Barefoot help......bruised toes!

S

Sneedy

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 March 2007
Messages
1,798
Visit site
I don't venture in here very often, but know there is a lot expertise so thought I'd be brave as I could do with some advise!

I took my chaps back shoes off in March and haven't looked back, his feet are incredible compared to the cracked, brittle mess they were with shoes. I've had no issues and he does everything he did before with just the 2 shoes :)

In my wisdom, I had his fronts removed in November as they were starting to break up again and I really couldn't be doing with the stress (for both him and me ;) ), especially with our muddy fields, I also thought it would be a good time to rest his feet. He's coped surprisingly well, just a bit footy over our car park which is quite stoney, but apart from that he's fine in the school and out hacking on the bridle paths (grass).

However, I've just noticed that he's got a little bit of bruising on his toes. He seems to wear his toes down (when he had aluminium shoes they wore dead centre of the shoe, nowhere else), almost as though his breakover is causing it, this has then worn the hoof wall away exposing the bruising (this is in my ignorant opinion BTW!!!!). I was just wondering what I can do about this? Should I back off any road work (this was my next barefoot adventure!) and just stick to grass tracks and the school til its calmed down? Get my farrier to have a look (he's done a good job so far - no hacking at the sole etc)?

I'm at a loss really as don't want my lovely boy to suffer through my ignorance! I have pics if needed but will need to resize them!

Thank you in advance :)
 
He doesn't really paw the ground. His shoes used to wear in exactly the same way, but he obviously didn't get bruised toes then as there was a lump of metal to take the wear. Thanks for the suggestion tho!!
 
Is he sound on tarmac? If so, he possibly wants a big toe bevel and the bruising is old bruising from when he could not wear his toe away with a shoe on, or possibly from early on without shoes before he wore himself a bevel.
 
Is he sound? If yes then the bruising probably isn't causing him a problem, I tend to judge the level of work more by how the horse feels on various surfaces than how the foot itself looks. :)
 
Sounds like hes lazy and is trying to 'break over' too late. this type of horse qould benefit for Natural Balence shoes, as these would make the break over easier.

With regards to the quality of the hoof, fronts bear more weight than hinds anyway, hense there shape, and the wet ground does hinder the osmosis of the foot, causing it to absorbed more fluid. In some horses this causes 'crumbly hooves' in others it makes the foot better.

Lou x
 
If it is worrying you you could try some hoof boots? I use them on my boys fronts for hacking, suits us both well, haven't needed a new pair for years :)
 
I will follow this thread as I took my girls fronts off at the start of the month after being barefoot behind for a couple of years.

My mare was showing bruising on the toes when being shod the last few times and I am definately no expert but wouldn't any bruising now showing at the towel be historic? As I said I'm no expert. My girl actually walks better barefoot where as despite great farriery she still landed toe first occasionally. I do use boots to hack out in though :) they are a great way to keep her hacking and hopefully get the feet to harden.

I know it's not am ideal time of year for the transition especially with this wet weather :( but without hi jacking the original post does any one have any tips for transitioning a horse in the winter?
 
I trotted him up on the yard the other day and he was sound, I'll maybe venture up the road tomorrow to see if this is still the case.

Would it still be old bruising......it seems a bright red colour?

Santa Paws - what do you mean by toe bevel?!

Nailed - I really am trying to avoid any sort of nails in his feet at the mo, comparing them naked to shod you really wouldn't think they were the same feet! He's spent most of he last 12months with filler in his feet to enable them to hold shoes. His feet now look like concrete and are actually growing.....which is a first! But, thank you for he suggestion, if he can't cope without, I'll look into it :)
 
How much toe has he took off? Surely there wouldnt be blood supply there anyway? I dont really know to be honest but uts an easy one for the farrier :)

Hoof boots for road work really would be a good bet by the sounds of it, i call them my girls trainers :D

Would be a shame to have to revert back to shoes now but with less road work (or the same amount with boots on) then you could carry on as usual :)
 
The frustrating thing is I haven't done any road work yet! I think he had a sneaking hoon around the field when it was frosty?!!

This is what it looks like (the flash has made it white, thats not what colour his foot is ;) ):
Photo0016.jpg
 
Nailed said:
Sounds like hes lazy and is trying to 'break over' too late. this type of horse qould benefit for Natural Balence shoes, as these would make the break over easier.
Click to expand...

'Break over too late' suggests that there is a universal perfect break over point, a holy grail to which we should all strive..! Surely a horse breaks over at the point which is biomechanically correct for his conformation?? Surely each horse has his own idea of perfection?
And why would fitting natural balance shoes (or any other shoe for that matter) to a horse, who appears to be perfectly sound but has what I understand to be some minor bruising to his toe, help? Sledgehammer & nut....?
 
It's not easy to see - but is the bruising on the white line - between the wall and the sole? In any case I would suggest more of a bevel all round - that flaring on the left of the pic could come off, and I think it would give him a better breakover in front. Is it a farrier trim or do you have a barefoot specialist?
 
Can someone please explain what a bevel is?!

At the moment its a farrier trim as he's done a good job so far, I am becoming more open minded about trimmers having spoken to one at the yard the other day (the barefoot ppl on the yard think its highly amusing that I'm interested in what they are doing....at last!!!!!!), but my farrier has worked his balls off over the last year or so keeping my horse's feet workable so I'm reluctant to change at this stage.

RE the bruising, it does appear to be along the white line, what does this mean?
 
Sneedy said:
I trotted him up on the yard the other day and he was sound, I'll maybe venture up the road tomorrow to see if this is still the case.

Would it still be old bruising......it seems a bright red colour?

Santa Paws - what do you mean by toe bevel?!

Nailed - I really am trying to avoid any sort of nails in his feet at the mo, comparing them naked to shod you really wouldn't think they were the same feet! He's spent most of he last 12months with filler in his feet to enable them to hold shoes. His feet now look like concrete and are actually growing.....which is a first! But, thank you for he suggestion, if he can't cope without, I'll look into it :)
Click to expand...

Many barefoot horses scoop away the front of their foot so it is not touching the ground until it gets to the sole callous. That's a toe bevel. For horses that do not do it naturally, many of us put a mild one one with the rasp between "ten two and ten past" :) To do it, we rasp the hoof wall a bit from the bottom of the foot, but we don't touch the white line or the sole callous. Your farrier may already do it, I can't see from the photo.

It brings the breakover back to where the horse more naturally has it, and the front foot rolls off the floor quicker and more easily with less pressure on the tendons.

Got it :) ?
 
Last edited:
Sneedy I can't see any bruising on your photo, but if you mean that he has a crescent of bruise above the point of his frog then that indicates a laminitic episode from many weeks ago coming to the surface.

If it is discolouration in the white line, that's similar but not so long ago.

I would suggest in either case that unless you know that he got too much grass/carbohydrate laden food, that the bruising is from when his feet were very weak when you first took off his shoes. The timing would be just about right.

If he is not lame, please try not to worry.
 
Last edited:
Santa Paws - thank you (again ;))!!!!. The redness is right on the toe, where the white line is. He's def not had too much grass (there is none here!!!) and has a mainly fibre diet apart from Allan and Page ride and relax (molasses and barley free), of which he has the min daily requirement......I am toying about dumping the mix though if he can still work to the level he is now without it?

I'll stop whittling about it and trot him up again later to ensure all is ok :)!
 
OK, you have blood in the white line which is unlikely to be new, given that he is sound. My own belief is that when you first took his shoes off, his feet were not used to it, his toe was too long (normal in shoes, unfortunately), his feet were weak (ditto) and he levered his hoof wall away from the white line as he moved. Stronger foot is growing down now with a much better attachment and the longer he is barefoot the more he will sculpt the foot to exactly the breakover point that he wants to suit his own leg. If you get fresh blood, ask your farrier about putting on a toe bevel until his feet are stronger.

Listen to your boy, if he is sound, he is happy with his feet. Well done for spotting it and asking, you're a good owner :)
 
Yes, yes, yes to all that! Think you've hit the nail on the head, he was long toed not much heel, and what you've said therefore makes sense!

My last resort is shoes, he's gone from a horse with a reputation for awful feet to one who now sports surprisingly robust looking ones ie no cracks or chips! And all this after about 7wks, early days yet!

Thank you :) :) :)
 
Do not panic and put shoes back on! Silliest advice ever ;)

I think SantaPaws pretty much has you covered anyway - my only addition would be that barefoot horses often do not need trimming or farrier attention as regularly as shod ones do. For eg two of mine go anywhere between 8-12 weeks before being trimmed, and then its a very minimal trim! The third has quick growing fronts so needs a little bit earlier.

Also is he getting much stimulus to the feet? Is he standing in a stable all day, turned out, out 24.7 being worked in the school etc? The more stimulus theyre receive the quicker his foot will grow and become accustomed to being barefoot.

It sounds like his feet were in a pretty dreadful state if im honest so it could take up to a year for the old poor quality wall to out. But do not give up! You have seen yourself how much nicer his toes are now :)
 
Santa Paws said:
Many barefoot horses scoop away the front of their foot so it is not touching the ground until it gets to the sole callous. That's a toe bevel. For horses that do not do it naturally, many of us put a mild one one with the rasp between "ten two and ten past" :) To do it, we rasp the hoof wall a bit from the bottom of the foot, but we don't touch the white line or the sole callous. Your farrier may already do it, I can't see from the photo.

It brings the breakover back to where the horse more naturally has it, and the front foot rolls off the floor quicker and more easily with less pressure on the tendons.

Got it :) ?
Click to expand...
That is interesting, my boy has this feature, he gets 20 - 40 mins per day every day on tarmac roads, and this keeps him self trimmed.
Check out Wikipedia for definition and a diagram of a bevel. I also run a rasp round the hoof wall to form a bevel [a small form of "mustang roll"] that is to say the edge is chamfered. "A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces".
I tried New Balance shoes once, and only once, as he was "walking on tiptoes" after he was shod, now I have removed the shoes, but I also feed stuff to ensure growth of the hoof, this is cheaper than shoeing, I also spend a bit more on clean shavings.
Apart from a few weeks of sensitivity [sharp gravel on tarmac] it has worked out fine, though I manage him bearing in mind he is not shod: he is safer on the road [no fear of slipping] and more springy, at this time of year I have to do most of his schooling when I am out hacking.
 
Last edited:
Thanks TigerTail. He had his shoes off mid November and 3 wks later I had farrier to tidy them up, he did very little but sort out rough edges and check balance. I was thinking of getting him about 6wks after last trim? He won't do much to them if they're ok.

Horse is out in a muddy field (we're on heavy clay here :() from about 9am til 2pm in winter then in rubber matted stable. By his reaction to the nasty stones in the car park I think he finds them over stimulating ;) ;)!! He's worked in the school about 4times a week (he's working at adv medium dressage), I've even jumped him since shoes are off, which he loved! I also hack out twice ish a week, but mainly grass bridle paths at mo, forest tracks are a bit stony at this early stage, I haven't ventured up the road yet but will be soon!

His feet really didn't grow when he was shod, hence the stress with more and more cracking, however, I'm astonished by the growth already in that the nail holes have disappeared already :)
 
Can I please hi-jack this post and ask a question that has been bugging me for ages.... If you have a bare-foot horse and want to go jumping on grass, like hunting, cross country (or even eventing where you SJ on grass) is it safe?

I only ask as I have been considering bare-foot as an option, but this is holding me back...

Sorry OP for taking over!
 
Tinsel Trouble said:
Can I please hi-jack this post and ask a question that has been bugging me for ages.... If you have a bare-foot horse and want to go jumping on grass, like hunting, cross country (or even eventing where you SJ on grass) is it safe?

I only ask as I have been considering bare-foot as an option, but this is holding me back...

Sorry OP for taking over!
Click to expand...

Opinion tends to be split over this. Those with BF who go hunting, jumping and XC will say you'd be fine and that 'micro slips' save concussion and jarring on the tendons.

Those with shod horses will say it's dangerous and you shouldn't be without studs.

I'd say it depends on what speeds you intend to go and how balanced you are as a pair. If you want to do 'impossible' turns against the clock you'd be better with shoes and studs:)
 
Oberon said:
I'd say it depends on what speeds you intend to go and how balanced you are as a pair. If you want to do 'impossible' turns against the clock you'd be better with shoes and studs:)
Click to expand...

That's what I thought... lots to think about with this. Presumerably for local shows and small one day events on good ground and in dry weather it would be fine, but for hunting in slippy conditions in bug hedge country I think I can see some sticky situations...
 
Many barefoot horses develop better grip by working with a wider base.
The fact that a barefoot horse is aware of its feet and the surface they are on makes(IMO) them safer to ride (jumping and hunting included) for both rider and horse.
I would recommend that anyone considering the barefoot option invests in a schooling session with an expert in unshod horses to help teach the horse about his new feet.
 
Tinsel Trouble said:
That's what I thought... lots to think about with this. Presumerably for local shows and small one day events on good ground and in dry weather it would be fine, but for hunting in slippy conditions in bug hedge country I think I can see some sticky situations...
Click to expand...
Maybe so, but I used to hunt on clay in shoes and the only concession was small pins to help on the roads.
The barefoot has more grip so you are less likely to have a fall on the road.
Jumping in clay can pull off shoes, leading to injuries, so this is avoided.
All in all I would say that there are less risks with barefoot rather than shod feet, but I think you have to manage your horse more carefully on a week to week basis, re exercise and feeding, but this is not a bad thing.
See Rockley Farm http://www.rockleyfarm.co.uk/RockleyFarm/Home.html
 
Tinsel Trouble said:
That's what I thought... lots to think about with this. Presumerably for local shows and small one day events on good ground and in dry weather it would be fine, but for hunting in slippy conditions in bug hedge country I think I can see some sticky situations...
Click to expand...

I really think it depends how balanced you are as to the ground conditions. Santa Paws hunts regularly.

Nic Barker of Rockley Farm is a regular hunter
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/04/epic-days-hunting-and-visitors-take-on.html
as is Performance Barefoot.
http://www.performancebarefoot.co.uk/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top