Barefoot fans...

Cliqmo

Cliqmo

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Can I have pics of your barefooted horses feet please?

Bentley is unshod and in work (does that mean he is barefoot? I'm not really sure :confused: ) and as long as he is happy and sound I am happy to keep him like it. However, being new to this, I worry alot about his feet- in particular the amount of wear that his feet have and whether the farrier is trimming them correctly.

I have tried googling / youtubing "barefoot" but you seem to get such a variety and I don't know the good from the bad to know what to look out for :o

So piccies of feet please- thank you!! :D :D :D
 
Unfortunately photos of other horses' barefeet may not help you! But if you check out Pete Ramey's sites, progressivehorse, rockley farm, and performancebarefoot they all have photos of hooves in various states which may give you an idea.

If your horse is happy and healthy, then no problem!
 
We use the terminology barefoot as opposed to unshod just to emphasise that it's about taking a holistic approach i.e. it's not just about removing the shoes, equally important is addressing the whole management and care of the horse - diet, environment, conditioning - the management of the horse should b natural as possible... high fibre, low sugar/starch diet, 24/7 turnout, exercise on a variety of terrains.

The first thing you should look at before worrying about the trim is Bentley's diet. What do you feed him? What's the grass like where he's turned out?

If his diet is healthy for him then his feet will reflect this by being strong and healthy. They will grow to match the wear he gets from being worked - don't worry they won't wear away too fast unless you suddenly vastly increase the amount of work he's doing on unfamiliar terrain. If you think of the hoof as something that needs to be got fit then it makes it easy to understand i.e. if you wanted to run the London Marathon next year you wouldn't wait until a couple of weeks before the event and suddenly start running ten miles everyday. If you are totally unfit you start off slowly, running short distances and build up gradually. Same thing with horses' hooves... start slow and short, build up the amount of work and the amount of hoof wall growth will match the amount of work you do.

There is a lot of info out there on the web, some of it contradictory. There's no reason that your farrier can't trim him correctly - why not ask him what he knows about working barefoot horses, check if he applies a mustang roll when he trims, ask him if he has any barefoot clients that are out competing successfully.

If you have any specific questions then just ask - either post on here or feel free to PM me... always happy to help if I can
 
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