Barefoot TB - does anyone have one?

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Footlights

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Does anyone have a barefoot thoroughbred? If so I would like to hear your story? What were feet like before, what are they like now, what boots you use, special diet etc?
 
Yes, but she's retired.

I did struggle for a while as she got very footsore one summer and her hooves became flared. However I changed farrier and that solved those problems.

So I would say that a good farrier/trimmer is very important. :)
 
Footlights said:
Does anyone have a barefoot thoroughbred? If so I would like to hear your story? What were feet like before, what are they like now, what boots you use, special diet etc?
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When my TB first come out of racing I had his shoes off and he was barefoot for nearly 3 years... He was abit foot sore at first but they soon hardened up and I was careful to make sure my farrier did not over trim (very important!), he worked lightly and stayed sound although he was always sensitive on stones.
He had front shoes recently as his work load increased and he will have backs on aswell later this year, this is mainly because I want to be able to put studs on him...
I will remove his shoes again in the winter especially in snowy weather to give his feet a rest, stop shoes being sucked off in mud or snow balling up and to allow his feet to harden up and new hoof wall to grow down.
His farrier always comments on how nice his feet are for a TB!
 
Yes, but shes unshod rather than barefoot really. Shes not in work, baby time-out. Shes got nice feet. She had bad flaring and an awful quarter crack when she came but with some actual decent trimming that was sorted in no time. She's got nice feet, good horn.
 
One straight off the racetrack with small up right feet, never missed the shoes at all.

One with flatter feet, took about 3 months to condition and then evented to BE100 with no shoes on, no problems.

I restrict all my horses in spring/summer to grazing overnight only and cut out molassed feeds. I feed magnesium and yeast and find both essential to keeping them from being ouchy on stones.

There are plenty of barefoot Tbs I'm sure you will hear about more. Also phoenixhorse forum will have lots of people with them if you google it.
 
Yep :)

My boy Fig had his shoes off beginning of Jan 12 (came to me 23rd Dec 11) and promptly stomped across the gravel without a care in the world. Will happily walk and trot on tarmac.

Think it helps that he had good feet before, whoever had been shoeing him had done a fantastic job. His back feet have lost the ever so slight bullnosing, the bottom 1/3 of his fronts have flared slightly but I'm satisfied with the growth angle of the top 2/3 and think he's just growing the foot he wants to (my BF trimmer shares this thought).

My sisters TB has been BF for a few years now, with not a single footy day to report.

Ours are out at least 6 hours every day all year round and fed ad lib haylage (+alfalfa hage), winergy conditioning, micronised linseed and grass nuts.
 
Yep I have one!

Was shod for 2 years but found it hard to keep shoes on due to thin hoof wall. Made transition to barefoot last summer. He is now fed on Pure Horse Feeds (and looks fab) and wears Easyboot gloves on his fronts. However, we have started to go hacking without the boots and he's fine. Hopefully we will eventually be able to do away with them completely :-)
 
Yes I have one - I went bare last November time after my mare was diagnoed with navicular, spavin, PSLD and arthritis in one fetlock. The advice from the vets was field ornament or brood mare. She is now back hacking out (well when she's not napping and rearing) with Cavallo boots on the fronts, but has never had any boots on the hinds. I am starting to do some long-reining and leading out in hand without the front boots on as well. Overall her feet have improved no end. I feed Fast Fibre, Pro Hoof and micronised linseed. Her feet never seem to crack or split and the one upright front foot that she had is slowly starting to look more like the other one.

She was VERY sore to start with but it didn't help that we had a terribly wet, muddy winter and I couldn't do any work with her as she had to have rest because of the PSLD. All she could do was go from stable to field and back again. But since starting work with her in March, the improvement has been never ending.
I probably would never have done it had the horse not been lame or diagnosed with any lameness injuries - it was the lameness which got me looking to a different solution. I'm so glad that I did! :)
 
another one here. took them off last year. do a bit of everything.

best thing i did, awful feet before. still a work in progress though. use cavello simple boots if needed
 
Yes - Frankie.

Got sent to Rockley after an MRI showed soft tissue damage. Had horrible feet, flat, thins soles, underrun heels, pinched contracted frogs.
Used to pull shoes weekly, his best stunt being to pull off 2 back shoes in his stable, well pulled one off and the other twisted dangerously half hanging off.
I have hoof boots that i used for when he pulled shoes off as he was so sore but now he's barefoot they are sitting there gathering dust.

He was slightly grass sensitive last year though not the year before so he goes out overnight in summer after 7pm.

He gets minerals balanced to his forage and I keep him sugar free but then I had to before as molassed chaff turned a dope on a rope into the amazing airborne tb, so he gets Speedibeet, linseed, bran and copra.

He was in horsepital recently investigating a shoulder problem and the vets from were very impressed with how he handled the concrete area they use for their lameness work ups, couldn't really see any difference between that the school.

If you go the rockley farm website and do a search for Frankie there are before and after pics.

Feet are great now, shame about the shoulder :(
 
She's a Hanoverian X TB if that counts. She had remedial farriery and once back in full work, the shoes came off. She was surprisingly fine right away, she's out 24/7 on good grazing, no special feed and farrier trims her regularly, although she does most of the trimming herself.
 
My old boy was.

He had shoes for many years, his feet were horridly cracked, finally persuaded farrier to leave shoes off, he went from the worst feet in his books, to completly normal.
 
Wow some fantastic stories, I'm so glad its working out for everyone.

Can I ask - when you removed the shoes, did you remove them all at once or start with the backs? Also, did you do anything to prep them for it, and how long were they off work for while their feet hardened up? Or did you find that once you put boots on they were sound?
 
Not me but my friend has a yard of 6, 3 are tb's and all are barefoot. No problems, even if there are, each have a pair of boots. Trimmed by a farrier who has worked with Nic Barker. Does a good bf trim in my humble opinion.
 
Diet diet diet!
Movement.
SYMPATHETIC trimming.
Boots for the initial phase.

If they become sore - don't blame the horse. Look back at diet and review.

TBs are the poster children for inappropriate diets and management hence "crap TB hooves" :(
 
I do as of fridays visit from the farrier!

She had her hinds off last September with absolutely no hiccups whatsoever!

and as she started to twist and lose shoes in the last 2 months I decided (with a lot of inspiration and help on here) to take the plunge!

Farrier thinks I'm mad, but is accomodating and did exactly what I asked (don't take anything of the frog/sole/or toe callous) he said she would be very sore, but as I had bought cavallo boots for her she hasn't taken a lame step yet!

she is in at night totally barefoot, and out in the day with her boots on, they don't spin or rub and she is very happy to walk over the rough stuff (long gravel drive to the field) and lumpy dried mud at start of field in her boots, by the way things are looking at the moment I would say she might be trying totally barefoot in the field in a week, but I am a little scared this is too soon and will take it very gently with her, another major thing I have noticed with her is her whole body looks relaxed, she was not lame before (just crappy feet) but she now looks like the physio has been - except she hasn't!

I am keeping my fingers crossed and keep looking at www.barefoothorses.com to keep the enlightenment going!
 
Took shoes off mine I think it's a month now .i bought him in August he had had sore feet which was affecting his work and overreached all the the time was kept permanently in OR boots when not in the stable.
He's just turned six and did a fair bit of growing starting around December time, my farrier was not doing a great job with him but he was very nail sick and feet where chipping more and more so its difficult to do a great job in those circumstance toes where getting longer and longer and heel more and more under run .
I had big plans for the summer but snapped and decided to make an investment in his future and give up my summer plans.
I removed the shoes he was very sore he's now happy on concrete Tarmac and surfaces and grass but sore on stoney tracks he's still being just lead out in hand does about half a k a day .
The feet have shorten a lot still look a mess but I see the first signs of improvement now . In one perhaps two weeks I will start gentle lunging in the school and take it from there.
He's been on a BF type diet since november time and is stabled during the day hopefully I should see benefits soon I am aiming to be riding ( will have boots and will need them I think ) by the end July .
Not the summer I planned but he's a keeper so it does not matter.
 
Goldenstar said:
Took shoes off mine I think it's a month now .i bought him in August he had had sore feet which was affecting his work and overreached all the the time was kept permanently in OR boots when not in the stable.
He's just turned six and did a fair bit of growing starting around December time, my farrier was not doing a great job with him but he was very nail sick and feet where chipping more and more so its difficult to do a great job in those circumstance toes where getting longer and longer and heel more and more under run .
I had big plans for the summer but snapped and decided to make an investment in his future and give up my summer plans.
I removed the shoes he was very sore he's now happy on concrete Tarmac and surfaces and grass but sore on stoney tracks he's still being just lead out in hand does about half a k a day .
The feet have shorten a lot still look a mess but I see the first signs of improvement now . In one perhaps two weeks I will start gentle lunging in the school and take it from there.
He's been on a BF type diet since november time and is stabled during the day hopefully I should see benefits soon I am aiming to be riding ( will have boots and will need them I think ) by the end July .
Not the summer I planned but he's a keeper so it does not matter.
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well done you
 
I have 3 and they're all very different.
17yo Tb mare is blessed with the mother of all metabolic systems, can eat anything and still be rock crunching, is barefoot because she refused to be shod (with previous owner).
12yo Tb gelding is the total opposite end of the spectrum, soaked hay, minimum grass no sugar allowed and can still be difficult to keep comfortable over rough ground, had navicular and currently has ulcers, he's a real sickly child.
4yo Tb mare has always been fine but this year is a bit footy which I think is a combination of her growth slowing down so less nutrition used for that and the grass at our yard is ridiculous, far too lush for them really. She does have pretty decent feet though considering she doesn't do any work.
 
I have one, took backs off September fronts off dec, was really footy for few days after a month no probs, still barefoot hack out up to 2 hours a week jump etc no probs farrier says he has Fab feet! So glad I took shoes off.
 
I have one to, he's 24 now.
Took his shoes off six years ago now after diagnosed with navicular and then eight years of remedial farriery etc.
So he was 18 when shoes came off, took a good six months to rehab but was hacking out mostly with boots but graduating to without and whole hoof transformed completely by now.
Moved to a yard with knee deep lush grass next to a river and had problems from thereon.
He's very metabolically challenged and needs to be permanently off grass really but difficulty when you are on livery yards and you don't have the support of the owners so he's a field ornament now and struggling with the new grass coming now it's started raining.
Don't let my story put you off - I would advise anyone with a TB or any other breed to try barefoot, it doesn't have to be a problem and usually is straightforward if you do your homework and have the right diet.
 
We have 2 - one has great feet but the other has very flat feet and needs boots on stony ground. They are going on a fun ride tomorrow which is all grass, so there won't be any nasty surprises ;)

Our 3rd horse (ex racer) was barefoot before I got him, previous owner shod him when he was for sale and I've kept him shod for the past year I've had him. However he's just had his shoes removed for an operation and we're going to try him barefoot too.
 
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