Barefoot advice please

lauracwd2

lauracwd2

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I bought a 5 yo connemara in May and I would like to try and get him barefoot if I can. He has nice strong feet and my plans are lots of hacking with some low level dressag/riding club stuff so I think it's achievable. I had the farrier take his back shoes off 4 weeks ago and he's been fantastic, striding out and happy walking over the roughest of ground, however on Saturday he was a little slow on our hack and was being very careful about his feet, reluctant to trot and looking for the grass verge all the time. He was the same on Sunday.

He moved into a new field on Friday evening which wasn't lush but hasn't been grazed for a couple of weeks and we've had a spell of warmer weather again so I'm wondering if his sudden footiness is connected to this? I'm going to bring him in during the day this week, starting yesterday. Took him for a short ride last night and he was better although still being careful. He's not lame and has no heat or pulses and he trotted off up the field happily when I turned him out.

Is there anything else I should be aware of at this stage, do I just need to allow more time to get his feet used to walking on the harder ground (we do have some pretty rough stoney tracks) or do I need to make some management changes? He's currently out 24/7 and will be in at night from end of November.
 
Sounds like the grass is the culprit. To test remove him from it for 24 hours then ride, if better, you have your answer. It what I call low grade laminitis, makes them footy, but easily resolved.
 
New field will pose new levels of nutrients and always makes the gut a bit sensitive IME.

Our girls have two fields in summer and move from one field to the other all through summer. Each time my mare is footy for a week or so and I have to boot.

There is a lot to be aware of when going barefoot, it's sometimes not as simple as one might think. So you just have to go with the flow a bit and take each day as it comes. However, I would just like to add that if your horse is on grass 24/7 then you stable with hay suddenly for a week, you are changing the pH in the gut and also the flora will be making adjustments so you may be changing too many things at once here and you will never know what the cause is.
 
Thanks for the replies. My instinct is that it is the grass even though the field looks ok and he's certainly not overweight. They do rotate fields every 2 or 3 weeks at our yard but obviously he's been shod all the previous times so will have disguised any minor issues. Good point about the hay Tallyho! will bear that in mind too. Wondering now if I should keep him in 24-48 hours and see how he goes.
 
lauracwd2 said:
Thanks for the replies. My instinct is that it is the grass even though the field looks ok and he's certainly not overweight. They do rotate fields every 2 or 3 weeks at our yard but obviously he's been shod all the previous times so will have disguised any minor issues. Good point about the hay Tallyho! will bear that in mind too. Wondering now if I should keep him in 24-48 hours and see how he goes.
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Why don't you give him hay outdoors in the field? Put some on the ground and he can choose himself. That way, he is reducing grass intake, adjusting his gut pH and bacteria gradually. The bacteria needed to digest grass and hay are very different. Done gradually, they will even up and be able to help the hindgut stay healthy.
 
Thanks, I don't think that will be practical as it's herd turnout (7 horses) but perhaps I could seperate him for part of the day with a choice of grass and hay. Something to think about.
 
Andalucian said:
Sounds like the grass is the culprit. To test remove him from it for 24 hours then ride, if better, you have your answer. It what I call low grade laminitis, makes them footy, but easily resolved.
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this. The only way to answer the question is to do it. May take a couple of days but it provides a definite answer then you can start to work around it. Don't forget the magnesium and make sure he has enough salt.
 
lauracwd2 said:
Thanks for the replies. My instinct is that it is the grass even though the field looks ok
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Goodluck Lauracwd
 
The grass will be low in magnesium in spring and in autumn, its a natural thing, so I would make sure he is getting extra MgO.
Most people supplement with a hoof friendly mineral mix. He won t eat hay uness it is the only choice, so really you probably need to stable a few hours.
 
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Bonkers2 said:
The grass will be low in magnesium in spring and in autumn, its a natural thing, so I would make sure he is getting extra MgO.
Most people supplement with a hoof friendly mineral mix. He won t eat hay uness it is the only choice, so really you probably need to stable a few hours.
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How do you know?
 
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