ShadowFlame
Well-Known Member
I'm curious. Bars - are they too long? Any other comments welcome, good or bad. Apologies for back pic being poor, fidgety pony + too much hair 
Barefoot... length of bars?
- Thread starter ShadowFlame
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TwoStroke
Well-Known Member
How much work is the horse doing, and how sound is he?
I'd be more interested in the quarters - is there a bulge in the hairline at the quarters, or is it straight?
Nice frogs
.
I'd be more interested in the quarters - is there a bulge in the hairline at the quarters, or is it straight?
Nice frogs
.
ShadowFlame
Well-Known Member
He's working on average 6 days per week, usually 4 in the school, 2 out hacking. Schooling is 45mins - 1hr, hacks are usually 1-2hrs, mainly roadwork. Now the clocks have changed it will be more hacking than schooling.
He's sound, he does stumble occasionally on gravelly tracks / large stones. Never had shoes on (or boots, for that matter), he's 5. He has an approx 1" crack in the hoof wall of his near fore, which won't seem to grow out, it's never caused any soundness issues though. He was footy after his last trim, I put it down to farrier being a little over zealous? He lands heel first. Potentially numpty question (I usually trust farrier's opinion on feet, I don't know a lot about them), what do you mean by bulge at the quarters?
More pics I've dug out, if they're of any help... (sorry they're not great, and damn feathers are always in the way!)
Front:
Hind:
He's sound, he does stumble occasionally on gravelly tracks / large stones. Never had shoes on (or boots, for that matter), he's 5. He has an approx 1" crack in the hoof wall of his near fore, which won't seem to grow out, it's never caused any soundness issues though. He was footy after his last trim, I put it down to farrier being a little over zealous? He lands heel first. Potentially numpty question (I usually trust farrier's opinion on feet, I don't know a lot about them), what do you mean by bulge at the quarters?
More pics I've dug out, if they're of any help... (sorry they're not great, and damn feathers are always in the way!)
Front:
Hind:
Oberon
Well-Known Member
Bars are a controversial issue 
.
Some people believe the length of the bars are important to soundness and bars too big can cause internal pressure and soreness.
Some people believe bars are indicative of the overall health of the hoof (large bars may grow to support a weak/diseased frog or weak heel). To trim the bars may be counter productive - they grew for a reason and to cut into a weak foot is just going to make it weaker......
My personal belief (which is worth about the same as a pile of dung
) is that the bars should be left alone as long as they are not bent over and causing corns/pressure.
If there is a problem with bars - then look at the cause and try to fix that, rather than focusing on the bars themselves.
As bars are known to provide traction along with the frog's braking ability (frog wedges into the ground to help the horse brake) - bars may grow larger just for that purpose.....
In the early days of barefoot, Dr Strasser was a big advocate of cutting out bars to "allow the hoof to flex and expand". We now know that was a mistake.
My draft x frequently snaps the bars in his front hooves it's never affected his soundness 
.Some people believe the length of the bars are important to soundness and bars too big can cause internal pressure and soreness.
Some people believe bars are indicative of the overall health of the hoof (large bars may grow to support a weak/diseased frog or weak heel). To trim the bars may be counter productive - they grew for a reason and to cut into a weak foot is just going to make it weaker......
My personal belief (which is worth about the same as a pile of dung
) is that the bars should be left alone as long as they are not bent over and causing corns/pressure. If there is a problem with bars - then look at the cause and try to fix that, rather than focusing on the bars themselves.
As bars are known to provide traction along with the frog's braking ability (frog wedges into the ground to help the horse brake) - bars may grow larger just for that purpose.....
In the early days of barefoot, Dr Strasser was a big advocate of cutting out bars to "allow the hoof to flex and expand". We now know that was a mistake.
My draft x frequently snaps the bars in his front hooves
it's never affected his soundness 
Angua2
Well-Known Member
I can't claim to know a lot, but if your horse is sound and happy then surely it really doesn't matter what size/shape the bars are.
A trimmer used to lower my horses and she was always lame/footy until they grew back. When I asked for the bars to be left the trimmer refuse and I never had her back
A trimmer used to lower my horses and she was always lame/footy until they grew back. When I asked for the bars to be left the trimmer refuse and I never had her back
TwoStroke
Well-Known Member
Lol, can't see a thing under all those feathers
Does the crack go all the way up to the coronet? If so it may be damage to the coronet. If not, there may be bugs setting up home in there and stopping it from growing out.
This is a hoof with bulging quarters
compared with this one, which is straight.
It can happen when the quarters are too long and causing pressure. I also notice there was some bruising on one of the hooves at the quarter, so it may be worth asking the farrier to trim the hoof according to the sole plane rather than the ground, and see if that makes him any more comfy.
Any diet issues that could be improved upon, do you think?
ETA: meant to add, if the horse is doing a fair amount of work on abrasive surfaces then I'd be inclined to leave the bars to it, unless there's obvious cause for concern (e.g. overlaying). Keep an eye on them as the hacking increases, and see if they change (just for interest's sake).
Does the crack go all the way up to the coronet? If so it may be damage to the coronet. If not, there may be bugs setting up home in there and stopping it from growing out.
This is a hoof with bulging quarters
compared with this one, which is straight.
It can happen when the quarters are too long and causing pressure. I also notice there was some bruising on one of the hooves at the quarter, so it may be worth asking the farrier to trim the hoof according to the sole plane rather than the ground, and see if that makes him any more comfy.
Any diet issues that could be improved upon, do you think?
ETA: meant to add, if the horse is doing a fair amount of work on abrasive surfaces then I'd be inclined to leave the bars to it, unless there's obvious cause for concern (e.g. overlaying). Keep an eye on them as the hacking increases, and see if they change (just for interest's sake
).
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ShadowFlame
Well-Known Member
Bars are a controversial issue
Everything foot related is controversial, is it not?
Hence why I've stayed out of it!TwoStroke - Yup. Feel my pain - I can't even see what I'm doing to pick out feet
I'm pretty sure he doesn't bulge, I'll have a rummage around in there later though to see for sure! The crack is at the base of the hoof, nowhere near coronet band (sorry, pic doesn't show it, bad angle). It doesn't gape, it's just around 1" long. It's been there for as long as I can remember, farrier commented that if it doesn't grow out he may have to cut into the hoof to get rid of it. He's left the subject (and the crack) alone since that comment though (which was about 7 months ago, now).His diet is very basic as he's a horrifically good doer - purely soaked hay, the scraps of grass that are left in their relatively trashed winter field, and a few high fibre nuggets in his Decahedron to keep him quiet at feed time. Supplements are an option, but they seem like a bit of a minefield!
TwoStroke
Well-Known Member
Pro balance is always a good place to start supplement-wise. It's pretty basic (barefoot-wise, though high spec compared to most commercial balancers), can't do any harm, and is often all horse's need to grow better feet. It's from Progressive earth on ebay, though they're away at the mo.
Others like Pro hoof, Meta balance and the forage plus balancers are more high spec, but I'd start with the pro balance.
Others like Pro hoof, Meta balance and the forage plus balancers are more high spec, but I'd start with the pro balance.
LucyPriory
Well-Known Member
To elaborate on Oberon. Horses which spend long periods on soft surfaces/mud can grow bars which extend past the height of the hoof wall when the foot is viewed from solar perspective. These bars can then take a disproportionate amount of load when the horse is brought onto a hard surface and this can make the horse sore. Some folks trim the bar down to hard sole plane. I prefer to take context etc into consideration and moderate height if necessary.
Oberon
Well-Known Member
amandaco2
Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness at that photo of the bleeding foot 
that's awful sorry not qualified to comment on bars but just had to say about that pic :shocked:
My lad has grown bars all around the frog on his fronts.he's sound on smooth hard surfaces and arena. He is very weak at the back of the foot still.
that's awful sorry not qualified to comment on bars but just had to say about that pic :shocked:My lad has grown bars all around the frog on his fronts.he's sound on smooth hard surfaces and arena. He is very weak at the back of the foot still.
ShadowFlame
Well-Known Member
Thanks for responses
Actually the more I look at his feet (or what I can see of them ) the more I'm seeing that maybe the quarters are too long... I'd wondered about the bruising before, but couldn't work out quite what was causing it. I might try looking into different farriers / trimmers.
I've done a quick search for Pro Balance and can't seem to find any - I'll keep an eye out though
For reference, I've just found a couple of pics of one of his fronts from around... 15mths ago? He was doing very little / no ridden work at the time. I think they're looking better than they were?
Actually the more I look at his feet (or what I can see of them
) the more I'm seeing that maybe the quarters are too long... I'd wondered about the bruising before, but couldn't work out quite what was causing it. I might try looking into different farriers / trimmers.I've done a quick search for Pro Balance and can't seem to find any - I'll keep an eye out though
For reference, I've just found a couple of pics of one of his fronts from around... 15mths ago? He was doing very little / no ridden work at the time. I think they're looking better than they were?