Barefoot Journey - Help needed!

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piglet2001

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Hi everyone

I took my horses shoes off last year - February - for 8 weeks but it wasn't long enough, his feet were week and he was footy. I had him re-shod as I didn't feel he was ready and felt I should get the diet right first. He had been on fast fibre but I started him on pro hoof and 2 tablespoons of salt last February with micronised linseed, ss lucie nuts and speedibeet.

I have a super farrier who is used to trimming barefoot and has suggested to me to try again. He has managed to get the toe further back on the fronts than what it was and his feet are looking better than when I had him.

Because of all the rain his fronts were looking a bit soft and had developed a bit of a split although not smelly and thrushy so I have been doing a sugar and iodine poultice to dry them and harden them before his shoes are removed this week. I have also been scrubbing with a hoof brush and syringing with diluted hibiscrub.

On his hind feet especially his frog makes ground contact even with a shoe on - should the frog be trimmed down to allow the wall/sole to weight bare also.

Excuse the near hind hoof he ripped a shoe off somehow while stabled taking some chunks with it - we think he got cast over night and got caught up in the hay bar as he had ripped that out the wall also.

He is an ish, is 17.1 and fed on haylage also - one net a day - he lives out apart from a couple of hrs a day when he comes in for his grub.

Please be kind - I just want to get it right, I will post some photos when the shoes are off this week.

Near Fore





Near Hind





Off Hind





Off Fore



 
Good luck with him. His feet look the sort that will really be helped by being barefoot. Are you going to be getting him some boots to work him in until they strengthen?
 
Good luck.

We are 4 months in.
It was going really well.
Until the last couple of weeks. Probably the wet weather isn't helping.
My horse has a similar chunk missing on a front hoof.
It's grown down but how he has a hole that is making him sore on that foot on stoney ground.
Hopefully it will grown out soon.
Using lots of different products!

Keep up with the thrush treatment.
 
Gloi said:
Good luck with him. His feet look the sort that will really be helped by being barefoot. Are you going to be getting him some boots to work him in until they strengthen?
Click to expand...


I completely agree with this statement I said to myself "ooh he'll do really well"!!

My mare was just barefoot when I bought her so luckily I didn't have to do the transition but she was pottery and it took a lot of work to get her right. She's been self trimming all year but I need to get trimmer (who is a farrier too, done both courses) back out yo give her the once over as with the cold, wet and dark her feet don't look quite as good as they did in the autumn.

I didn't get boots although considered it I simply kept to the school and smooth surfaces initially. She struggled a very tiny bit with stones when I first started hacking longer distances but before Christmas she was pretty much rock crunching!!!

Good luck and try to enjoy the process. I took lots of Rockly style photos and it was great seeing howling they changed!!!
 
Wow, I only got as far as your first photo,

IMG_0461_zpsongadk7d.jpg


and was really glad the shoes are coming off. I think you will see a huge difference, the heel here is really long and under run, I think his feet have done well not to collapse more at the heel as the heels are so long. When it is barefoot it will start to wear so the heel is in contact a lot further back and the whole foot will look different as the balance changes.

Mine has been barefoot for 14 months, and I initially took photos once a month. After the first 9 months the changes were not so noticeable, so I do them less often now. The photos are great for the days you are not sure you are doing the right thing, it is great to see improvement.

I bought boots so if he was sore we could still exercise. I walked him barefoot on concrete or tarmac every day starting with 100 yds and building up from there. If ever the feet looked unhealthy as we had missed our walks for a couple of days then after a walk they looked better. Walking on concrete helped him to re-shape. If I wanted to go further than his feet would manage then I would fit the boots and ride.

I use Pro Hoof for vitamins with no excess Iron, and Pure easy as a carrier for the supplement. Other than that he was on dry hay.

Cleanliness was very important, he had some bacteria taken hold in the white line even though his frogs were clean. I used Cleantrax, which is about £20 for 2 fet and a faff, but got rid of it all in one treatment. I do think those frogs in your photos have some thrush, they would benefit from this treatment.

Good luck, and post more photos as the feet change!
 
Last edited:
So the shoes are off - what do you all think?

Thank you for all the nice comments. The plan is for him to have eight weeks off due to work commitments with a bit of hand walking, so I won't worry about boots yet. I am hoping not to need them at the moment but we will see.

Near Fore





Near Hind





Off Hind





Off Fore



 
I kept my horse barefoot for a long while and used bactocert once a week to help maintain strength/reduce cracks/splits and keep out infections. Really kept his feet in good order!
Bactocert is basically an antiseptic disinfectant spray so you can probably lay your hands on something similar like Bactakil55 which is also really good. Both last ages too!
 
Left Fore



Right Fore



These were taken 22nd February. He is hand walking everyday and is very comfortable on tarmac and fields. We are very fluty so haven't done and tracks yet as is a bit sore on those. What do you think. Thanks
 
Leave the walls alone - don;t do "mustang rolling" as it's called - you're thinning the wall a bit too much.

if there are chips then the smooth side of the rasp but not too much. A couple of pics there the wall is too thin.

I'd actually - and you almost never hear me saying rasp - but I'd do a little bit on the heel of the left fore to give a better landing surface.

Also Septiclense spray for the frogs. Keeping them clean and free of sulcus dirt is key to ensuring a comfortable heel first landing. Floss out the sulcus with a rolled up baby wipe - it really helps.

My ISH has been bare for 11 years now and it's the best thing I did for him. But he is self trimming - leaving his hooves to regulate themselves is key. I used the smooth side of the rasp to smooth some flakes off on Sunday but that's as much as I ever do. never touch the solar aspect.

You want to see the relationship between the front og the frog and the toe improve over time - the tip of the frog should be at the 3/4 mark on the hoof length.
 
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