Barefoot taliban/people who like hooves?

[Jackson]

Hello

Could I ask for some CC/advice on these hooves please? I'm mainly interested in his left fore because that is his worst hoof, it looks flat and long and very different from his other! It also has a crack that I'm slightly concerned about, and whereas I feel like a break from shoes has done his other three good, I almost feel that it has made his LF worse.

He has been unshod in front since January and behind since october '11 (I think) and I would like to try and keep him that way when I bring him back in to work in a months time however I'm worried that the LF won't hold up.

He's currently not being fed anything but I will start him on pro hoof (?) in a handful of baileys no.1 (because I have a half empty bag of that and I don't want to waste) when he comes in to work, does that sound okay?

He was just about self trimming on a daily road hack in walf and slightly footy on gravel before he went on holiday but he is due a trim now as you can probably tell

Pictures (sorry they're rubbish, I was on my own and there was a scary combine in the next field) :

RF:

RH:

LF. The concerning one:

LH:

So you can see his legs:

Sorry for all of the images, and thank you for looking

 

[LucyPriory]

Correct trim would help a lot. Can't enlarge photos but you can get quarter cracks like that when quarter wall left too long.

 

[LucyPriory]

Also bit thrushy which can make some footy

 

[cptrayes]

Ditto Lucy, who is a pro trimmer in case you don't know.

Your horse's LF frog is nowhere near ground bearing. He looks like he needs a few good miles on a rough road to wear them down a bit, and some work on softer surfaces to massage his frogs into plumping up a bit.

I can't see anything which would make me doubt whether any one of his feet will stand up to more work without shoes on. The foot you are worried about has some very superficial "cracks", more like lines, in it, and one minor crack on the quarter.

Front feet are quite often not a pair. You see it on horses which are not quite symmetric in their shoulders or legs. A friend of mine has a horse with one front leg shorter than the other and that grows a longer foot and has a frog that is not groundbearing, but the horse has been sound for 7 years now without shoes on and moves better than ever.


Is that dirt or dimpling on his bottom? If it's dimpling and he stays footie you may need to take a hard look at restricting carbs and a bit of a weight loss diet.

 

[Jackson]

Thank you both. he will be getting a trim very shortly, and then will be starting roadwork and then schooling so that fits in nicely I'm glad that you don't think his LF is going to cause him trouble.

It is dirt, but he is quite overweight. He's on restricted grazing but it's still growing faster than he can eat it

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Have you thought about a grazing muzzle? if it isnt possible to subdivide the paddock, I mean? might be worth considering even if just for a few weeks till the grass is all yellow and safe.

his hooves dont look too bad and a good trim will prob make them look 100% better, but if you are concerned when you start work you could pop a pair of boots on the fronts for a few weeks while he gets used to the work/surfaces.