Barefoot newbie feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed!

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lewis2015

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Hi all

My new TB mare (had her nearly two months now) came to me barefoot. Her old owner said she had been barefoot the whole 4 years she'd owned her (they only did schooling and she was out of work for the last two years she had her). She is an ex racer - her old owner used her for dressage and she's come to me for light hacking in her semi-retirement. The old owner informed me her feet had been rasped/ trimmed about a week before she came to me.

My other horse is shod and always has been whilst I've had him; I've never considered barefoot for him really as it just works for him and he never casts shoes etc and just seems happy in them so they've stayed on.

I'm the first to admit I'm really not as clued up on barefoot as I would like to be. My strategy when there's something equine I don't know about is to read as much as I can and get clued up, however I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information out there and knowing what is and isn't reliable. Even searching 'barefoot' on these forums throws up so much information that I don't know where to start! So excuse my ignorance.

I have a reliable farrier with an excellent reputation who has been brilliant with my gelding. He last came out about a month ago and I asked him to look at my mare's feet. I was considering putting front shoes on her as we do a lot of hacking on stony paths and she had been slightly footsore on them. He said she had excellent feet and didn't need shoes so instead I invested in some Cavallo Simples for the fronts to hack in and she goes brilliantly in them.

I'll be getting my farrier to check her feet again when he comes in a couple of weeks to shoe my gelding, but should I be getting a specialist barefoot trimmer instead? I'm concerned her feet are 'self-trimming' a little too much - she's turned out 24/7 and the fields have been wet due to the north west weather. What warning signs should I look for that they are wearing away too much? Will bringing her in at night help with this? She gets stressy in the stable so I don't want to bring her in if not necessary until winter. We only hack once or twice a week so I don't think they are wearing just from being ridden.

Also, I'm worried that I'm neglecting barefoot feed requirements as despite being TB she's not a poor doer and her weight seems to be regulating itself ok on the grass and on the small handful of chop/ balancer she has each day. I've looked at supplements which have seaweed and biotin in - are these essential or is it only required in certain cases?

If someone could give me a starting point of a brilliant book to read or trustworthy website to visit I'd really appreciate it! I've been advised to join an FB group but the amount of posts on there just seems daunting to trawl through! Sorry if I sound like an idiot; it's just not something I've ever had to deal with and don't want to let my mare down!

Thanks all :)
 
You're over thinking things! Stop fretting and listen to your instincts and farrier. In my opinion a well nourished horse especially one that is already established as successfully barefoot doesn't need a special diet. I took my mare's shoes off when she was 16 and just got on with it. My farrier says she has excellent feet which she largely self maintains. I do have hoof boots because she doesn't like very stony ground but honestly find them a faff and don't use them very often. My advice is just take time to get used to riding an unshod horse and don't be pressured into feeling you need to make a big deal out of it.
 
It's unlikely she'll be wearing too much hoof on her regime - some photos would help, but could it just be because you aren't looking at bare feet?
It sounds to me like you are doing OK, I certainly don't give my barefooters any special hoof diets. They just get molasses free chop with a balancer, live out with access to a hardstanding yard and stables, and have adlib hay and the longest, oldest grass I can find.
In my experience, some farriers can do a decent barefoot trim, others not. A barefoot trimmer is no guarantee of a good trim either. I'd give it a while and see how the hooves look, and use boots if necessary for stoney longer rides.
 
pansymouse said:
You're over thinking things! Stop fretting and listen to your instincts and farrier. In my opinion a well nourished horse especially one that is already established as successfully barefoot doesn't need a special diet. I took my mare's shoes off when she was 16 and just got on with it. My farrier says she has excellent feet which she largely self maintains. I do have hoof boots because she doesn't like very stony ground but honestly find them a faff and don't use them very often. My advice is just take time to get used to riding an unshod horse and don't be pressured into feeling you need to make a big deal out of it.
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Thank you! I think this is what I'm worried about - she seems to be doing fine, but I'm worried that there are things that people with barefoot horses do that I'm not doing and don't want her to suffer due to my ignorance! I'll probably feel better once the farrier has looked at her feet again in a couple of weeks :) Thanks a lot for your reply.
 
Landcruiser said:
It's unlikely she'll be wearing too much hoof on her regime - some photos would help, but could it just be because you aren't looking at bare feet?
It sounds to me like you are doing OK, I certainly don't give my barefooters any special hoof diets. They just get molasses free chop with a balancer, live out with access to a hardstanding yard and stables, and have adlib hay and the longest, oldest grass I can find.
In my experience, some farriers can do a decent barefoot trim, others not. A barefoot trimmer is no guarantee of a good trim either. I'd give it a while and see how the hooves look, and use boots if necessary for stoney longer rides.
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Thank you :) Some really helpful points - my farrier is great and very experienced so I'm hoping he will be happy managing her feet, but I'll see what he says next time he comes out.
 
When I was on my mega steep learning curve I found a couple of useful sources of info on the internet.
Heikebean.com
Has lots of good pics and examples of different things.
And I bought a kindle book / ebook for about £7. By Maureen Tierney. Cannot remember the name. I think it was The Hoof Guided Method. A really good read.

I doubt your horse is wearing down the wall too much from what you say the workload is. Maybe you just are not used to dealing with barefoot so much.

Good luck :)
 
From a barefoot nerd.

If your horse is sound and happy stop worrying!

Yes there are things we do but that is because we have horses with less than perfect feet who are sensitive to our less than perfect forage.
barefeet are usually shorter than shod and wearing too much hoof wall is generally a fallacy in a long term transitioned hoof. I'm yet to do enough work on Frank's despite miles of roadwork and hunting that mean he doesn't need a rasp round ever 2-3 weeks (I do him myself or it would be 6 :p, I'm just making my life easier!)
 
MDB said:
When I was on my mega steep learning curve I found a couple of useful sources of info on the internet.
Heikebean.com
Has lots of good pics and examples of different things.
And I bought a kindle book / ebook for about £7. By Maureen Tierney. Cannot remember the name. I think it was The Hoof Guided Method. A really good read.

I doubt your horse is wearing down the wall too much from what you say the workload is. Maybe you just are not used to dealing with barefoot so much.

Good luck :)
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Thank you so much for this! I'll check both of these out now :) Much appreciated!
 
ester said:
From a barefoot nerd.

If your horse is sound and happy stop worrying!

Yes there are things we do but that is because we have horses with less than perfect feet who are sensitive to our less than perfect forage.
barefeet are usually shorter than shod and wearing too much hoof wall is generally a fallacy in a long term transitioned hoof. I'm yet to do enough work on Frank's despite miles of roadwork and hunting that mean he doesn't need a rasp round ever 2-3 weeks (I do him myself or it would be 6 :p, I'm just making my life easier!)
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Thanks for replying Ester :) Yes, I think I am worrying too much about the wearing down, and it's probably due to me not being used to seeing a barefoot hoof, as others have said. Thanks for putting my mind at ease as I am just fretting needlessly I think!
 
It's good to educate yourself too obviously :) but not if it makes you worry too much :) and if a farrier is happy with them on a tb they are good feet and he is a good farrier :p
 
ester said:
It's good to educate yourself too obviously :) but not if it makes you worry too much :) and if a farrier is happy with them on a tb they are good feet and he is a good farrier :p
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Yes, you're right! This is what I mean - when there's so much to read, I think I read too much and then worry that there's loads I'm not doing!!
 
Just to add.. hooves are impossible to wear out!!!

I have to do interim trims between proper ones because they grow too much! In my three cases, growth definitely outdoes wear...

We do LOTS of roadwork as in a city and also up on the cotswold way which is stone and rubble.
 
lewis2015 said:
Yes, you're right! This is what I mean - when there's so much to read, I think I read too much and then worry that there's loads I'm not doing!!
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well when you do that just say is my horse sound and happy? If the answer is yes just go well that might be useful info to have at some point :p.
 
Seaweed is not ideal , though it used to be recommended, its high in iron which makes it unbalanced.
I found micronised linseed and a good mineral to be really effective, and I even fed a bit with non mol chaff in summer, his coat was much darker and skin no longer itchy compared to non feeding summers.
Biotin is something a horse can manufacture if he has a good diet, I mean a good variety of grasses and herbs in the pasture.
 
ester said:
Do you not mean iodine? That is the main issue with seaweed, that and it's lack of consistency.
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And iron. Horses do need iodine, however, best given in iodised salt imo.

But it depends as tracing seaweed and it's type isn't always easy.
 
ester said:
Do you not mean iodine? That is the main issue with seaweed, that and it's lack of consistency.
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yes sry I do mean Iodine, basically seaweed is high in minerals but they are not balanced to an equine physiology, ie needs. There are a few areas in the UK where soils are lo in Iodine, [the supermarkets sell iodised salt], but I have never added it.. or iron.
Minerals is a whole complex subject, I know that Magnesium is often low in the UK, and some barefooters need 25gms of it per day in addition to a balanced mineral, but just try any good mineral if feet look good, if any footiness, then try another one, Progressive Earth and Forageplus both do hoof oriented minerals and will advise.
 
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A brilliant source of sensible, practical information is the Phoenix Barefoot Horse Forum: loads of threads on diet etc from people who've had a lot of experience. If you post some photos on there, your horse's current diet and workload, they'll be able to reassure you that you're doing the right thing and perhaps give some advice about what to look out for and small improvements you can make.

http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/
 
I think you're worrying too much. Horses survived barefoot long before they were shod ;) I have only just shod one of mine who has been barefoot for years, all my others are barefoot (although one or two have been shod for competitive reasons as required on and off) - and by barefoot I mean trimmed by a barefoot trimmer (not a farrier). I have never fed any of them a "barefoot diet". I keep and feed them the same as I would when shod. They live out but with hardcore stables they can come and go as they like, I keep them slim so I am careful about the grass and they have ab lib hay at all times, they are fed hard feed twice daily - depending on what they need. At the moment, they are just on some basic pony nuts and one is on chaff along with Copra Meal and added oil. The two that are ridden (one barefoot, one who was barefoot and is now shod) are ridden just as usual, hacked down the roads on tarmac and on hardcore / rough tracks etc. I actually find I worry more about doing faster work on my horse now she's shod as the concussion is now worse with shoes and I cant wait to take them off come Autumn (and the outdoor competing on grass season is over...).
 
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