Barefoot and never been trimmed. Is that ok? WWYD please

[marioforever]

I bought a 5 year old mare who I had known since she was 3, and she is now 7. Up until 9 months ago she was barefoot and had never had her feet trimmed. Her hooves never grew long, never cracked and she seemed fine as mainly used in the arena and just did a bit of jumping on grass and minimal road and track work. Seemed okay on reasonably stony ground too. Unfortunately she got an inflammed suspensory injury on a foreleg from over extending jumping and I was advised to have egg bar shoes on her to take the strain off the ligament she has strained. She has been rescanned and it all looks good and I am bringing her back into work slowly. She now had PLR shoes on with slight wedges at the heel. I am not very happy having shoes on her as I think they may do more harm than good. I would like to go back to barefoot but the two vets I have seen dont seem keen. Also, if I do take her shoes off should I have her trimmed or just leave her as her feet never get long. Do I use farrier or barefoot trimmer if she should be trimmed. Am worried and dont want to make the wrong decision. WWYD please.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I would take the shoes off and use the best hoof care professional in the area.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Shoes off and use a professional is who is sympathetic and knowledgeable about hoof balance. Don't leave her feet without regular trims even though she is in work. Much of her work is on soft ground which I'd have thought would limit her ability to wear her feet the way she needs to in order to remain sound.

 

[marioforever]

Thanks for replies so far. When you say professional do you mean farrier or barefoot trimmer. Have no experience of trimmers but my farrier is very experienced,

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Whichever is the best for keeping working BF/unshod horses sound. So you could stick with your farrier if he/she is pro barefoot and doesn't trim the frogs etc... or try a BF trimmer if you have an excellent one in your area.

 

[claribella]

I would also take shoes off and get someone like a podiatrist or trimmer on board. They will beable to advise you on trims and get yourself clued up on barefoot. Read lots and look at lots of pics. My mare is a great self trimmer. My podiatrist is very non invasive and hardly ever comes out and trusts me to know when to call. I'm Warey of people who say you need a trim very six weeks as I believe it depends on the horse and how much road work they do. My girl had a trim four months a go and I've just trimmed her toe back as she has been out of work over the six weeks summer holiday and despite having a hard area to trim on she was still a bit over grown. So yeah get yourself clued up, get the shoes off and get someone sensitive on board.

 

[d_morrow]

I agree with taking shoes off but as someone who is also dealing with a sdft injury, I would be very careful about going from slight wedges to no wedges all at once. I would therefore ease back on the work a little - and note that firm/hard surfaces are better for tendons than soft going.

 

[Goldenstar]

Why do the vets want the horse to stay shod ? You need to understand their reasoning before you take a desision.
Did the horse have any lateral imbalance to its feet that affected the injury.
Even if the horse never needs trimming a professional needs to be keeping a check on the balance of the foot.

 

[marioforever]

The reason the horse was shod was that the vet said the egg bar shoes would take the pressure off of the enlarged suspensory. I spoke to the yard farrier and he agreed that they worked well for suspensory problems. I am worried though that they (and now the PLR shoes) will cause other problems. My vet went quiet when I said I would like her to go barefoot again lol. She has very hard feet, they hardly ever crack and I have never noticed her struggle on stones. Unfortunately where I keep her the roads are very busy and so I dont hack out very often. We do have a walker, which when she is rehabilitated I will use, She is turned out for 9 hours a day on a flat field with horses next door. Feet look good and the farrier is always saying that he nearly damages his tools rasping her feet. Why arent vets or farriers keen on barefoot as she stayed sound for 3 years shoeless before the injury and she was jumping on grass and doing sponsored rides etc during that time.

 

[d_morrow]

As I see it, your priority just now is to look after the tendon - yet it seems to me that you are worrying more about the feet.
If the feet are as good as you say, then surely they can cope with whatever your vet suggests in the short term. Then when the tendon is stronger, you can work towards taking the shoes off.
Whatever your opinion of shoes/wedges etc - your horse has been wearing them for a specific condition. To suddenly remove them could be a stretch too far for a compromised tendon.

 

[soloequestrian]

I'm sure I read a while back that wedges actually increase strain on the structures at the back of the leg - the wedge causes the fetlock to drop more than usual and the tendons are therefore stretched more at rest than they would be normally. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I don't like wedges for anything - they seem bound to lead to crushed heels.
I'd have the shoes off, with the support of someone who is knowledgeable about bare feet - for moral support, NOT necessarily to trim anything off!

 

[Buddy'sMum]

I don't have any experience of PLR shoes but do know that while toe wedges can reduce strain on the SL, heel wedges can increase strain on the SL, see:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2375746/

So I'd be asking your vet and farrier about that.

 

[SuperH]

Get a good farrier and ask them. A good farrier won't force you to have shoes if the horse doesn't need them and will do what is best for the horse with regard to type of shoe etc.

Last year I bought a 10 year old. She was unshod. I asked them how often she saw a farrier, their answer - what is a farrier. They had owned her 7 years and she had never been seen. Her hooves are excellent and my farrier is happy to keep her without shoes as that works for her.