Barefoot experts - thought please

[JillA]

My horse has pigeon toes and bare feet, but he struggles with his fronts in particular - low sugar diet for YEARS and I have just been using Keratex to help his sensitive soles. He is only marginally better.
I have been reading the Rockley Farm blog and am particularly interested in the idea of the wall not being the weight bearing surface. I used to tidy up flare regularly until my farrier said I had left very little of the bearing surface - is he wrong about that, am I okay to reduce flare to encourage him to take weight on his frogs and bars? I am not using that farrier any more than I have to - he has been trimming soles, despite being asked not to, he "knows best"!. So I am encouraging said horse to walk over a road planings yard daily (he has several small feeds scattered around he has to wander to get to them, my land isn't suitable for adding stone or gravel to as it gets very wet in winter and it would all just sink). I did begin walking him up the road to my house to have his feed but he hated it, and began planting after a few times, even though there was a feed awaiting him - I can only assume it was the hard surface again.
He only works in the school because his pigeon toes and rubbish feet don't stand up to roadwork and we have very little else. He is even less comfortable being ridden in the fields than on a surface, so surface it is.
What are your ideas/thoughts please?

 

[amandap]

I am not sure what to suggest but diet review is always my first step. If the white line is stretched then I would definitely look again at diet. If he is sore on soft grass something isn't right.
I can't advise on any trim but the wall and outer sole share weight bearing in a healthy hoof.
Pete Ramey advises the use of boots and pads if you are taking wall out of weight bearing and he only does it for laminitis treatment.

 

[paddy555]

I wouldn't trim the flare unless I was 101 % positive as to why it was there and that it should in fact be trimmed. That probably rules out a lot of flare trimming.
You say he is pigeon toed. Why has he got flare? is something going on further up in his body that is causing the problems.

If he is unhappy walking along a road to the house to get his feed then I wouldn't expect him to walk over any surfaces he was unhapy about and definitely not road planings. Making a sore horse walk over planings or any other surface it cannot cope with doesn't condition the feet it simply makes it more sore.

Is he being over trimmed? what would happen if you did nothing for say 6 weeks. Just leave the feet alone (or perhaps round the edges with the emery board type of approach) Have you tried doing that to see if there is any difference?
You mention taking weight on his frogs. How good are his frogs? are they the partial cause of his soreness.

 

[amandap]

I wouldn't trim the flare unless I was 101 % positive as to why it was there and that it should in fact be trimmed. That probably rules out a lot of flare trimming.
You say he is pigeon toed. Why has he got flare? is something going on further up in his body that is causing the problems.

If he is unhappy walking along a road to the house to get his feed then I wouldn't expect him to walk over any surfaces he was unhapy about and definitely not road planings. Making a sore horse walk over planings or any other surface it cannot cope with doesn't condition the feet it simply makes it more sore.

Is he being over trimmed? what would happen if you did nothing for say 6 weeks. Just leave the feet alone (or perhaps round the edges with the emery board type of approach) Have you tried doing that to see if there is any difference?
You mention taking weight on his frogs. How good are his frogs? are they the partial cause of his soreness.

Yes and also is he up to being ridden atm?

 

[JillA]

Sorry, only just got back to this. He is footy on the yard, but okay in his field (very little grass) and fine in the school (rubber chips and wood) which is the only place he is ridden. The difference to recently is I have decided against using my farrier - despite being asked many times he has trimmed the sole, and I have managed to get it a bit more robust with hardener. His frogs are slightly atrophied, so not bearing any weight and his feet are spreading forwards, so I have rolled his toes (and all round) slightly, and I can continue to do that on a regular basis. White line is fine, he is on magox and has been for years because he is spooky without.
He used to be on a small track around his paddock and I haven't set it up this summer for a variety of reasons, I think I might have to to get him moving more in his paddock. I haven't as yet got any pea gravel but the soil is sandy and the ground is hard so maybe will help if I can get him moving more?