Barefoot Arab x - how long?

[Beatrice5]

Well Trix has been back in work since 26th April. Started walking on roads for 30mins and now can do hour and a half of tracks and roads. We go out 5 times a week.

BUT she still struggle with the grit on the roads and uneven stoney tracks! She strides out wonderfully on the smooth roads and soft tracks. She has always been barefoot but never in my ownership ( 2 yrs) been in proper work due to foal.

How long before she can cope with road grit and stoney ground? Farrier says it very rarely the feet and to look at diet but she is on restricted grazing ( condition score good ) only move fence a foot or so every other day onto old gone to seed long grass. She has magnitude, pink powder ( 1 scoop) desert spoon linseed oil, desert spoon cider vinegar and handful of molasses free hi fi.

Do I need to go down the boots route? try Keratex? Or give up and go for front shoes? Is it just that she is a very sensitive Arab x and therefore not suited to barefoot?

It's ruining our hacks and she loves going out but I worry she will soon stop enjoying it so much if every hack she is hobbling and hopping over stones

 

[smiffyimp]

I have a barefoot Anglo - he's fine on all surfaces. Give it some time. I also feed a chaff such as hoofkind as it has biotin in it - natural strengthener for feet.

 

[lazybee]

Hello,
if it's ruining your hacks what's the problem with front shoes?
Looking back through some of the extreme views expressed on earlier posts here. There's a hard core who try to bully people into bare foot or nothing. Common sense tells us this is quite obviously rubbish. It can in no way be considered a failure to fit shoes. To many polarised opinions here to get an objective view. 'Listen to your horse' as they say, If she's uncomfortable fit shoes. Then you get the 'not natural' comments. Horses in their natural environment aren't ridden though are they. I have one Arab who's been barefoot all his life (never been trimmed either) All the rest have a front set of shoes because they need them. Believe me if they didn't have to they wouldn't.
Get ready for barefoot Taliban

 

[Beatrice5]

I like barefoot coz it's cheaper but I am not extremeist LOL I just want to do what is best for her in the long run and thought once you shod it's a real pain to go back to barefoot hence to try and see if this can work.

I am interested that your Arab has never had his feet trimmed as she was going great guns over any surface before she has her trim in the begining of May. My farrier is a well known and respected barefoot chap so I trust him and put it down to the fact we had moved her from bare winter paddock to home field with some green stuff even though I made a tiny paddock and limited grazing times until they were adjusted and paddock eaten down a bit.

Other slight problem is my chap is totally anto shoes so I'd have to find a new farrier which is a bit pants as my nervous mare adores him as does the filly and little gelding (not renoun for his people skills! )

 

[snoopyinfrance]

We have an Arab X and Cob Normande X. Both are barefoot at the moment.
The Arab X is fine and doesn't trip or stumble over stones. The Cob X is very sensitive and will hobble occassionally on any stoney track.
I agree with Lazybee - listen to your horse! Ours would rather be barefoot (Cob terrified of Farrier despite him being VERY patient) and we try to find tracks where she can use the grass verge.
I check her feet for stones before a hack but leave the mud in there and she's happier while we're out.
No one has the 'correct' answer except you and your horse!
I have tried biotin products for the Arab X and none of them had enough biotin in them to make any real difference so we stopped and it's made no difference to the foot: It became stronger anyway. I'm not suggesting you stop using Biotin, it's just what happened to us!

 

[AngieandBen]

Why not have a go at booting him? I have a welsh x arab and is a little footy on stoney tracks so I bought some Cavallo's, they are easy to put on/take off and never come off even at a fast canter.

There are lots of boots on the market now suited to different shaped hooves. Much cheaper than being shod, and it means they can be barefoot most of the time

 

[lazybee]

I am interested that your Arab has never had his feet trimmed as she was going great guns over any surface

He has perfect feet, hard as iron and the perfect shape. His feet are just 'there' and need no maintenance, He just gets checked for gravel in the white lines that's it. He goes over any surface. We have a track made from crushed limestone, he skips over it without incident. I wish the rest were the same.

LB

 

[Ruth_Cymru]

I do as AngieandBen does and boot my arab, he's fine on tarmac but a little footy on stony ground so boots solve this. They are a little more time consuming to put on rather than having shoes, but I like that he can be barefoot most of the time, and it's cheaper than shoeing every 6 weeks

 

[Beatrice5]

Saw the Cavallo's and did think Oooohhhh may give those a try but wanted to hear if they were any good first

LB Wow he sounds like a super chap wish mine was like him

Snoopyin france how long did it take for the feet to become stronger ? People keeps saying she will adjust and it takes time but how long?

 

[spizwhizz]

You need to work on conditioning her hooves and just give her longer. Also farrier is right about the diet, the pink powder is likely to be having an effect as it has a lot of 'fillers' in it. Also she may have white line disease which will affect how she goes over the stonier ground. The boots will help but you still need to work on conditioning in hand. Feed mag ox (sells on ebay for about £10 for 1kg which will last a couple of months. I would recommend having a podiatrist out, they help with diet, spot issues farriers may not and are there to help you. Mine has set me a conditioning program so my arab builds up to endurance hacks on all tracks without his boots (I use easyboot gloves on fronts while we work on conditioning). My farrier was doing a good job BUT my podiatrist did an amazing job and his hooves look more like that of a feral horse now I also have an irish sport barefoot. Its far easier to give up and stick shoes on thinking you have solved all problems - ignorance is bliss, but when you research properly the issues shoes cause and the benefits of keeping a horse barefoot, you know with a shoe the hoof has just become numb but the underlying issues are still there. Dont give up and do have a podiatrist out even if its just to give you a few pointers in the right direction. You sound like you have a good farrier as he recognises that diet is key too. However he is trained to prepare a hoof for a shoe or being stood out on pasture, not to perform barefoot. there are differences to the trim of a working barefoot horse. Hope that helps

 

[Beatrice5]

Thank you Spizwhizz.

My farrier is a barefoot guru so I do trust he knows his stuff.

I have never heard of a horse podiatrist - what do they do? Where do I find one and what do they cost?

The reason I feed Magnitude was that it was supposed to help feet am I wrong? Is this different from Mag Ox?

Also I fed the pink powder as a multi vit as I only feed a handfull of Hi fi molasses free and wanted to make sure they got their vits. What would you recommend? Farrier had mentioned he thought pink powder was not good for feet and another client had linked it to their ponies Lami episode

So need to find a new vit suppliment too - The range is vast and I find it so difficult to sift the good from the bad - HELP

 

[spizwhizz]

Dont worry there is lots of help out there Your farrier sounds fab bless him!
If you look on http://www.epauk.org/ it has a tab called find an EP - you can find one which covers your area and a little bit of info about that EP (and others across the country). It also tells you exactly what they are/do (so i dont fill this thread up lol. Jaimie Hickman may cover your area and is the mentor to most of the others so they are all well trained. They will advise on supplements for you but alfa-carob and superhoof are good suplements by valleyview (can find them on ebay). My podiatrist gave the ok on these as not full of fillers. Hifi is usually ok but can have an effect on some horses hooves due to the extra's in it. Stick with low sugar no molasses though
The magnitude you are feeding is likely to be padded out with fillers too (I cant see ingredient list to tell you what exactly) which will affect the hooves, also it is lower in actual magnesium than the pure mag ox so less beneficial.
If your mare has white line disease that I mentioned earlier thats easy to clear too, get some Milton (find it on baby isle in supermarket - used to sterilise bottles) put one cap or tablet in 5 litres of water then either scrub the soles and white line area daily or stand foot in bucket of it for 15 mins once a week. It will kill off the bacteria but not harm the hoof. Let the hooves dry out on concrete before turning back out. Try to keep hooves in a dry environment and also clear poo as it is the most harmful to hooves.
If I can help with anything else please ask I do so much research (geek) lol! But I cant thank my podiatrist enough for her help, after just one visit there was a huge difference! The one who covers my area is Yvonne Thomas but im up north. It looks to me like Jaimie covers your area. Not sure of his prices (its not cheap but maybe if you had them work together with your farrier it would work better for you?). Let me know how you get on.
Also boots are fab for in the meantime, if you get cavello's make sure you get the pastern wraps or they will rub, look on www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk they have a good selection and the prices are usually better unless you can find a bargain on ebay Gloves and the old mac/cavello type are nice and easy to put on, some others are a little fiddly!

 

[cptrayes]

Thank you Spizwhizz.

My farrier is a barefoot guru so I do trust he knows his stuff.

I have never heard of a horse podiatrist - what do they do? Where do I find one and what do they cost?

The reason I feed Magnitude was that it was supposed to help feet am I wrong? Is this different from Mag Ox?

Also I fed the pink powder as a multi vit as I only feed a handfull of Hi fi molasses free and wanted to make sure they got their vits. What would you recommend? Farrier had mentioned he thought pink powder was not good for feet and another client had linked it to their ponies Lami episode

So need to find a new vit suppliment too - The range is vast and I find it so difficult to sift the good from the bad - HELP

Stick with your farrier, he's ACE!!!

Speak to Sarah Braithwaite, UKNHCP and have your forage analysed (about £50 but you'll save it in costs of Pink Powder) and she will sell you the minerals you actually need, and not a general mix. My horses, for example, have copper supplemented because we are high in manganese and iron. It sounds like your Arab is missing something somewhere that it not being delivered in the right balance in a general supplement. And the timing suggests that it is the grass that is lacking that mineral.

Cheapest way to feed mag ox is calmag from any farm supplies shop , 25kg for under£10. feed about 25g a day ( over 2 years supply!!!)

 

[Beatrice5]

Stick with your farrier, he's ACE!!!

cptrayes do you know Nigel then?

I had concidered sending a grass sample to mole valley for analysis but didn't realise it was £50. Who else tests grass samples ? Are some more in depth than others? Definately think this is a good idea.

So as from tonight I am cutting out the pink powder ( they do have several rock salt, mineral licks to choose from already in the field shelter)

More research needed definately. Thank you guys x

 

[Beatrice5]

How would I tell if she has white line disease and wouldn't my farrier have told me?

Is Keratex an option?

Have look at podiatrist and found one who is local so shall contact her tomorrow and see what she charges etc.

 

[cptrayes]

Stick with your farrier, he's ACE!!!

cptrayes do you know Nigel then?

I had concidered sending a grass sample to mole valley for analysis but didn't realise it was £50. Who else tests grass samples ? Are some more in depth than others? Definately think this is a good idea.

So as from tonight I am cutting out the pink powder ( they do have several rock salt, mineral licks to choose from already in the field shelter)

More research needed definately. Thank you guys x

No I don't know him but from what you say he says he knows his stuff and I would be wary of changing from him.

 

[Beatrice5]

Yes I am warey of changing him as anyone who can get my mare to trust them with her feet has got to know their horses ! He is fab with them and knows all about digestion and nutrition as well as how to handle and understand them.

Have cut the pink powder out and order the Mag Ox off ebay so we shall see. Also going to measure for boots after next farrier visit and ask him which boots he recommends.

For now I shall cut down on my road riding and stick to the fields until she is more comfortable.

Also did think she may have a bit of concussion as she jigs when worried and after a few incidents with tractors, skip lorries and a horse lorry ( who shouted sorry as she sailed past sending my horse into a spin and we ended up in the hedge!) I think she has done a bit too much jigging considering she has spent the last 2 years in a field pretty much.

But thanks again guys for info much appreciated.