Barefoot transition help please? (lots of threads - but I can't find what I want!)

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WinniethePoo

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Ok, 15 yr old Arab cross, great feet - rubbish conformation. Always been shod, he has only had fronts on for the last three months. I used a new, highly recommended farrier that says that he would actually benefit from barefoot. His action is toe in on one side, toe down first, very araby and floaty - but he has had tripping problems in the past and does seem to have breakover problems. We are happy hackers only. His feet are quite upright and narrow, although measuring for boots gives me a same size round as long. Shoes came off yesterday and this morning he flatly refused to walk on the concrete of the yard (he is a bit of a drama queen!) Tonight he is happily charging about, no problems with the yard, and seems to be placing his feet much better, and lifting them higher. He is a good doer and our grazing is not lush, but adequate, and he gets ad lib hay, out 24/7 with the option of a bedded down stable if he chooses to go in - which he does quite often for a snooze.
My questions are:
1. Boots - I will need to use them I think, initially,for hacking, but which ones? Bearing in mind his turn in, I don't want to exacerbate the tripping problem
2. I've changed his feed in anticipation of this a month ago - high fibre no sugar (although he does have an Extra Strong Mint addiction that is kept under control!) he is on Top Spec lite chop and lite balancer - is this good or bad?
3. What can I do to help him and keep him comfortable? He has had back problems in the past so I'm concerned that any ouch ouchy will result in him tensing his back - he hasn't been over keen on stoney tracks since his backs came off in November - but he really doesn't make a big deal over it.
Any advice, help or criticism would be appreciated, sorry for the essay - wine for all that make it this far (bearing in mind it's Friday, Lol!)
 
If hes charging about fine now I wouldnt panic on the boots front. Dont expect to be trotting hour long hacks on roads any time soon, but slowly increase his exposure to different surfaces.

Dont forget his brain needs chance to adjust to! If you do go for boots i like the easy boot gloves for being the most streamlined and least clumpy.

I dont like topspec or naf or any of those tbh, when you start reading the ingredients list it gets worrying. Keep everything simple as possible :) I feed a handful of readigrass, pro hoof and micronised linseed.
 
Hi There,

you have loads of questions which is great, have you googled "Barefoot South" there is a blog which is a huge vat of resources and really helpful for newbies. The trimmer covers your area.

He was probably funny on his feet immediately when the shoes came off as most are...this is due to the feeling coming back into their feet....not much blood circulation in shod feet. (Think pins and needles).

Have may or may not need boots, depending on how quickly you are desperate to get going on stoney tracks.

When horses first come out of shoes they tend to have very thin soles and therefore stoney tracks can cause damage and hurt. Take things slow on all surfaces intially, and only trot and canter on sand/menage surface and lush grass. Walk on stoney tracks until the soles improve.

The diet could be improved...ideally soak your hay, watch the grass like a hawk...any sign of cresty-ness of grass belly and you need to take action (muzzle/resrict grazing). A better option to the feed would be speedibeet, pink powder and cal mag. Add charcoal "Happy Tummy" and yea-sacc which grass is high or horse gassy (grassy belly). For more energy /working horses Micronised linseed is fab.

Good luck,

Laura
 
TigerTail said:
If hes charging about fine now I wouldnt panic on the boots front. Dont expect to be trotting hour long hacks on roads any time soon, but slowly increase his exposure to different surfaces.

Dont forget his brain needs chance to adjust to! If you do go for boots i like the easy boot gloves for being the most streamlined and least clumpy.

I dont like topspec or naf or any of those tbh, when you start reading the ingredients list it gets worrying. Keep everything simple as possible :) I feed a handful of readigrass, pro hoof and micronised linseed.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tiger Tail, I'm now off to read ingredients lists and have a glass of said wine (medicinal only of course - it's to stop me anticipating problems, Lol!)
 
Marley&Me said:
Hi There,

you have loads of questions which is great, have you googled "Barefoot South" there is a blog which is a huge vat of resources and really helpful for newbies. The trimmer covers your area.

He was probably funny on his feet immediately when the shoes came off as most are...this is due to the feeling coming back into their feet....not much blood circulation in shod feet. (Think pins and needles).

Have may or may not need boots, depending on how quickly you are desperate to get going on stoney tracks.

When horses first come out of shoes they tend to have very thin soles and therefore stoney tracks can cause damage and hurt. Take things slow on all surfaces intially, and only trot and canter on sand/menage surface and lush grass. Walk on stoney tracks until the soles improve.

The diet could be improved...ideally soak your hay, watch the grass like a hawk...any sign of cresty-ness of grass belly and you need to take action (muzzle/resrict grazing). A better option to the feed would be speedibeet, pink powder and cal mag. Add charcoal "Happy Tummy" and yea-sacc which grass is high or horse gassy (grassy belly). For more energy /working horses Micronised linseed is fab.

Good luck,

Laura
Click to expand...
Thanks, Laura, his hay is normally soaked (we just stopped when it was icy recently). That has given me more to think about, and I'll have a look at Barefoot South too. I am lucky in that I do have the option of avoiding stoney tracks or tarmac initially, it restricts us a bit, but it is doable.
 
WinniethePoo said:
Ok, 15 yr old Arab cross, great feet - rubbish conformation. Always been shod, he has only had fronts on for the last three months. I used a new, highly recommended farrier that says that he would actually benefit from barefoot. His action is toe in on one side, toe down first, very araby and floaty - but he has had tripping problems in the past and does seem to have breakover problems. We are happy hackers only. His feet are quite upright and narrow, although measuring for boots gives me a same size round as long. Shoes came off yesterday and this morning he flatly refused to walk on the concrete of the yard (he is a bit of a drama queen!) Tonight he is happily charging about, no problems with the yard, and seems to be placing his feet much better, and lifting them higher. He is a good doer and our grazing is not lush, but adequate, and he gets ad lib hay, out 24/7 with the option of a bedded down stable if he chooses to go in - which he does quite often for a snooze.
My questions are:
1. Boots - I will need to use them I think, initially,for hacking, but which ones? Bearing in mind his turn in, I don't want to exacerbate the tripping problem
2. I've changed his feed in anticipation of this a month ago - high fibre no sugar (although he does have an Extra Strong Mint addiction that is kept under control!) he is on Top Spec lite chop and lite balancer - is this good or bad?
3. What can I do to help him and keep him comfortable? He has had back problems in the past so I'm concerned that any ouch ouchy will result in him tensing his back - he hasn't been over keen on stoney tracks since his backs came off in November - but he really doesn't make a big deal over it.
Any advice, help or criticism would be appreciated, sorry for the essay - wine for all that make it this far (bearing in mind it's Friday, Lol!)
Click to expand...

If he is happy and remains happy - then the diet is fine.

If you get to a couple if months in and he is still gimping - then the diet is not fine.

Come back to us then and we'll try and help.

Now he may be charging around and feeling good right now - but be warned, he may go dog lame in 1 - 2 weeks if he overdoes it now. Don't panic about it - but be prepared for it.

He's had fronts on for a long time and his hooves will probably be weak and soles thin. You need to make sure the coffin bone is protected while his soles are thickening up with ground stimulation.

That's where boots are helpful.

The mud in the field will provide a natural pad system when his hoof sinks into it. So if he's comfy then great. But if he needs to go on hard ground or stony ground, then he may need boots until he 'fixes' his feet (develops the back and lays more tissue on the bottom). He may not need help. He may be fine. But I would rather over protect the hooves at this point than not.

Main point is - take it slow;)

Have a look at the EasyCare website and chat to this lady http://www.facebook.com/lucynicholas75

Endurance peeps like the Easyboot Glove, but I know Cavellos are popular as they are easy to fit.
 
Oberon said:
If he is happy and remains happy - then the diet is fine.

If you get to a couple if months in and he is still gimping - then the diet is not fine.

Come back to us then and we'll try and help.

Now he may be charging around and feeling good right now - but be warned, he may go dog lame in 1 - 2 weeks if he overdoes it now. Don't panic about it - but be prepared for it.

He's had fronts on for a long time and his hooves will probably be weak and soles thin. You need to make sure the coffin bone is protected while his soles are thickening up with ground stimulation.

That's where boots are helpful.

The mud in the field will provide a natural pad system when his hoof sinks into it. So if he's comfy then great. But if he needs to go on hard ground or stony ground, then he may need boots until he 'fixes' his feet (develops the back and lays more tissue on the bottom). He may not need help. He may be fine. But I would rather over protect the hooves at this point than not.

Main point is - take it slow;)

Have a look at the EasyCare website and chat to this lady http://www.facebook.com/lucynicholas75

Endurance peeps like the Easyboot Glove, but I know Cavellos are popular as they are easy to fit.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Oberon, slow is the plan, and I do want to prevent as many problems as I can, which is why I will go down the boot route. I have looked at the Easyboot Trial, mainly because they seem to be simple and quite accommodating - but I have concerns about the thickness of them at the sides bearing in mind he does go quite close at the front. The farrier was impressed with the general look of his feet, they are quite hard and neat with a very concave sole - but rather wimpy frogs - so we will see. I'm going to start on short walks on varying ground and see how it goes.
He's 15 hh and although finely built, he's compact, I'm just over 8 stone so I'm sure I won't weigh him down too much. The good thing is that he is very sensible generally so walking shouldn't be a problem.
However, I will bear in mind what you've said about him doing too much at this stage.
Thanks again for the advice - I'm feeling a bit calmer about it all now!
 
Hi
On the boots front I have one horse with wide as long feet and one tha´s quite pigeon toed so if it helps...

- I found that boas fitted my round hooved boy quite well and they do some up second hand on ebay/preloved quite a lot. I only paid 35pounds for mine and they were as good as new. Good thing because I´ve hardly had to use them!

- I have gloves for my pigeon toed mare which stay on great in walk and trot but nearly always flick off in canter. They´re nsupposed to be really snug but because of the strange shape of her hoof wall there´s a gape on the inside, even with the powerstraps. I keep meaning to try something else for her but because the gloved come on and off so easily I just tend to take them off if we´re going for a canter. She doesn´t really wear them much now anyway but I hang them on her breastplate if we´re going for a long one so I ca pop them on if I think she´s had enough! I do get some strange looks!
 
Shoes off yesterday, the best advice right now is Give Him Time to adjust. Don't make any big decisions for 2 weeks, just let him adjust without riding or putting him on any surfaces he finds uncomfortable and see how he is.
 
Hi all of you that gave me such good advice two weeks ago :D
My boy has totally stunned me by coping brilliantly barefoot - in fact - he's going better than he ever did shod. Ok, I will admit that if he stands on a large stone he does ouch a bit - but other than that - which has only happened once over the last two weeks - he's going great guns.
He's been on as many varied surfaces as I can find - and his feet are looking fine. He isn't down to the nail holes quite yet - but hooves are looking good. I've been scrubbing the frogs and soles with Milton to keep any thrush at bay - he did have a slight case of thrush on one back foot. And I've been using Kevin Bacon on the outsides everyday.
I know we have a way to go - but have to say that I'm thrilled with his tootsies (I have a sneaking suspicion that he is doing so well because I bought Easyboot Trails for him at great expense - tried them on - and he really wasn't that impressed!)
So, thank you peeps, your advice was much appreciated - hope I don't bore you all stupid with my updates!
:o
 
WinniethePoo said:
Hi all of you that gave me such good advice two weeks ago :D
My boy has totally stunned me by coping brilliantly barefoot - in fact - he's going better than he ever did shod. Ok, I will admit that if he stands on a large stone he does ouch a bit - but other than that - which has only happened once over the last two weeks - he's going great guns.
He's been on as many varied surfaces as I can find - and his feet are looking fine. He isn't down to the nail holes quite yet - but hooves are looking good. I've been scrubbing the frogs and soles with Milton to keep any thrush at bay - he did have a slight case of thrush on one back foot. And I've been using Kevin Bacon on the outsides everyday.
I know we have a way to go - but have to say that I'm thrilled with his tootsies (I have a sneaking suspicion that he is doing so well because I bought Easyboot Trails for him at great expense - tried them on - and he really wasn't that impressed!)
So, thank you peeps, your advice was much appreciated - hope I don't bore you all stupid with my updates!
:o
Click to expand...

Excellent.

Just go easy on the Kevin Bacon - lotions tend to clog up the periople and cause a bacteria trap and a moisture trap.

Plain old water is all most of us use (plenty of that around anyway;))
 
WinniethePoo said:
Thanks, Laura, his hay is normally soaked (we just stopped when it was icy recently). That has given me more to think about, and I'll have a look at Barefoot South too. I am lucky in that I do have the option of avoiding stoney tracks or tarmac initially, it restricts us a bit, but it is doable.
Click to expand...
I found tarmac was fine as long as no sharp loose gravel, in fact ideal, I started out with 20 mins in hand then 20 mins ridden and built up to as long as I wanted, to me it is ideal, smooth and slightly abrasive, not as hard or as abrasive as concrete.
 
I have a mixed batch of equines who are all unshod.
1. A 21 year old Arab who was shod for several years. She has a bad box foot and shoes were always a problem due to this foot. She was ill about 4 years ago, and needed to be rested, so had her shoes taken off and they have never been back on. The box foot which used to cause a problem, is obviously still boxy but is now no longer an issue. She is never lame or unsound and copes with any surface.
2. 17 year old Welsh Section D. Has huge dinner plates for feet, not terribly good quality horn and feet have never grown much. Never been shod in his life, rides and drives and has never been lame.
3. A 6 year old New Forest. Never been shod, ridden every day (weather permitting) on all surfaces, has feet like concrete, sounds like hes shod when doing roadwork, in fact feet havent even needed trimming for months.
4. 3 Shetlands, mostly as pets, although one is driven. Never been shod, one hasnt been trimmed professionally ever, and hasnt needed it, one who needs the occasional trim.
None of these have any special diet although they do have plenty of good quality hay, and have oil added to their feeds. They also have large stables with concrete floors and the stable yard is also large and concrete, together with a concrete hard stand at the field gate, so Im fairly sure all this helps them to self wear their feet.
Obviously some breeds, stable management regimes and equine disciplines are less suited to barefoot, but unless i get a problem develop, im staying shoeless
 
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