Barefoot Brigade!!

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KierelyMiss

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Tell me everything you know!!! all tips and advice please!

I am wanting to remove my mares back shoes, for various reasons! - she has not had the best fronts, but her backs are as good as they'll ever be, and so I want to give it a go at removing the backs (my logic is its a good time of year, in a nice grassy field and not doing any hard/road hacking at the moment)

But I KNOW my farrier is going to dispute this (mainly financial, but thats another story!) and yes if he does I will most likely find another who is sympathetic to my needs, but he is good and tolerates alot from my mareish ISH!

anyway, tell me everything I need to know/do! supplements I can use best recovery after removal etc etc
 
There's plenty of generic information already on past threads here, but if you want any info specific to you, then pics are very helpful :).
 
I've never so far had any problems working a horse with no back shoes. Mine weren't even on low sugar diets until recently either.
 
Again - Lucy is fab, and gave me so much help just from some pics.

But for your other questions, there's lots of info here on barefoot diet etc, and I love the 'Feet First' book as an intro. Personally my cob is on Pro Hoof, with a mug of soaked speedibeet & handful of graze-on twice day, out overnight, in during the day with double netted haylage and doing well.

My farrier was a bit sticky about taking the backs off - yes I could have just told him to, but wanted to keep him on side if possible. So I told a slight porky - decided to have backs off coming into winter. He knew full well that I was hardly doing anything with him at the time due to work/uni/weather/poor school etc, so agreed to take backs off for the winter since he wouldn't be doing much work... Shoes haven't gone back on yet, and to be fair to him, the closest he's come to suggesting it was today when he said there wasn't much to trim, so to be careful of his hinds (I know - he is more or less self trimming :))

Still psyching myself up for asking for front shoes off - was going to have it done today but chickened out - he's had a sore back, and I just know that i will get lots of helpful comments re having shoes on will help... One thing at a time!

Good luck!
 
OP - photos so advice can be specific rather than generic. A quality photo can tell me if it's going to be an easy/easier or more difficult transition.
 
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