Barefoot! By default... Help?!

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AlwaysWorried

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So monster horse is now barefoot - because she was thrashing and rearing with the farrier and in the end we decided that it was just getting too dangerous to continue. He managed to get all four shoes off and the feet trimmed up, so at least that's ok. Now I just have to keep her sound barefoot! I like the idea of keeping a horse barefoot, and for the amount of work she is doing/I will hopefully be doing with her, it would be fine. But my reading suggests that I'd need to make all sorts of changes to her routine etc and I'm not sure I have the facilities and time.

I don't have access to lots of different surfaces, gravel tracks etc - I have mud, a surfaced school, concrete and - if I really want to put my life on the line - tarmac. Thoughts?

Also, feed: she has hay. That's it. I don't want to start giving her hard feed because she has plenty of energy without it - I dread to think what she'd be like with more! But I think she needs all sorts of minerals and things if she's barefoot? Ideas?
 
Where did you get the info that you need to make loads of changes to her diet and routine if barefoot?

I've made the transition from shod to barefoot with a lot of mine and haven't done anything different!
 
Ok, so maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick? I've always seen people talking about magnesium levels and linseed, and possibly yeast? (will need to check that last one). And then certain lengths of time worked on certain surfaces to build up the right shape of foot without laming the horse in the process?

If I've misunderstood then that's fantastic - the absolute last thing I want is for her to suffer due to my lack of understanding!
 
You may find you need to make some dietary changes but as she is not on hard feed at least you are not starting off with her full of sugar and starch, conditioning her feet on different surfaces will help but it is not rocket science and you do not require much in the way of facilities to manage a horse that has decent feet, it is the ones with poor feet that are more challenging.
If she is able to do some exercise on a good firm, road ideally, surface that will be better than all the work in an arena as it will strengthen the whole foot, you need to keep a check on the frogs, thrush sets in very quickly and they can become sore if they are not treated.
There are loads of threads about barefoot diets and getting the feet correctly balanced through work, see how your horse does some take to it no problem others require more help, it may take a while for you to find out which group your horse falls into but with a bit of care you should be able to manage her.
 
Er you only need to feed her a suitable diet if she needs fed hard feed. If she only needs hay then what's the problem?

Chill out. Horses have been walking on their own feet for years.

I took the shoes off my cob and never looked back. It's no different to when she had shoes on. I've got / had 6 barefoot now and I don't have to do anything special at all. They are all self trimming as well.
 
chill out and don't worry about dealing with problems you don't have. For the next couple of weeks she needs to adapt to having no shoes. Make it easy for her. Don't go over too much gravel or stones, stick to soft surfaces eg grass. Let her adapt to moving on mud without shoes as she will find it different. Don't do too much on tarmac as that will wear her feet. She needs now to learn to grow much better quality feet to cope without shoes. She will only do that by adapting and then by you stressing the feet slightly on tarmac to provide a stimulus for them to grow but not too much so that you wear them excessively. Most of all get some water and a brush and really scrub your frogs, both the surface and the grooves at the sides. Make sure you don't have any infection which is very common in newly deshod horses and using a hoof pick give them a good poke all over and especially in the central sulchus and make sure they aren't sore. (don't get kicked) The frogs will now be in greater contact with the ground so if they are sore she will find it more difficult to walk.
If the central sulchus of the frog is sore dont panic. It is very common and easy enough to deal with.
 
Just remember most of the people who come on the forums looking for help are the ones with the problems. Either problems with going barefoot or very often they are going barefoot as a last resort with a horse that has navicular syndrome or is struggling to recover from laminitis. Very few people post saying "I took my sound horses shoes off and everything's fine".

I do give my barefoot horses a mineral supplement, and linseed in the winter, but that is the only change I have made. Don't change what isn't broken, wait and see as there are plenty of horses that have no problems at all. You do have to be sensible about building up work on the roads and other tough surfaces, but its not rocket science. Just the same as building up fast work or jumping, you have to get the feet "fit" but in the long run the extra work is good for them and the feet are healthier for it. If you have a very variable workload (no road work during the week and then a lot at the weekend) then you may need to look into boots but again I wouldn't rush into that.

Try not to listen too much to other people if your horse is sound. The nail holes will chip off and the hoof may look a bit ugly, plus most de-shod hooves in work get a bit shorter (the hoof is not wearing away). I found this was probably the hardest bit initially as everyone was keen to explain why it was never going to work and my horse would be crippled (mostly to justify the fact that they were shoeing their horse I think, though I never tried to push it to anyone else).
 
FfionWinnie said:
Er you only need to feed her a suitable diet if she needs fed hard feed. If she only needs hay then what's the problem?

Chill out. Horses have been walking on their own feet for years.

I took the shoes off my cob and never looked back. It's no different to when she had shoes on. I've got / had 6 barefoot now and I don't have to do anything special at all. They are all self trimming as well.
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This. Both of mine were barefoot for years, and my mother's three have been for years as well. All they get is hay except in special cases like needing medication, a treat or extra calories because of a bad winter. I never did anything special. I did always have to get a trimmer out to take care of them every 8 weeks but that was due to conformation issues.
 
Another one I bought last August and she was shod in front. She lost a shoe and was crippled a couple of days after we bought her and I thought it would be a nightmare getting hers off. She's an older fat pony so I was naturally worried about how lame she was without that shoe. I had her shod once so my daughter could keep riding then they came off and she was out of work for a while with the weather (child's pony). All she's had is hay since we got her and a mineral lick same as the rest.

No one was more surprised than me when we got her back into work that she is managing barefoot fine. I'm bringing her into work gradually and doing 2kms on tarmac and the rest on soft ground about 4 days a week but our yard is really stony and she isn't footy.

It just goes to show me that correct diet is the main thing to achieving success. Correct diet is actually really simple. Especially if they just need hay.
 
I took my sound horse's shoes off and everything is fine.

I do feed him minerals and used boots. Don't rush the work, their feet don't get "fit" as quickly as the rest of the body.
If you are doing OK and then they look footy that will be a sign of maybe a bit too much grass. You need to give them time to grow a new healthy foot.

Echo the remarks about making sure there is no Thrush, you can buy baby Sudocream to put in the frog which is a gentle
cream, don't use anythng too harsh.

Don't look for problems, just take it easy.
 
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