Barefoot in the older horse

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TobyChandler

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I have a 15 year old Advanced Dressage Horse. I was desperately hoping to start competing him at PSG in the Spring and he has qualified for the Pet Plan Winters at Hartpury for the first time ever in 2013.

However he has developed intermittant lameness problems this summer which I believe is a result of poor shoeing and foot balance. He has some swelling on both front coffin joints and has some stiffness in his left hind which I am worried is the start of a suspensory problem. He seems to get better with work but is also a bit pottery when we start off. x-rays show changes on the navicular bones but they have been there since I bought him.

I am considering taking his shoes off as I am worried that shoeing is part of the problem but has anyone had any experience of taking shoes off an older horse? I am worried it will mean a long haul to get him sound, but the alternatives seem to be pads on his shoes, injections into the joints and other short term measures.

Any input/advice would be welcome.
 
How long it will take depends on how healthy his feet are at the moment.

I'm guessing if he's working at that level, he does most of his work in an arena on a soft surface? This should be a comfortable surface for him as soon as the shoes come off, and if you're happy to invest in some boots for hacking and possibly turnout to start with then you should be able to carry on pretty much as normal.

Most important thing is diet though. What are your currently feeding?
 
I've just taken my 21 year olds shoes off as she keeps pulling her fronts and has ruined her hoof! But she is fine, walks just as we'll with them off as on.

I feed her a small handfull of happy hoof, fast fibre and pro balance + the shoes only came off Monday and apart from being a little sore on stones she is fine.
 
Thanks for your help. I am feeding a Barley and Molasses Free diet from Allen & Page and unlimited hay.

I think boots would be a must for hacking and he works mostly on soft surfaces although I have been told that it is good to work your horse barefoot on a lot of different surfaces to toughen up the sole. My farrier says I will be exacerbating the problems if I take the shoes off so I am a bit scared to bite the bullet but if a 21 year old can cope with it, I see no reason why he can't.

Essentially I want to do what is best for the horse.:(
 
TobyChandler said:
Thanks for your help. I am feeding a Barley and Molasses Free diet from Allen & Page
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Which one?

I pulled Obi's shoes when he was 17 with no issues.

Ginger is a HHO member's horse who went to Rockley. He is a veteran too :).

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/ginger.html
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/happy-new-year-ginger.html

and a recent update

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/3-of-best.html

If you want to take some pics of his hooves (side and front view from ground level and sole view) then we can see what you are dealing with :).
 
Thank you Oberon, some really helpful advice in the information you sent.

I have the vet coming on Monday and will tell him that I plan to move the horse to barefoot and ask him to take the shoes off. I have heard of Rockley Farm and was told it was a great place for rehabiliating horses from shod to barefoot.

Will give them a call too.

Thanks again. It is a scarey move when you have had a traditional farrier do all your horses for years but I am becoming more and more convinced this is the way forward and I would certainly never put shoes on any young horse I bought now.
 
I took my 18 year old dressage horse barefoot 2 years ago. Initially I hacked out in boots but used to remove them in increasing distances from home so he could get used to working on different surfaces gradually. I was lucky in that he transitioned very happily and continued to work in the school, his movement and paces improved as well. I didn't have an agenda as to when I would compete again but actually was out about 8 weeks afterwards when he won both classes with his best ever scores, this was at medium, he then went on to qualify for both Winter and Summer regionals and also won his first advanced medium.
I have been really happy with the route I have chosen and my horses are all happy, sound and thriving. Good luck!
 
Thanks Tallulah. Did your horse have any lameness or sensitive feet issues that made you switch to barefoot or did you just decide to give it a go?

My big worry is that he is lame now and will be even lamer without shoes but then in the long run perhaps he will come much sounder.

What boots did you use and did you use pads? I am thinking of trying the Old Mac G2 or EasyBoot Epics.
 
Cavellos are popular and you can often pic up a second hand pair.

There is a Boot Bible thread here
http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/about1073.html

It depends on why the horse is lame now, as to how they will be when the shoes are removed.

If the lameness is laminitic/abscess/thin sole in origin - you may find the horse sore for the first couple of week IF you don't provide an appropriate diet and protection on challenging surfaces.

If the lameness is from medio lateral imbalance/peripheral loading/excess wall etc then you may find the horse much happier post shoe removal.

Either way, you can make things much easier by looking at diet first and having some boots and pads at the ready.
 
My lami has the cavellos, with the gel pads. He had a very bad abcess that came out of three holes and both vet and farrier did not want to put shoes on until he had grown a good hoof, vet suggested cavellos and pads as he likes them. Hopefully he will grow a good enough hoof vet will be happy to keep bf, that's what he said anyway.
Xx
 
TobyChandler said:
Thanks Tallulah. Did your horse have any lameness or sensitive feet issues that made you switch to barefoot or did you just decide to give it a go?

My big worry is that he is lame now and will be even lamer without shoes but then in the long run perhaps he will come much sounder.

What boots did you use and did you use pads? I am thinking of trying the Old Mac G2 or EasyBoot Epics.
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No, he wasn't lame as such but I just had a gut feeling that he might go that way if I didn't change something. I had a fantastic farrier for many years and his feet always looked well balanced, but I had to move and after nearly 2 years with a different farrier his feet just didn't look like they used to. The farrier rasped the walls very hard and high and the heels of the shoes were not open as my previous farrier had done them.
I did query this several times as I literally couldn't get the hoof pick down the sides of his frogs from the back. I also asked my vet about this and was told it was just a way of doing it and this was one of the vet recommended farriers, I.e one of the best in the area. He had thrush in his hind feet which I couldn't get any better in spite of many treatments and keeping his stable as clean as possible.
So I decided to have his shoes taken off, as I already had once horse who had never been shod and was always sound it probably made it an easier decision for me, but part of me did not trust my own judgement!
I carried on with the farrier for a while, but I didn't feel supported enough in my decision, and I was also unhappy with the amount of rasping of the wall and trimming away of healthy frog that he routinely did so I decided to change to a trimmer and I felt far happier having done so. Although had I still lived where I used to I would have carried on with my original farrier.
I used easy boot gloves, I found them really simple to use and they weren't at all cumbersome, he used to bounce along the road!
 
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