Barefoot Taliban - give me your stories.

Miss Bean said:
these stories are great, and I feel a lot more confident than I did. It interests me that some of you reckon your horses move better!
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My horse is a spectacular mover he's a American standard bred by breeding but bred in holland so he's what they call a Dutch harness horse used for their spectacular trots.
There Is definatly a change in the quality of his paces his movement is softer more though his whole body it's just beauiful now that may in fact will be be partly the progression in the training but it definatly was a turning point for him when I removed the shoes. He was not lame and had no issues that made me remove the shoes just decided to try.
 
Miss Bean said:
these stories are great, and I feel a lot more confident than I did. It interests me that some of you reckon your horses move better!
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Well I am very sure mine did improve. We went from unbalanced round corners in the school to balanced, from stumbling and loosing balance on the back end to not and where mine was struggling to go down hills confidently to positively marching down..... that was enough anacdotal evidence for me. We have also had less back issues too.
 
Miss Bean said:
these stories are great, and I feel a lot more confident than I did. It interests me that some of you reckon your horses move better!
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Move better? One of mine wouldn't have been moving at all by now if he hadn't gone barefoot, he'd be dead :D He came to me after a year's lamness due to be put down a day or so later (vet was booked). He's now been sound and in full work for approaching 2 years.
 
cptrayes said:
Move better? One of mine wouldn't have been moving at all by now if he hadn't gone barefoot, he'd be dead :D He came to me after a year's lamness due to be put down a day or so later (vet was booked). He's now been sound and in full work for approaching 2 years.
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It's a given that a lame horse will move better if BF works for it but the subtle changes in sound horses are interesting it affects I think their self awareness they are more aware of their position in the space they are moving though my horse is happier in his work now you might say well he had a little pain from his shoes bit I really don't think he did I think his feet are now fully senestive to his balance and the positioning of his body and this has affected how easy he is to train
 
You are right of course GS. My friend deshod a 25 year old and the horse never took a lame step. But it's "typical 25 year old" dropped back came up almost overnight, and the habit that it had of grunting when walking downhill completely disappeared.

Behaviour changes (for the better!) are also common.
 
cptrayes said:
and the habit that it had of grunting when walking downhill completely disappeared.
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Oooh I'd forgotten that sound my first navicular horse used to make when descending hills. I firmly believe this is a pain sound, as horses don't have any other way of making a noise indicating pain. I've never heard a barefoot horse do it, nor do they shorten when descending hills either. Such a sad noise if you understand where it comes from.
 
My lad as a lot off you know had to go barefoot or was going to be pts. ( yard owners plus farrier thinks I'm having a laugh) but my vet is right behind me and said she's seen it work. He's a ex racer with long flat feet and totally under run heels. So far in epics and 12mm pads he's not had 1 day lame. It's his last chance so I need it to work for his sake. And tbh I would like to prove people wrong :)
the only question I can't seem to get answered is " ers pellets" are they ok? As my lad won't eat his dinner without some form off nut and as he's on these I don't really won't to mess with his diet again unless they are a total no no
 
Oh and yes miss bean his stride is lovely. No more short pottery strides but fully walking out long strides but he does wear his boots for any journeys out on the road and to/from field which is a stony track but walks fine in the field. We are on very early days though.
Tbh it's winter I'm scared off and how we will cope with the mud andhis feet. Standing at the field gate waiting for me in the mud and the frozen ground. I'm scared off that as shoes aren't a option any more.
 
Miss Bean said:
these stories are great, and I feel a lot more confident than I did. It interests me that some of you reckon your horses move better!
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Going the other way - having had fronts put on my barefoot mare, the shortness in her strideon roads was the most depressing bit, I'm looking forward to them coming off in 4 weeks again.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Oh and yes miss bean his stride is lovely. No more short pottery strides but fully walking out long strides but he does wear his boots for any journeys out on the road and to/from field which is a stony track but walks fine in the field. We are on very early days though.
Tbh it's winter I'm scared off and how we will cope with the mud andhis feet. Standing at the field gate waiting for me in the mud and the frozen ground. I'm scared off that as shoes aren't a option any more.
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Winter was the best for us. The mud didn't seem to play any part in his soundness. Take it as it comes. Boots can be used on frozen ground. I used them.
 
Wow Faracat, only just seen your pictures! What a transformation! Well done for seeing it through.

As far as moving better goes, my lad went barefoot (at Rockley) at the end of February and came home beginning of June. I had his osteopath out to check him over a week later and she said he'd never felt better to her, despite being slightly footsore because I hadn't had his minerals for a week. A few weeks ago we did a flatwork clinic with my instructor of many years and I was stunned when she said she'd never seen him move so well and that our canter work was the best she'd seen him do. :) She even asked me when I would let her come and ride him again as she was keen to feel the changes for herself.

This from the horse my vet felt probably wouldn't come back into work other than maybe light hacking after a year or so of being turned away.

I'm over the moon! :)
 
Yes ers pellets r fine. They are less than 7% starch. Fed them to my low grade.lami after lots of research and confirmed by equine nutritionist. Also have background in behaviour nutrition and am train EP.
Hope this helps.
 
cptrayes said:
Check out this thread.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=531544
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Hiya CPT,

Just looked at th photo's and have a question. I have a lot of this around my yard, and if I was to hack out i would have to ride over about 1/4 mile of this to get to a smooth road. I have kept boots on until now, but i need to bite the bullet and take them off at some point. To start with would you suggest leading him down the lane of this surface then jump on board so he doesnt have my extra weight on him? Ive done no hacking without boots yet. Or should I boot up to get over the stoney area, jump off and take theboots off, and let him get used to the road without boots? - Thoughts please :)
 
Hi TCP, sorry, I know you asked CPT and she will surely answer, but I thought I'd let you know how I did it.

When we took boots off in prep for that kind of stoney terrain, we did a lot of work on Tarmac first. Then did less smooth village roads, then did farm tracks and one day we just did it and it was fine. I am sure he would have been fine to do it much earlier but I took it slow, he remained comfortable even trying to canter out of the farm on occasions!

It helped we had a dry spring and the pocky mud turned rock hard and he was out in that 24/7 so it helped get his feet used to it. He never had a problem running in there playing with his buddies. In hindsight, I might have tried earlier but it was my first bf experience so had to be conservative.
 
tallyho! said:
Ooh was that BAPSH? I was there!! :)
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Yes indeedy - what a fabulous weekend it was too! Our lad in the video came away with two 2nds and a 3rd. The judges said he had the best movement in his class, but lost marks on confirmation (he's part bred and has a longer back than typical Iberians). He didn't put a (bare) foot wrong bless him! :D
 
Well done you!!!! Are you on FB? That is a fab result, so many great horses there.

We didn't do very well. My yearling decided that away from home I was to be mowed down and stamped upon. Bad trainer :( but I know now what she will be like so have plenty to work on. What was the photo company called by the way, apparently lots of photos of verity, just not any good ones lol :D:D:D

She is my third barefoot horse and she has taught me plenty already having HKH at an early age. Thank goodness for my trimmer.

Anyway, I love the spanish, she is my second and so opinionated.

I honestly think out of all the breeds, this one is the best bf. I was trimming a few, a few months ago and I tell you, it was like trying to cut marble with a cheese grater!!!
 
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Thankyou kindly, although I can't take credit - our lad and my other half did all the work, my role was chauffering (it's hard to look masculine driving a PINK box but I think I managed it! :cool:), filming/photographing, chefing and general dogsbodying.

As well as our lad, we took a young PRE mare to show for a friend in the hope of finding her a home (due to the owner being injured), she's an absolute sweetheart and did really well too - you're right, Spanish horses are lovely!

It was Eclipse Photography taking the pic's, but I think there were plenty of enthusiastic amateurs with very good cameras - check out the BAPSH Facebook page!

We are on Facebook - PM me a link if you'd like! :)
 
Thanks for link Dropbear... good god she was so blinkin naughty. Literally the only nice one is B5816 and even then she looks like she's about to collapse into hysterics. See that smile?

Unfortunately her cousin Visconte was across the way so it was all about saying "hello" to the big bro....

Oh well... we also had a fab time :D PM'ing link xxx
 
14 yr old tb, navicular
Due to be shod
Photo-0174.jpg


Damage done by remedial shoeing attempt. Not farriers fault. Horse constantly pulled them off!
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Nearly a year later
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I stupidly reshod ........horse now landing irregularly again......
 
tallyho! said:
Thanks for link Dropbear... good god she was so blinkin naughty. Literally the only nice one is B5816 and even then she looks like she's about to collapse into hysterics. See that smile?

Unfortunately her cousin Visconte was across the way so it was all about saying "hello" to the big bro....

Oh well... we also had a fab time :D PM'ing link xxx
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Aww, she looks lovely! :D
 
TheCurlyPony said:
Hiya CPT,

Just looked at th photo's and have a question. I have a lot of this around my yard, and if I was to hack out i would have to ride over about 1/4 mile of this to get to a smooth road. I have kept boots on until now, but i need to bite the bullet and take them off at some point. To start with would you suggest leading him down the lane of this surface then jump on board so he doesnt have my extra weight on him? Ive done no hacking without boots yet. Or should I boot up to get over the stoney area, jump off and take theboots off, and let him get used to the road without boots? - Thoughts please :)
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The rehab horse in the video was finished off by his loan family, who now own him (and as you can tell are very proud of him). They found a patch of stone and walked him around on it for a few minutes every day and increased the amount of time he did on rough surfaces gradually.

My other horses have come rock-crunching over time with lots of roadwork and increasing exposure to nasty tracks as they get more capable. Most of it is the food, I think, though, for really tough feet.

I would mix and match leading him down and jumping on at the end, and riding down in boots and jumping off to take them off. When he can lead down happily try riding him down.

Don't forget that barefoot horses tend to be clever enough to take their foot off anything that will hurt them. So if he is footie on every step he takes, he needs boots. But if he occasionally takes his foot off a stone, that's just being sensible enough to realise that it would bruise his foot if he didn't.

Hope that helps.
 
Can you recommend what is the best feed? He is on haylage at the moment and a few basic nuts and grazing through the night. There are so many feeds out there that it is doing my head in!!
 
The best feed is a diet as low in sugar as you can get it. Highest in fibre as you can get it. Those are the basics of good feet in my experience.

Mine had soaked speedibeet with unmollased chaff. Bland I know, but I did add ACV and apple peelings or veg peelings. Just be sure you choose veg like broccoli or cabbage rather than carrots.

There are other embellishments you can add depending on the needs of your horse. My youngster needs more calories so apart from grass in summer, I do give her the above but with added linseed to a bespoke mineral powder. Some horses cope better than others with a high oil diet so it's not for every horse. Better than a high sugar diet though :D
 
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cptrayes said:
The rehab horse in the video was finished off by his loan family, who now own him (and as you can tell are very proud of him). They found a patch of stone and walked him around on it for a few minutes every day and increased the amount of time he did on rough surfaces gradually.

My other horses have come rock-crunching over time with lots of roadwork and increasing exposure to nasty tracks as they get more capable. Most of it is the food, I think, though, for really tough feet.

I would mix and match leading him down and jumping on at the end, and riding down in boots and jumping off to take them off. When he can lead down happily try riding him down.

Don't forget that barefoot horses tend to be clever enough to take their foot off anything that will hurt them. So if he is footie on every step he takes, he needs boots. But if he occasionally takes his foot off a stone, that's just being sensible enough to realise that it would bruise his foot if he didn't.

Hope that helps.
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Thanks for replying. He has to walk over a small part of it every day to come in from the paddock, ill increase this then start as you suggested.

Many Thanks :)
 
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