barefoot taliban - what do you think of these feet?

The shoes are off!!!!!!!!!!!!
Farrier was ok about it all, said it was worth a try and that this was the best time of year as the ground was softer so they would have chance to harden up. So we will see, need to think about diet now, he has plenty of hay chaff and a few nuts, but its applechaff so not sure that is the best one and supplements anyone got a favourite?
Crikey, I could become a member of the barefoot taliban!
 
NooNoo59 said:
The shoes are off!!!!!!!!!!!!
Farrier was ok about it all, said it was worth a try and that this was the best time of year as the ground was softer so they would have chance to harden up. So we will see, need to think about diet now, he has plenty of hay chaff and a few nuts, but its applechaff so not sure that is the best one and supplements anyone got a favourite?
Crikey, I could become a member of the barefoot taliban!
Click to expand...

And why not? :)

But you will have to learn how to "faff" :D lol sorry, that was in reference to another thread... The "obsession" one.

Apple chaff is quite high in sugar. Choose a diet that is in total less than 5% sugar/carbs if poss. Oberon has some good tips for diet advice, why don't you send her a pm? Although she said she was tipsy at 5o'clock today so you might have to wait til tomorrow :D I am sure a few others will help you though.

Pro hoof seems to be a good choice. Look on here for barefoot diet, however, just bear in mind it's not a special diet or anything, it's just a term coined over the course of time :D
 
Good for you for taking decisive action:)

But please please please go and do lots of research into working barefoot horses.

It's not just a case of taking the shoes off and hoping for the best, esp with feet as damaged as that. It will take a lot of effort and 'faff' to make him comfortable. Otherwise he's going to be sore really quickly and that's not fair.

If ' the ground is soft so his feet will toughen up quickly' is the best advise the farrier can offer you, you need to find some proper, experienced advice. :eek : Farrier will quite prob do a reasonable job trimming but sounds like you'll get no help with management, feed or boots.

Now is quite a good time to have shoes off but nothing to so with the ground (soft soggy ground just makes your job much harder). However there's very little grass so no worries about sugar there.

In very simple terms he need an as sugar-free diet as you can manage. So absolutely nothing with molasses in it. That most definitely includes Applechaff! Have you read the ingredients?! 2nd biggest ingredient is molasses! :eek:

How does he hold weight on just hay? That would be the start point.
 
he is good on just hay but does like a bucket dinner so its what to put in it really, spillers high fibre nuts and some fast fibre or which chaff?
 
If it's a token feed he needs then Fast Fibre is a good one to try. Have a look at your feed store and see what unmollassed chaff they have. There's a couple of completely unmollassed alfalfa chaffs and a new oat straw chaff (think it's by mollichaff people). Fibre nuts depend on who makes them: read the back of the bag.

There are many supplements available. The expensive ones are thankfully not the best! I just feed linseed, mag ox and a general supplement. Others will be better able to advise on more specifics.
 
NooNoo59 said:
The shoes are off!!!!!!!!!!!!
Farrier was ok about it all, said it was worth a try and that this was the best time of year as the ground was softer so they would have chance to harden up. So we will see, need to think about diet now, he has plenty of hay chaff and a few nuts, but its applechaff so not sure that is the best one and supplements anyone got a favourite?
Crikey, I could become a member of the barefoot taliban!
Click to expand...

have you joined http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/ it's brilliant with lots of advice on everything you will need to know about being unshod.
 
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You need to treat the nasties that are inside that cleft between the heels? There are a few different ways of doing this - hopefully one of the folk who's tried "Pete's Goo" (I kid you not :D) will come along and explain, but basically you make up a paste with canestan and triple antibiotic cream (getting hold of that's the hard part), and sort of inject it into the crack. It kills off the bugs that will actually be quite uncomfortable for your horse, and will help the heels start to spread and look more normal :)

FastFibre and/or a few fibre nuts (Spillers seem fine) should be fine. If you need to extend the eating time (mine can inhale a scoop of soaked FastFibre in about 4 seconds), then see if you can get hold of unmolassed chaff. Honeychop do an unmolassed oat straw chop that is fine.

In terms of supplements, there are a few that seem to work well, although how well each works also seems to depend on where you live and what the grass is like there :) I use ProBalance from eBay, same seller does the ProHoof (added Yeasacc for horses with digestive problems) and I've also had success with Equimins Hoofmender - they also do a special supplement called MetaBalance, but it's hard to get hold of, you almost have to prove to them that you need it :D).

And the Phoenix forum is certainly great for advice and support :)
 
Do you know any farmers with sheep? I have discovered that the magic blue spray they use for foot rot is amazing stuff - but vets dont give it out for horses so you need to be a bit erm, creative to get it :D

This is going to be really tough on you (its one of the most stressful things I've ever done with Arnie) but you wont regret it. Even if you choose to reshoe later on you will be giving your boy a really good chance to improve his feet
 
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