, sorry
Oh, and try to feed a full daily dose of minerals including magnesium, magnesium may be lacking and this can lead to quirky behaviour!
Was he scraping feet because he wanted more hay?

 

[coralwings20]

For this horse there was already insufficient growth to shoe the horse, so there was a problem, not helped by removing shoes without changing management regime.
If there was not enough hoof to tack on shoes, it is no surprise this horse is footy as it is now walking on its sole which previously was supported by the shoe, if you see what I mean.
Diet is not suitable: cereals, alfa, molasses
Grazing: means grass = sugar [assuming the grazing is normal UK.
Exercise: not enough , not the "right" sort

Thanks for all the good advice - I am certainly not a barefoot guru

He had to have his shoes removed as there was insufficient hoof to nail so my farrier said he would benefit from not having shoes. I was hoping to bring him back into work (more than the once/twice a week currently) for the forthcoming summer showing season. He does seem to be slightly better on a day to day basis but from what I have read online, some people say ride to strenghten the hoof and some say to turnout for a few months so advice would be great.....

 

[paddy555]

I have just had my 15 year old warmbloods' shoes taken off - backs about 3 months ago and fronts a week ago. Farrier struggling to find new wall to put nails as his feet don't really grow and the horse doesn't do anything but school once or twice a week on a soft surface. For the first few days he was very footy (nearly had farrier out on a Sunday) but now seems just slightly footy. When would you advise bringing him back into work on a soft sand school?? I have just turned him out 24/7 on sandy soil as he was scraping his fronts on his mats in the morning wearing down what little foot he has. I am worried that it is going to take months before I can sit on him again. He doesn't get much hard feed - a handful of speedibeet, scoop of alpha a oil, sprinkle of cool mix, pink powder, linseed, cortaflex and garlic with ad lib hay and grass. My arab and sons pony have taken to barefoot transition with no problems - are some horses just not designed to be barefoot?? woosy so & so that he is.....

I don't think you could ride him until he was completely sound. It may take longer for the footiness to go. If you ride a footy horse then it will compensate for the discomfort elsewhere, back, muscles etc so it is not advisable. There is no set amount of time you have to wait before you can ride a horse out of shoes. It takes as long as it takes.
If he has been shod for about 11 years and there is so little hoof the farrier cannot find sufficient wall to nail into then you are not going to resolve that in a week.

Riding him on sand could wear his feet. It is quite abrasive.
I think the first thing you need to do is get his feet to grow. For that you need to be looking at his diet and at a decent supplement (or mineral balancing)
Growth only starts to balance wear on feet provided the horse actually has the ability feed wise to grow feet. If he wasn't growing sufficient foot for the farrier to nail into then he isn't going to be growing sufficient to cope without shoes.

Have you dealt with the thrush? that can make them footsore.

 

[Miss L Toe]

Thanks for all the good advice - I am certainly not a barefoot guru

He had to have his shoes removed as there was insufficient hoof to nail so my farrier said he would benefit from not having shoes. I was hoping to bring him back into work (more than the once/twice a week currently) for the forthcoming summer showing season. He does seem to be slightly better on a day to day basis but from what I have read online, some people say ride to strenghten the hoof and some say to turnout for a few months so advice would be great.....

Read FEET FIRST [seaweed excepted] and you will start on the step ladder to becoming a barefoot guru, you need to have this information [education] so you can make up your own program.
The feet need fed, so that is easy.
The nail holes need to grow out as they will weaken the hoof wall, they will grow faster with exercise on a variety of surfaces particularly hard surfaces and pea gravel surfaces, I really don't think turning out to grass 24/7 will help as the hoof is exposed to a soft surface only, no hard surface, and the diet is almost bound to be higher in sugar and lower in fibre than ideal.
Unfortunately with a problem horse there are no easy solutions, well I have never found one.

 

[HorseandGroom]

Why not try a set of easy boot, just used them on my horse for a different reason and he took to them okay. You need the right size and they need to fit well (Look on you tube for vids) this might cure / help with your problem.

Also cornucrescine will promote healthy hooves, takes time (About 6 months) but again worked wonders on mine who's hooves were always breaking up and he was often losing shoes. Not now can go 6 to 8 weeks with no breaks or losses.

Ian