Barefoot Exercise Advise needed please

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Riba

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Hi. I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I have been looking on here for a while now and have got some very useful information in relation to my horses foot problems.
I wont bore you with all the background details but he has been lame since August 11, often only 1/10 lame on a circle on hard ground but has never come 100% right. He has been seen by numerous vets and farriers and each have a different opinion as to what is wrong with him. This ranges from his feet, to his suspensory to his back but I am pretty sure that the problems are originating in his feet.
At the moment he has been out of work since last Oct, prior to this he had been shod in very gently work for approx 3 months. He is now barefoot and I am starting to work him again gently. He has been walked out in hand 2-3 times a week working up from 15 mins to 30 mins for three weeks then last week I started riding him again from 20 - 30 mins. He is ok on roads so long as there is no gravel but he is very footy over any little bit of gravel at all. I am trying to keep to surfaces he is confortable with but sometimes there are gravelly bits that cant be avoided. He also likes to walk on the grass verge if at all possible. My question is how long should it take for his feet to toughen up and how do I know if i am doing too much? I bought hoof boots last year but they rubbed his heel and made him sorer.
He is fed hay, speedy beet and pro hoof. He gets very little grass but is let out on a laneway during the day. I also think a lot of the problem with his feet is that our water is very high in iron and this is stopping the absorption of copper and zinc so thats why I have started feeding pro hoof since Xmas, prior to this he was getting hoof first.
I am also currently treating him for trush which I think is pretty much cured. I have just compared pictures of his feet from this time a last year and dont see any major improvement despite sticking to the correct diet. They still appear to be flat. The only improvement I have noticed is that the bars appear to be lower and I think this is from the increased exercise. Please note I live in Ireland and there is nowhere near the same support for barefoot as there appears to be in the UK and also no insurance on the horse so therefore no MRI scan. Pictures below are from March 2012

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And today, please note he is in need of a trim and farrier is coming next week

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Sorry for the long post and thanks for looking
 
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I am also waiting for my horses hooves to toughen up and asked the same question about how long it wold take. I was told it varied between days to in some cases a couple of years :eek:

therefore I'm persevering with boots and luckily we need fronts only. Which boots are you using?
 
I had a pair of easy boot gloves for him but they rubbed his heals and made him worse. I also tried Cavellos but they didnt fit either. I think the problem is that his feet are wider than longer so its hard to get boots to fit him.

I know it will probable be better for him in the long run but I do feel sorry for him now :(
 
Your post could have been mine a couple of months back. I am also in Ireland and my horse is kept out, this winter has been a nightmare trying to keep barefoot despite being on the correct diet for over a year and booting her to walk out. The pictures are also very similar to her feet.

I gave up last week and had her reshod, the break did do her feet a lot of good though. If we have a better summer I might try again, but to see her striding out and happy and bouncy again over the gravel and stones makes me wonder if I want to put her through the discomfort again. Perhaps just a break from shoes for 3 months every winter might be better in my case.
 
Thanks for your reply.Its good to hear from other people who are in the same boat. Its hard to contend with the weather conditions lately. I am going to give my fella a couple of months to see how it goes. If he is no better by then I will put shoes back on him as I hope to be able to do something with him this year after having the past two summers off!!
 
They're not bad feet; lots to like. Still look a bit thrushy; what are you using on them?

Which foot is/was he lame on? It looks like he's landing medially on his front right. A really good body worker might be able to tell you why that is.

The caudal hoof needs beefing up, but that will only come with work. If you have really high iron, even pro hoof may not be enough. It's worth thinking about trying one of the forage plus balancers, which have higher levels of copper and zinc. It also may be worth soaking your hay, if you can, to see if that helps.
 
Plain easyboots might be better if the gloves fitted ok apart from the rubbing? There is nothing that touches the skin on those and and you can add pads to raise the foot if necessary.
 
taken from http://www.trelawneequine.co.uk/advice-centre/guide-to-selecting-hoof-boots/

2. The wider than long hoof (hoof more than 5mm wider than it is long)
The wider than long hoof is a common front foot shape amongst breeds such as the Draught or Thoroughbred. The most modern hoof boots do not fit this shape well, as it is a more unusual shape.

If the horse has measurements giving the width at more than 5mm greater than the length, the only suitable hoof boot is the original Old Mac’s (G1). Any other hoof boot will have excessive toe length, which slows the horses break over and potentially causes a higher incidence of boot loss through overreaching and treading the boot off. For example a horse with 139mm width x 128mm length, an Old Mac’s original (G1) in a size 6 would offer the best fit. If the horses feet are too big to fit an Old Mac‘s original, booting can be a problem.


The only current solution is to adapt an Easyboot Epic to fit accommodate the shape as best it can. Look at the size chart for the Easyboot Epic and see which width and length would give the closest fit for your horses hooves (these will be different sizes). Select the size Epic with the closest possible width to the horses hoof, and then replace the heel strap with one in a the size that the length fitted. For example, you may need a size 2 boot with a size 1 heel strap (this method works best when only one size different heel strap is required).

Use a 12mm comfort pad to cut a crescent shape and insert it into the toe to keep the foot from jamming into the end of the hoof boot. By doing this you should find the hoof stays more central in the hoof boot and works reasonably well.

However, if your horse has a tendency to overreach or remove boots, this method will not work as the length of break over will slow the flight of the front foot and leave it more prone to being caught. This method is not recommended for excessively wider than long or flared hooves, and should be seen as a last resort when there is no other option and as a temporary measure.
 
I hated my boys cavallo boots. They were fantastic when they worked but they kept rubbing his heel bulbs. I went and bought some dirt cheap work socks from matalan, put them on under the boots & problem solved! After that I didn't want to ride for a while without them!

Your diet sounds good. Who is trimming? Has the sole been touched by a knife in the last 6 months?
 
If he is sore on gravel and seeks grass verges (i.e is actively looking for a more comfortable surface to walk on) then you need to find a better solution than just continueing plowing away as he is uncomfortable and one of our responsibilities as owners is to not ask our animals to do things that are uncomfortable-you wouldn't run a hard curry comb over his face/sensitive skin as it would be uncomfortable, and you wouldn't keep doing it to make him toughen up. so boots or shoes-you need to do one of these.
 
I agree with Susie. Also, if you know that you are that high in iron you may need more copper, I think you need to talk to Pro Earth or Forageplus about a safe maximum for your horse.
 
Yes it was the right fore that he has been lame on." It looks like he's landing medially on his front right" Does this mean he is landing flat on that foot?
I am using NT Dry for the trush
Farrier trims him and he hasnt touched the soles at all. Just rasped around the edges the last few times.

Because the water in the yard is so high in iron I have being drawing water from the house to the horses to prevent them from drinking as much iron as possible. This is the only horse out of 5 who has problems with his feet. I have contacted the makers of Pro-Hoof and they have said that they cant legally advise me to give him any more copper than what is in the Pro-Hoof. I have also noticed that his coat is quite faded which I have just realised is also a sign of a copper deficiency. I think my next step is to get the forage tested to see where I stand. Can anyone recommend a good place to get this done? And approx price?

Ok so do you think I should go back to walking him in hand for shorter periods of time, try to get different hoof boots, the ones I have no longer fit him anyway, or get him reshod?
 
Both Easyboot and Renegade now make a "wide" fitting boot shape that may help with your problem.

The rubbing can be alleviated with a piece of polar fleece wrapped around the pastern. Attach some velcro so that you can fold it around the gaiter at the front to fasten it.
 
Landing medially means he's loading the inside of his hoof as he lands, instead of landing straight. This could be because of an upper body problem, or because the outside of his hoof (the lateral side) is uncomfortable, so the horse is avoiding loading it. This could be the cause of the lameness (strained ligaments in the foot as a result of uneven loading) or it could be a result of it.

In your position, I would want to see what that front right foot does barefoot, as it may be the key to a permanent solution to his lameness issues. However, the horse must be comfortable if you are to proceed barefoot, so that has to be the priority at the moment.

Structurally they're not bad feet, so I'd see how he goes without the sugar and starch in his diet, and get boots if necessary.

Forage plus do a full mineral analysis; you can find details on their website. They also do a range of supplements based on the average uk mineral profile, and its interesting to note that they're the highest in copper and zinc out there - so I think we're all lower in those minerals than most people realise!
 
Just wanted to add some support. I have been in a similar situation and gave in this week and had front shoes back on my horse for now until we can further investigate her problems as she wasnt comfortable enough.

I have left a message for the Forage Plus people to contact me and hopefully they can help me sort out a more balanced diet for my horse before the shoes come of again. I have heard lots of good things about their service so I would try them as well as looking for a different hoof boot solution.
Good luck.
 
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