Barefoot Appys? Thinking of the future!

HollyWoozle

HollyWoozle

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As some of you will already have read, my Mum bought an Appaloosa in November. She's not ridden him once (except when trying him) as to cut a long story short, turns out he had bone spavin in near hind which the vets said, in his case, developed when he was a baby.

About a month ago he underwent surgery for the bone spavin and all went well. :) He was turned out on Wednesday after a month of box rest and will now continue to go out in the day and come in at night. I believe he also appears to have slight navicular in fronts but my mother really only wants him for light hacking a few times a week, bit of walk, trot and canter on good ground. The vets are confident that this will be no problem at all, should the hock joint fuse properly over the coming months.

Obviously he has no shoes on at the moment and he will be out of work for at least another 6 months. I am just considering whether it could work out to leave him barefoot when it comes to bringing him back into work? He will have to go on the roads as we have no choice to go on them, but not for more than walking a bit until we can get onto bridleways. I know that some also believe this to be a good way to manage navicular with the correct trimming. Perhaps it is worth getting him on a supplement to strengthen his hooves and improve their condition?

ETA: I know we will have to bear in mind that barefoot works for some and not for others, probably just seeing how he goes with it at the time. I would just like to collect some opinions on it and to think about whether it would be an idea to get his hooves in the best possible condition now with that as our aim.
 
I would consider your vet's opinion on this one really, but if theysay barefoot could be okay, consider boots, and use comfort pads inside them to support the frog and base of the foot, they make a LOT of difference to the horse. I'd recommend having a look at the Easyboot (US) and Trelawne Equine (UK) websites for help. Good luck with him.
 
I would def try him barefoot if hes going to be in light work anyway; the increased blood supply to the hoof area due to the frog being in contact with the ground can only be a massively good thing with his condition.

Trya lo cal hoof - friendly feed like Dengie Healthy Hooves or Spillers Happy Hoof rather than any expensive hoof supplements, it has made my barefoot girl's hooves great and my oldie big chap now has had his shoes removed and hasnt even noticed!

If you do get boots I found Boas v good for the flat round hooves of my Haffie but they wouldnt work so well for un-round hooves I dont think, different ones suit different hoof shapes. You can hire them from some places online. The only times I wouldnt advise boots is on very oozy slick mud, then they need the grip of the hooves ro shoes in contact with the ground. When you start work dont panic if the hooves look a bit ragged and messy, they will soon trim up tidy and its amazing without shoes on how it doesnt bother the horse at all.
 
Thank you for the replies, really useful information. It just seems to me that as he will have had at least 6 months without shoes, it would be silly to put shoes straight back on him for light hacking without giving barefoot a try. Of course it might not work out for him but it's handy to know opinions on it all the same. :)
 
I am on the second Appy, the first had awful feet when we first got her, we gave her 2x15ml scoop of wheatgerm daily and they improved, but she had shoes on until her retirement. The current Appy has quite strong feet, but does need shoes on allround. She has had no shoes, shoes just on the fronts, but is much better when shod on all four. It really is dependant on the individual horse.
 
Appys aren't renowned for having amazing feet, when I had one I really struggled with hers, but if he's barefoot now and fine then it's definitely worth a try. Just make sure he has a good diet and is getting everything he needs. If you want a hoof supplement, Kevin Bacon's hoof supplement worked wonders on my appy but it's very expensive. Top Spec Feed Balancers have a good hoof supplement already in them and you don't need to feed very much so they actually work out quite cheaply. He may not need any of this, just some hoof boots. Good luck :)
 
My appy's feet are amazing, perhaps because she's never been shod, they are very rock crunching and her feet are really healthy. Farriers and trimmers alike comment on how healthy they are.

If you do need boots contact Old Mill Saddlery or Trelawn Equine, also think about feed as that's important, I've just swopped to Thunderbrook feeds and both of mine are doing very well on it - one's almost been barefoot a year now and her feet weren't at all healthy (ID/Conn)
 
Appys probably have the hardiest feet after the brumby!! They were the original horse of the plains indians after all...

Then again, diet does play a huge part in how feet cope so if on a tb diet, will get tb feet :D

My Appy copes well on all terrain. He was a lami case, navicular, rotated pedal bone, you name it. Lives out 24/7 now though and dressages, jumps and ODEs.
 
Thanks everyone! He lives out 24/7 and although his feet were an awful shape originally, our farrier did start correcting that when Noah arrived in November. He is on the same diet as Belle and her feet are pretty healthy (she wears shoes but hooves are in lovely condition and she never loses a shoe). Of course it depends on the horse so I will look into getting his feet in tip top condition.

Vets will come to look at his soundness in about 6 months and we'll go from there, they said it could take up to 9 months before he's ridden again (provided that joint heals as hoped). At least he's come to a home where not much will be asked of him so chances are he will come fit for purpose. We love him anyway!
 
I would like to add HollyWoozle that you don't need to spend hundreds on manufactured supplements... they don't need as much as you think. Cover the basics like calcium, magnesium, b vitamins and don't feed sweet veg as part of the daily diet.

Mine gets alfa & speedibeet after a ride (only a handful as a "thank you") and he has a laminshield lick in the field. That is quite a leap from his diet last year - I was abit ott.
 
Thanks. :) Our grazing is horrific at the mo but we feed plenty of hay and he has fast fibre and dengie hifi. There is a mineral lick in the field but he's had his own recently as he has been on box rest. He's also been having a conditioning feed as the stress of it all made him a bit ribby, but he looks fairly well now and is delighted to be outside again!
 
Appy's are known to suffer from EPSM and it is more likely to be this causing inability to go barefoot than that simply "some horses can do it and some can't". This is one of many quotes you can find on Google.

"Polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) is a type of chronic exertional rhabdomyolysis that is most common in stock-type horses (especially those of Quarter Horse, Paint, and Appaloosa breeding), drafts, and warmbloods. The problem is caused by an abnormal accumulation of glycogen in muscle cells, possibly linked to enhanced insulin sensitivity and rapid clearance of glucose from the blood. "


The inability to use insulin properly leads to sensitive soles. Treatment is a diet high in oil and vitamin E. And restriction of grass sugars, sometimes drastic depending on how bad they are. Low level EPSM horses may show no other obvious signs than soft feet. I had one. But when he was put on the right diet, his sweet itch disappeared, his panic attacks disappeared, he could be wormed with chemical wormers without tying up, his excess body fat disappeared and he eventually became able to work on any surface without shoes, though that took a whole foot to regrow first.
 
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Really useful info, many thanks! I will do some reading up about it. I thought that if I get onto it now then we have some time to get a good diet for him and the best chance of strong hooves.

Here is a pic of Noah today, his 3rd day outside after his month of box rest.

247404_10150624943555203_508425202_18590763_1819060_n.jpg
 
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