Barefoot rehab questions

[chaps89]

I got unlucky with farriers last year after covid forced a change.
Mare has had various lameness issues and so mid January the shoes came off.
She was turned away and did nothing until early/mid-March.
She did 2 weeks walking in hand, 10 minutes a day with no boots.
Then we did about a week in boots with no pads up to 15 mins a day in hand.
We've now done 10 days in boots with pads & a break over rasped in.
She's ALOT more comfortable in the boots and pads and most of the time walks out well in them and is heel first.
In the field without boots she mooches fine but is still toe first and still toe dragging behind.
Trimmer back in 4 and a bit weeks time by which point she wants us up to 20 mins in hand walking a day in boots.
There's quite alot of bruising on/in her toes currently.

This feels like very slow progress, have I been expecting too much?
At what point might the work in boots start having an impact on how she moves without boots?
Can post piccies later/tomorrow if it helps, thanks in advance for any help

 

[ester]

After the initial 6 weeks Frank was booted every time we left home for 6 months at least 3 months of that was walking in hand increasing slowly. I think I'd probably only 'really count' the time since you've been walking out which is 4 weeks + 3 days? In which case I wouldn't worry too much about progress but just keep an eye on her field landings.

Pics would be helpful to see the bruising though as it's often quite historical/takes a while before it appears.

 

[HelenBack]

If she's that much more comfortable in boots and pads is turning out in them an option? That would make her more comfortable if she's got bruising and then you'd get good movement all day every day which might well help with her progress overall. Also I don't know what the ground is like by you but here we're on clay and it's rock hard so that could be hard for her being relatively new to barefoot.

I think progress varies so much from one horse to another that you just have to work out what works for your own situation and make her as comfortable as you can however you can. I know some people are a bit against boots but they've made such a difference to my lad's comfort and I wouldn't be without them.

 

[ycbm]

After the initial 6 weeks Frank was booted every time we left home for 6 months at least 3 months of that was walking in hand increasing slowly. I think I'd probably only 'really count' the time since you've been walking out which is 4 weeks + 3 days? In which case I wouldn't worry too much about progress but just keep an eye on her field landings.

Pics would be helpful to see the bruising though as it's often quite historical/takes a while before it appears.

She said wot I would

 

[chaps89]

Thanks all, that's a bit more reassuring.
She does wear her boots in the field if I'm on the yard, so whilst I poo pick/muck out. So it might only be an extra 20 minutes or it might be a couple of hours dependings on the day. Having been walking her on grass tracks lately that feel solid underfoot, I'm a bit hesitant to leave her in them full time as the boots are packing full of mud on the sole and she then does a fair old Bambi impression.

Photos - I would have liked to put the before & after photos side by side, but the trimmer took the first set and I'm not 100% confident I'd be matching the right feet up!


Jan

 

[chaps89]

April - last weekend (I do also have heel shots & front on shots but didn't want to overload)

Left fore - Left hind - Right hind - Right fore







Bruising (same foot, there is a touch on the other - left - fore but this is the worst one)

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

You are asking her to change her whole musculature to accommodate the changes that you have made. You wouldn't expect a few 10/15 minute schooling sessions to work so quickly, so you shouldn't expect any more from your in hand walking sessions - give it time, especially if she has bruised feet.

 

[HelenBack]

Her feet look loads better already. I'm sure you'll get there in time.

 

[chaps89]

No, i think thats what im trying to get at - its seems very slow and I'm suprised 10/15 minutes can make a difference? Although with sensible hat on, making such a big change means starting small and building up, you wouldn't just go out and run a marathon without training/acclimatising your feet and body so I suppose this is the same?
She is seeing the physio and chiro regularly and I'm doing stretches with her as well as I know it will be a big change
I just really hope it's going the right way and will be worth it in the end :-/

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Mine has been Bf for 90% of his life and still wears boots all round to be ridden in. You soon learn what is best for each individual animal and while it was lovely and soft underfoot in January the ground is now like concrete so don’t be surprised if she is finding it a bit hard at the moment. Her feet look so much better than when in shoes but keep an eye on the height of the heels, it can cause undue pressure on the toes which might be where the bruising is coming from.

For some light reading I always recommend Mark Johnson’s FB page. Mark Johnson, Farrier another way? Incredibly well informed and a truly progressive barefoot Farrier who no longer shoes in steel.

 

[ester]

I just really hope it's going the right way and will be worth it in the end :-/

The worst bit is having to have a lot of patience when you really just want to know whether it is going to 'work' or not.

In the first set of pics they all look bullnosed, but in the recent ones I think just the hinds? It's really hard to pick up/judge concavity in photos/sometimes easier from a heel shot. But, I'm presuming with the bullnosing that they are probably pretty flat? which would fit with the current comfort levels as that type are automatically putting themselves in more contact with stones etc- whereas if you have a small tin can hoof/atrophied frog they can seem to come out of shoes better just because their sole is higher off the ground. - This was also our problem, we never managed stellar concavity but we had functional concavity with time.