Barefoot Taliban Please

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted Chestnuts

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Ok up to date pics I have had my boy home now for about 7/8 weeks now. Hes a 21yr old Welsh D x, his feet were rather soft a few weeks ago but they seem to have hardened up, maybe just adjusting to the change in ground type and all the wet weather we have had here :rolleyes:

Fronts

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Hinds

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Hes on pretty much just a handful of readigrass just to get his hoofmender supp and joint sup once a day, hed probably pic up more from a mouthful of grass. Hes a fussy git with chaffs and feeds. :rolleyes:

This is him

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So what do we think :)
 
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Back of the hoof still weak - hence walking on his toes a little more and the wear at the front.

The hooves look like they want more movement and work to become stronger and a better shape (if he is able).
 
Oberon said:
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Back of the hoof still weak - hence walking on his toes a little more and the wear at the front.

The hooves look like they want more movement and work to become stronger and a better shape (if he is able).
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Thank you :)

Hes getting a hack about twice a week on tarmac and woodland paths. Hes is footy still on hardcore or rough hard ground, I have hoof bots for his fronts as his hinds seem to tolerate the ground more :)

Other than the exercise is there anything else I can do to strengthen the heels area or will that be time?? :)
 
Black Beastie said:
Thank you :)

Hes getting a hack about twice a week on tarmac and woodland paths. Hes is footy still on hardcore or rough hard ground, I have hoof bots for his fronts as his hinds seem to tolerate the ground more :)

Other than the exercise is there anything else I can do to strengthen the heels area or will that be time?? :)
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Well - the Readgrass will be high in sugar (although they have always refused to be drawn on the exact profile of it :() in addition to the grass's sugar....so that could be a factor in soreness.

If he had access to some deeper gravel to walk on, that is like a home gym to a hoof. Otherwise it's just more time and work.

I could post pics of my old boy's hooves and pick them apart....but he is comfy at the end of the day and that's all that matters.

Your boy's hooves don't have to look perfect, but comfort and a general strength and structure is the aim here.
 
did your farrier/trimmer take a knife to those frogs? They look suspiciously uniform to me !

Definitely more work, he will get over the footiness, avoiding the surfaces will just mean it takes longer ime.

You say hoofmender supp - I have a feeling I remember this being a pellet? Is it molassed? That in addition to the readigrass could be the issue :)
 
Oberon said:
Well - the Readgrass will be high in sugar (although they have always refused to be drawn on the exact profile of it :() in addition to the grass's sugar....so that could be a factor in soreness.

If he had access to some deeper gravel to walk on, that is like a home gym to a hoof. Otherwise it's just more time and work.

I could post pics of my old boy's hooves and pick them apart....but he is comfy at the end of the day and that's all that matters.

Your boy's hooves don't have to look perfect, but comfort and a general strength and structure is the aim here.
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Thank you :) Im not going on how they look really as I know from reading all you BFT's that they look worse before they look good :)

ITs the hoofmender powder I got him and I dont think that will have any molasses in it, I prefer not to feed molassed chaffs if I can get away with it :)

I could change him to alfalfa as he will eat that but I prefer that as a winter feed but I will get a bag of that instead of readigrass next time :)

victoria1980x said:
can't comment on the hooves but what a cutie your horse is! Is he going grey or is that his original colouring?
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He was black with a little bit of sabino when i bought him 10/11 years ago but hes getting greyer as the years go on. When hes fully clipped out and clean he looks almost white to the shoulders sometimes and he has spots on his bum in summer :) He also has a white stripe underneath in his tail its weird lol :D

TigerTail said:
did your farrier/trimmer take a knife to those frogs? They look suspiciously uniform to me !

Definitely more work, he will get over the footiness, avoiding the surfaces will just mean it takes longer ime.

You say hoofmender supp - I have a feeling I remember this being a pellet? Is it molassed? That in addition to the readigrass could be the issue :)
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He was on loan and he went out BF with nice big frogs and came back with no shoes (requested by me) but with the shaved frogs. Hopeing they will recover. My current farrier DOESNT trim the frog so hoping that with time they will be nice big fat frogs again soon :)
 
TigerTail said:
Definitely more work, he will get over the footiness, avoiding the surfaces will just mean it takes longer ime.
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I am not happy with this comment as advice and I hope it is just the way it is written. I do not believe that a horse should be made to work on surfaces on which it is uncomfortable, it is asking for trouble with muscular body issues elsewhere, and I don't think it is fair on the horse. Nor is it necessary.

Keep testing what he is comfortable on OP, and up the difficulty as he can cope with it.

He appears to have a medio-lateral, side to side, balance change coming in on one front foot - you can see from how the line of the event line differes in height from the coronet band floor on one side compared to the other. Have you any idea why that might be?
 
Dengie non molassed chaff lo alfa [damp] would be my preference, it is very tasty. Also would feed a coffee cup of micronised linseed.
To be honest I would expect better hooves if he has been barefoot for a while, particularly digital cushion.
I would not feed alfalfa as it makes a lot of horses footy, and I would stop the redigrass too, grass is not what feet need most, in spite of the abundance of it on UK land.
Could you get a rasp to round off the edges, I hate to see chips on hoof walls.
 
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Cptrayes he has always had a deviation on one front foot :) has just been shod slightly differently over the years he's never been lame or had any issues with it so I left it alone :)

Will this make it any harder for him??
 
Black Beastie said:
Cptrayes he has always had a deviation on one front foot :) has just been shod slightly differently over the years he's never been lame or had any issues with it so I left it alone :)

Will this make it any harder for him??
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No, just don't allow your trimmer to try and "correct" the hoof balance until it grows out. The balance should eventually get to a point where any event line will stay level, and no matter how wierd the foot looks at the ground, if it is symmetrical from looking at the sole, then it's what he needs. He probably has a foot/leg or a shoulder joint which is not straight.
 
Black Beastie said:
Thank you :) Im not going on how they look really as I know from reading all you BFT's that they look worse before they look good :)

ITs the hoofmender powder I got him and I dont think that will have any molasses in it, I prefer not to feed molassed chaffs if I can get away with it :)

I could change him to alfalfa as he will eat that but I prefer that as a winter feed but I will get a bag of that instead of readigrass next time :)



He was on loan and he went out BF with nice big frogs and came back with no shoes (requested by me) but with the shaved frogs. Hopeing they will recover. My current farrier DOESNT trim the frog so hoping that with time they will be nice big fat frogs again soon :)
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I assumed from lack of nail holes he has been barefoot some time.
 
Kia always has nice looking feet - was it about 6 months ago he went out on load? That line looks like a change of diet :)

I had great success with the Hoofmender, it actually seems to be a pretty good supplement for Scottish horses.

Even keeping to smooth tarmac and nice tracks for a while, I bet you'll see some good changes - those frogs will plump up in no time :)
 
cptrayes said:
I am not happy with this comment as advice and I hope it is just the way it is written. I do not believe that a horse should be made to work on surfaces on which it is uncomfortable, it is asking for trouble with muscular body issues elsewhere, and I don't think it is fair on the horse. Nor is it necessary.
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Sorry that was badly written - I didnt mean to be working him on said surfaces but I would after a few weeks shoeless be walking in hand. Sometimes it seems people expect them to magically come sound on hard surfaces straight from a field, or are surprised when they arent sound on the (not meaning the op here btw) I believe Pete Ramey said about bedding them on what you expect them to work on? If they are cotton wool wrapped away from gravel/stones their feet will rarely callous enough to cope when you come across a bit out riding.
 
cptrayes said:
Could you explain how you are judging digital cushion quality from the photos that we have available??
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From the sole pictures, not the best angle I agree.
The horse had been shod up to seven/eight weeks ago, so one would expect changes to be occurring now, I still do not like all the chips and breakages round the wall of the hoof. I would want to check on the stride, to see if he is dragging his feet.
 
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Miss L Toe said:
From the sole pictures, not the best angle I agree.
The horse had been shod up to seven/eight weeks ago, so one would expect changes to be occurring now, I still do not like all the chips and breakages round the wall of the hoof. I would want to check on the stride, to see if he is dragging his feet.
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I still do not understand how you are judging quality of digital cushion from those sole shots, sorry :confused:
 
Surely the chips is self trimming and they are more exaggerated than a normal bf horse due to the poor horn quality and crap weather?
 
TigerTail said:
Surely the chips is self trimming and they are more exaggerated than a normal bf horse due to the poor horn quality and crap weather?
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My boy self trimmed with almost no chips, I just rasped them off as/if they appeared, I would not want them to look like these feet at any time[sorry OP]. I thought self trimming meant riding on tarmac which acts like sandpaper and so they wear down at the same rate as they grow.
 
TigerTail said:
Sorry that was badly written - I didnt mean to be working him on said surfaces but I would after a few weeks shoeless be walking in hand. Sometimes it seems people expect them to magically come sound on hard surfaces straight from a field, or are surprised when they arent sound on the (not meaning the op here btw) I believe Pete Ramey said about bedding them on what you expect them to work on? If they are cotton wool wrapped away from gravel/stones their feet will rarely callous enough to cope when you come across a bit out riding.
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My pony sleeps on a mat and wood chips, but the rest of his stable is concrete, however if anyone has ever worked on a concrete floor, they will soon buy a pair of thick soled shoes, as it is very uncomfortable, tiring on the legs. I agree that if I walked about on concrete, the soles would callous, but I would still have tired legs if standing still, this is what we ask our horse to do when stabled.
So I am not sure I agree with bedding on pea gravel, or rolled brick rubble.Ramey may have been thinking about the corrals they keep horses on in the US, these are more like feedlots than UK stabling.
The OP does not say he had been in a field for two months, assumed he had been in some sort of work, maybe I read that wrong?
PS I have seen a video where a barefoot american rider puts a light mustang roll [ fine side of rasp] on his pony every day before he rides out, to me this makes sense.
 
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Miss L Toe said:
My boy self trimmed with almost no chips, I just rasped them off as/if they appeared, I would not want them to look like these feet at any time[sorry OP]
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The chips are a cosmetic irrelevance. They will look prettier if the OP takes a rasp to them, but functionally the foot will be no different at all.
 
If you tell/show me what angles I have to take pixcs from to get thes cushion shots then I will :)

He is ridden twice a week at present over tarmac and farm tracks and woodland paths, hoping to get him lunged once a week but that will be on grass (no arena), I tend to dismount over rougher bits and remount when on better footing as he's only 14.3hh so getting on and off is no hassel :)
 
I do not belive that it is possible to judge the quality of a digital cushion from photographs. Though I asked MLT in case I had missed out somewhere in my education, but it appears not.

If you take a shot from the back of the foot you can judge whether the thickness of the whole back of the foot has increased (but you need before and after shots).

What that will tell you is whether the quantity of "stuff" the horse is standing on has increased, which would be a good sign. But the only way you can tell the quality of digital cushion is to poke your finger down the dip in the back of a horse's foot at the bottom of the pastern.

It should feel like the kind of rubber that they stick on the end of a pencil. In shod horses it more usually feels like a bit of watery chicken fat. :o
 
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