Barefoot and roadwork question

[Caramac71]

Our loan pony is 14 and never been shod. Over winter (which is the time we have been loaning) she has grown very little hoof. We got a farrier recently to give her a trim, and she only needed a bit of reshaping, there was nothing really to take off. He asked if we did much roadwork with her (which at the time we didn't), and he commented that if we wanted to do more then she would need shoeing as she didn't have much hoof.

As I say, pony has never been shod and owner doesn't want her to be, so this is not an option. But we would like to increase the amount of roadwork for a few reasons - 1) to improve her fitness and build some muscle, 2) because in dry weather she struggles in the sandschool, 3) to add a bit of variety to her work and 4) we have to hire transport so it would be good to be able to hack to local shows, clinics, rallies, etc.

I had heard that with increased work the hoof will grow more - is this correct?

How do you get the balance right? I don't want to overdo the roadwork and have her wear down to the point she is sore/footy. What would be a sensible amount of work to start with and how long should we allow before we increase it?

Currently she probably hacks out once a week for about 3-4 miles, although mainly on bridlepath. In dry weather is there much difference to the wear on hooves between a hard dry bridlepath and road?

We were thinking of increasing that to 2 x hacks per week of 60-90 mins but the overall aim is to hack her to a venue 4.5 miles away, do a couple of classes and hack home.

Can anyone offer any advice on the best way to build up to this and what kind of timescale we should do this over?

 

[cptrayes]

There's only really one reliable guideline on this and that's 'listen to the horse' I have one who takes an age to kick-start good growth rates again when he is laid off from work at the end of the hunting season. Others will simply produce more horn the next day

Bear in mind that short doesn't mean sore, and that barefoot feet in hard work will look very, very short compared to a shod foot. Most horses that do plenty of hard work will have almost no horn height above the sole callous.


You will spot any problem as soon as she treads on one stone that she would not have felt the day before. It's a long way from being 'sore' but you can tell that something has changed. If that happens, you just back off the work or boot for a day or three and then off you go again.

In spring summer you may also be pushed to distinguish a reaction to increased work from a reaction to too much green grass. Your objective should be
achievable in a couple of months unless you have a very difficult pony and/or it has metabolic issues.

 

[Landcruiser]

I've got a 13 year old who has been barefoot most of his life (briefly shod 4 years ago before I got him). He's been absolutely fine and sound, always having plenty of hoof and only needing the odd reshaping trim until recently when we moved to a new yard (Jan).

He's ridden about 5 times a week, and most of this now involves plenty of roadwork, up to 5-6 miles a time. Previously we were on chalk/flint downs, with almost NO road work. The difference is marked. He's worn his feet way down, particularly the heels on his hinds. He's not had to be trimmed since December, and on the advice of my trimmer he's now booted as necessary. We had a set of fronts from when I first took his shoes off (only needed them once!) but I've had to buy him some hinds as well now.

We manage it by booting him if I know we are going for a decent length road hack, probably with lots of trotting. If we are going to be going off road, or just a 2 mile plod round the block, he's barefoot. I just keep an eye on it..if he looks to need to grow a bit, he's booted. If he's grown enough foot, he's bare. He's sound as a pound and his feet are hard as nails...they sound like concrete if you tap them, and they never chip or crack.

I use Cavallo Simple boots...cheap, and very easy to put on and off. I can have the full set on in a couple of minutes.

 

[Alyth]

Read the hooves are like boobs thread!! If you have been doing roadwork through the winter he has been self trimming - growth equals wear. If you increase the roadwork gradually this will continue and growth with increase to match the increased wear.....but it needs to be increased steadily and gradually.....

 

[Kikke]

Read the hooves are like boobs thread!! If you have been doing roadwork through the winter he has been self trimming - growth equals wear. If you increase the roadwork gradually this will continue and growth with increase to match the increased wear.....but it needs to be increased steadily and gradually.....

You know self trimming may work for some however it has to do with your horses movement. Unfortunatly not all horses can self trim as you would get flarred hooves etc. mine was not trimmed for 9 months because the farrier said they did not need doing. Always been barefoot and did road work 2-3 times week. Now my barefoot trimmer does her every 6 weeks and they llok much better.
But I do agree build up and the more uou do on hard ground the moe they will grow.

 

[cptrayes]

You know self trimming may work for some however it has to do with your horses movement. Unfortunatly not all horses can self trim as you would get flarred hooves etc. mine was not trimmed for 9 months because the farrier said they did not need doing. Always been barefoot and did road work 2-3 times week. Now my barefoot trimmer does her every 6 weeks and they llok much better.
But I do agree build up and the more uou do on hard ground the moe they will grow.

Flare is the result of stretched white line or very weak and probably over long feet. It cannot be corrected by trimming, only removed. The correction is to adjust the diet to tighten the white line and strengthen the foot.


Self trimming horses with less than perfect movement often have deviations which are not flare, they are beneficial adaptations of the foot to balance asymmetry in the horse.

Looking good is not the right measure. Performance is. If your horse had tight white lines , not underrun, had frogs in contact with the ground and his feet were symmetric from a sole view then I would prefer your farrier's approach to your trimmer's.

 

[brucea]

I do loads of roadwork with my barefoot guys - it's great for them and I never worry about it.

 

[Caramac71]

Thank you all for your replies. It's good to know it can be done, so we will gradually start to increase the roadwork and keep a close eye on her for any reaction.

Pony's wwner has always used whatever farrier is coming to the yard, just 2-3 times a year for trims, so there is no history as such with a farrier for me to ask advice. I know with our last loan pony, the farrier used to say every time that the pony needed back shoes as he had no hoof (but that owner refused to as pony was a kicker). Is it normal "farrier speak" to recommend shoeing?

I'm wondering if we should look for a trimmer next time we need her looking at, and maybe try to build a relationship with someone who can advise as I don't feel I have enough knowledge myself (yet) to know what to look for.

 

[Kikke]

Flare is the result of stretched white line or very weak and probably over long feet. It cannot be corrected by trimming, only removed. The correction is to adjust the diet to tighten the white line and strengthen the foot.


Self trimming horses with less than perfect movement often have deviations which are not flare, they are beneficial adaptations of the foot to balance asymmetry in the horse.

Looking good is not the right measure. Performance is. If your horse had tight white lines , not underrun, had frogs in contact with the ground and his feet were symmetric from a sole view then I would prefer your farrier's approach to your trimmer's.

Mmmmmmmm intereresting view............

 

[TwoStroke]

Mmmmmmmm intereresting view............

From my experience CPTrayes' view is accurate - this is the logical conclusion of current anecdotal evidence. In the absence of proper scientific studies I fail to see another current theory which fits the evidence better .