Barefoot, Rockley and Winter!

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Loubiepoo

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My horse is booked in to go to Rockley over the next few weeks for a number of lameness issues including navicular & impar ligament damage, along with some collateral ligament damage. Given that he will hopefully be there for the full 12 weeks it will mean I will be bringing him home and trying to continue his rehab in the depths of winter. (December/January)

Can any barefoot owners or Rockley Rehabs give me advice on how you cope through winter when the ground is muddy and wet or frozen solid, the roads can be icy and tracks and bridleways either solid mud or solid ice? This is when I'm going to need to keep working him to stimulate the hoof and growth. Our yard also has a nice waxed fibre indoor arena and an outdoor sand/rubber arena which doesn't freeze too badly at all that I can use. We also have a treadmill which he can walk on for 20-30mins if things get desperate, although I appreciate this is no where near as stimulating as tracks and road work.

Thanks guys! :)
 
I have an ex rockley horse.

In some ways it's not a bad time, you won't have to contend with grass issues which can be a problem in spring summer.

While I wouldn't ride on sheet ice, I found he had better grip barefoot than shod when I had to lead him over icey patches coming in from the field, I love riding in snow, again better grip and snow dioesn't ball in his feet as much and solid bridlepaths weren't a problem and he hates mud shod or barefoot so no change there.

Remember it's very wet down at Rockley so you'll be able to see how he is coping with different conditions when you visit.
 
Loubiepoo said:
Thanks Oberon, but how do people manage? thats what I'm interested in! :)
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First step is to get a healthy hoof.

Once the hoof is healthy then it is comfortable on any surface and resistant to environmental changes. An unhealthy hoof (attached to an unhealthy horse) falls apart at the first sniff of rain and can't cope with frozen ground.

Nic will start off the process of getting the hoof healthy (and by proxy the internal structures) and then you will have a head start to continue getting a healthy hoof.

It would be great if you could do plenty of road work and keep him self trimming....but if you have to work or have a life outside the yard...then there will need to be a compromise.

Exercise is important and will keep you moving forwards in hoof health and Nic will discuss with you a way to make it work for your personal circumstances.

At the very worst, you may leave him in the field to potter and thus have better hooves but not 100% perfect. When they are given a decent diet and a little space to do their own thing, hooves are very forgiving. It doesn't have to be all or nothing with them :)
 
Am also interested, and trying to make plans.

My understanding is need to try for 3 x 40 minutes of road hacking a week.

Does anyone know if this has to be tarmac?

Can potholed tracks - that are partly tarmac any good? Stony tracks? Sandy tracks (isn’t sand abrasive?)

I don’t have much safe roadwork, and am trying to work out a compromise.
 
wingedhorse99 said:
Am also interested, and trying to make plans.

My understanding is need to try for 3 x 40 minutes of road hacking a week.

Does anyone know if this has to be tarmac?

Can potholed tracks - that are partly tarmac any good? Stony tracks? Sandy tracks (isn’t sand abrasive?)

I don’t have much safe roadwork, and am trying to work out a compromise.
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Is your horse at Rockley?
 
Oberon - thanks for stating the obvious. I am aware of that. I asked some fairly simple questions to help me plan for him coming back. I have asked Nic lots of questions and will ask lots more. In the meantime I was seeking a sensible answer to my questions.
 
wingedhorse said:
Oberon - thanks for stating the obvious. I am aware of that. I asked some fairly simple questions to help me plan for him coming back. I have asked Nic lots of questions and will ask lots more. In the meantime I was seeking a sensible answer to my questions.
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Wow - how rude :eek:.

I was trying to assure you that Nic will cover the whole post Rockley phase with you which means divvying up your schedule with your horse's personal needs.

Don't worry - I'll let others respond to your questions in the future :rolleyes:.
 
Oberon said:
Wow - how rude :eek:.

I was trying to assure you that Nic will cover the whole post Rockley phase with you which means divvying up your schedule with your horse's personal needs.

Don't worry - I'll let others respond to your questions in the future :rolleyes:.
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In my original question, I didnt ask for reassurance. I asked a factual question.

Offering unrequested reassurance and not answering the questions is patronising.
 
Hmm stop and think before you post.

What is the point in people giving you generic advice which may not be applicable to you / your horse / situation?

The advice you will recieve from the person doing the treatment is surely the best advice for your specific situation. If you don't want comments don't post.
 
Ooooo - someone's a bit stroppy. Forums by their nature are open to all for comment.
Good manners really do go a long way.
Yes, you do get nutters and wind up merchants - but I find that most people offer the best advice they know. After all that's why we're here and what we're looking for!
 
wingedhorse said:
Oberon - thanks for stating the obvious. I am aware of that. I asked some fairly simple questions to help me plan for him coming back. I have asked Nic lots of questions and will ask lots more. In the meantime I was seeking a sensible answer to my questions.
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Oberon was trying to help, she's knowledgeable, got experience with barefoot horses and knows Rockley. I don't think trying to reassure you is a reason for above comment. Maybe it wasn't meant to be rude but just came out that way :confused:
 
I'm gonna side step around the above few posts and just mention that my boy is also booked in for a few weeks time - I'm more worried about how I'll cope without him for 12 weeks!
 
Wow, there are a lot of HHO horses off to Rockley soon! Leg_end, what's up with yours?

Without intending to come across as overly 'reassuring' or 'patronising' :O, there is some great support not only from Nic but also on a 'Rockley Rehabs' forum. Generic advice is interesting but doesn't apply to all situations, there is a definite learning curve once you get your horse home. Things to plan for are:

- Keeping a close eye on changes to 'footiness' then adjusting grazing, keeping track of the forage (e.g. a new batch of haylage arrived for my boy and he went very footy. Turned out it was rye grass so learning 1 = no rye grass-based forage) and possibly have some alternative suppliers available just in case
- Read up on the 'tasty' foods you can offer as the low-sugar barefoot feeds can become unappetising once spring / autumn grass comes through (Nic recommends Copra)
- When I first went barefoot (before Rockley), the only roads we could access were on the other side of some woods which had flinty stones throughout. I used to walk my boy up and down the tarmac/gravel driveway for 20 minutes a few times a week, then hacked in hoof boots to start with

You'll probably find though that your horses' feet are well able to cope with a decent workload over difficult surfaces when they arrive back from Rockley, so you won't need boots. It's just a case of being 'in-tune' with your horses' feet and being prepared to make changes.

On another note, my boy is now on working livery at a riding holiday place in Spain. There is almost no roadwork and most of his work is in sand - he's developed very concave feet to handle this but can still cope fine with the bits of roadwork and hardcore tracks that he does do. Roadwork is ideal but by no means the be-all and end-all!
 
Leg_end, he's just been diagnosed with navicular, but he's also had SI pain and PSD in last couple of years so I'm hoping he'll be stronger all round when he comes home. He's been barefoot for years but ive never managed to get it quite right clearly.

My biggest concern at the moment is that he hasn't travelled in 3 yrs and its almost 4hrs to Rockley! (Any advice on that one, anyone?)
As always, wish I could tell him what was going to happen and that it will all be ok. (Ok I confess, I do tell him, but I wish he understood!!). I plan to go through my work diary today and see how many long weekends I can get away with!
 
wingedhorse said:
In my original question, I didnt ask for reassurance. I asked a factual question.

Offering unrequested reassurance and not answering the questions is patronising.
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I wasn't reassuring you. I was ASSURING you that Nic would cover everything before the end of the horse's time there.

You ask for post rehab exercise information without providing any details about your horse's diagnosis or condition.

Rockley takes horses as diverse as 'been barefoot for a while but needs some help to beef up feet' to 'been in wedges and remedial shoes for years and box rest for months'.

Then you have the future preferences of the owner to consider - will the horse be going competing XC or a happy hacker for the rest of his life?

The needs for all will be different.

So it's impossible to answer your question......hence deferring to Nic who will see your horse in the flesh and have a decent idea of what is best.

It is also worth noting that many owners of Rockley (and other barefoot) rehabs have been through the mill emotionally (and financially) by the time they get to this point. The stakes are often pretty high.
After trying to get their horse sound for months/years and constantly feeling like a failure.....they then face the unknown quantity of barefoot rehab - which they sometimes have to do with little support of the vet and farrier.
By this point many owners are more broken than their horses and have a lot of anxiety about whether barefoot will work or if it's all too late and they will lose their horse after all.
And when the horse comes back from Rockley all shiny and sound....the owners are still worrying that it's all going to unravel once the horse comes home.......

It's often better to just let Nic be the guide.......
 
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