Barefoot trial, foot sore horse, what should I do?

[JennBags]

My horse had his shoes off last summer as I wasn't riding, have just started again and he's been back in work about a week. His feet look good but my friend rode today and she thought he was rather foot sore. Now I'm not sure what I should do, she has suggested hoof boots but should I stop riding in the meantime? We have a fair amount of road work so I can't even stay on grass tracks.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would try hoofboots, if you think he is genuinely sore.

 

[ycbm]

Boots shouldn't take that long to arrive, the delivery system seems to be getting better. I would restrict riding to smooth or soft surface meanwhile.

 

[ycbm]

I love Renegades but they are fiddly to set up. Lots of people swear by Scoot. Hoofbootique.co.uk is great on advice.

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[JennBags]

Thanks both. I thought that would be the answer.

 

[DabDab]

Walking on tarmac is usually ok for bare feet, even in the early days of transition, so I wouldn't personally stop road exercise unless he is very obviously uncomfortable. Hoof boots definitely the way forward. Since he's been out of shoes a while you should be able to get something that fits well without worrying that his feet are going to change shape in a couple of months.

 

[ycbm]

JB spring footiness is common, do you have him on a low sugar diet and a 'barefoot' balancer, plus yeast if the balancer doesn't have it? I'd recommend it.

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[Gloi]

You may find that you only need boots for the front feet so try that first before buying them for all round.

 

[TPO]

I find this website really helpful, especially the blog posts.

https://hoofgeek.com

The blogs cover transitioning, conditioning, boots and pads in a really easy to read way that's interesting and informative.

 

[ester]

Frank was footy on tarmac after a few weeks without shoes- similar sort of time of year, he wore boots (front only) for all non-grass work for approx 6 months. We had easyboot gloves and unusually stayed in the same size forever.
I don't know what it's like where you are but the ground is rock hard here for the time of year too.

 

[JennBags]

Walking on tarmac is usually ok for bare feet, even in the early days of transition, so I wouldn't personally stop road exercise unless he is very obviously uncomfortable. Hoof boots definitely the way forward. Since he's been out of shoes a while you should be able to get something that fits well without worrying that his feet are going to change shape in a couple of months.

Ok thanks, I might take him for a wander in the morning then so I can see how he is.

JB spring footiness is common, do you have him on a low sugar diet and a 'barefoot' balancer, plus yeast if the balancer doesn't have it? I'd recommend it.
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Erm...no, gone into this completely without any particular thought. Had to start riding him again as he got too fat. He's only fed a bit of chaff and a handful of nuts, I also add a balancer and some salt. Any particular balancer you'd recommend?

You may find that you only need boots for the front feet so try that first before buying them for all round.

Good plan, thanks.

I find this website really helpful, especially the blog posts.

https://hoofgeek.com

The blogs cover transitioning, conditioning, boots and pads in a really easy to read way that's interesting and informative.

I will look at that, thanks

Frank was footy on tarmac after a few weeks without shoes- similar sort of time of year, he wore boots (front only) for all non-grass work for approx 6 months. We had easyboot gloves and unusually stayed in the same size forever.
I don't know what it's like where you are but the ground is rock hard here for the time of year too.

Rock hard and then some! We haven't had any rain for weeks, and when I look at the forecast it seems to just pass us by every day.

 

[ycbm]

Any balancer with high copper and zinc and no iron or manganese, which limits you to three, I think. Equimins, Progressive Earth and Forageplus.

All high copper/zinc no iron/,manganese, all online. Equimins Complete seems to be most recommended these days. It has yea-sacc in it, no need to add yeast.

Lots of people get a great result with adjusting copper and iron balance with one of the 'barefoot' balancers.

ETA Ester says Equivita also does one, so that makes 4, see below.


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[ester]

I use equimins but the magnesium is low for our set up so he gets extra. forageplus didn't used to do a pellet so have never had a need to try it.
There is equivita as well on that list I think ycbm.

JB we were lucky really the year we did it was a very wet one!

If you go the boots route, presuming all retailers are still functional if you take photos of the tape measure for width and length that can help people advise for best fit/allow for measuring discrepancies.

 

[Kat]

Loads of brilliant advice above.

It is a tough time of year for barefooters. Mine hunts barefoot but is a bit tentative on our stony track at the moment. We have gone from really wet to really dry virtually overnight just as the grass is coming through. Give him a chance.

I have a pair of cavallo boots that I use as and when required. Just on the fronts.

Only thing I would add to the advice you already have is to treat for thrush. The very wet winter has been a problem for many and thrush can make a horse sore before it gets to the obviously smelly stage. Try some red horse field paste, it won't hurt but may make him much more comfortable.

 

[hobo]

I am a shoe him again person even if it is just fronts at first, barefoot does not suit all animals and it is only April and the ground is already like concrete.

 

[ester]

Fwiw after those first 6 months in boots (was lame when we started) F did another 5 years bare, including hunting. Only time I booted was on our new forest trip because I didn't know what the tracks would be like. Still bare now, just dossing.

 

[ycbm]

I am a shoe him again person even if it is just fronts at first, barefoot does not suit all animals and it is only April and the ground is already like concrete.

I would not hesitate to shoe if the diet had already been adjusted and the horse had been given time to get used to the ground, with use of hoof boots where necessary, and it was uncomfortable in the field.

Boots are a great option these days for those who only 'need' shoes to be hacked out.

I have a TB who needed hoof boots last year having come out of shoes in January. If he had been shod then, I would never have known that this year he is rock crunching.

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[Honey08]

Why is iron bad? We have a lot of iron in our water/ground..

 

[Pinkvboots]

Both of mine are feeling the stones at the moment one is back in boots for hacking but they are both fine on the road and in the school without, the unfortunate thing for me is most tracks out of my house are really hard with huge stones and most horses would struggle on them barefoot.

 

[Gloi]

Why is iron bad? We have a lot of iron in our water/ground..

The simple answer is amongst other things supplemental iron can decrease zinc and copper uptake from the diet and over time can lead to deficiency and other health problems such as poor coat and hoof quality.

good article here
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/10/31/10-reasons-avoid-iron-horses-diet/

 

[ycbm]

Why is iron bad? We have a lot of iron in our water/ground..

It latches on to the receptor sites for copper and the horse becomes copper deficient, usually not in any very noticeable way. Copper is important for insulin regulation of blood sugars and wonky blood sugar levels go straight for the feet. There's a scientific article on Forageplus if you want the detail.

Manganese does the same. My water supply is sky high in both. Our garage looks like a plant room with all the stuff that's in there to strip it out!

Quite often anaemic horses need copper, not iron.

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[Pinkvboots]

Any balancer with high copper and zinc and no iron or manganese, which limits you to three, I think. Equimins, Progressive Earth and Forageplus.

All high copper/zinc no iron/,manganese, all online. Equimins Complete seems to be most recommended these days. It has yea-sacc in it, no need to add yeast.

Lots of people get a great result with adjusting copper and iron balance with one of the 'barefoot' balancers.

ETA Ester says Equivita also does one, so that makes 4, see below.


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I didn't know that I will try that thank you they already get mag oz, salt and msm and one gets tumeric as his got arthritis, it wouldn't be doubling up on anything would it?

 

[ycbm]

I didn't know that I will try that thank you they already get mag oz, salt and msm and one gets tumeric as his got arthritis, it wouldn't be doubling up on anything would it?

Mag ox is in it, though possibly not enough and too much is no problem you will just see cloudy wee. The others are fine, I think.

 

[ycbm]

The simple answer is amongst other things supplemental iron can decrease zinc and copper uptake from the diet and over time can lead to deficiency and other health problems such as poor coat and hoof quality.

good article here
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/10/31/10-reasons-avoid-iron-horses-diet/

It's not just supplemental iron. Most grazing in the UK is overloaded with iron, which means that most horses in the UK would be better off given additional copper, and zinc to balance the copper.

I feed copper sulphate and zinc oxide because it's much cheaper, but most people find the premixed balancers easier and less worry about getting things right.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Mag ox is in it, though possibly not enough and too much is no problem you will just see cloudy wee. The others are fine, I think.

Right ok thank you I will just add a bit as I get it so cheap it's worth it.

 

[Gingerwitch]

Hoof Boutique is a wealth of information and i learnt a lot, I use equine fusion which are really easy to fit and scoot boots which again are really easy to fit. I am not so keen on the Easyboots, as they are a struggle to fit, although they do get easier.

My tb only needs front boots for the vast majority of the year, its only when the ground is rock hard or we are on stoney ground I put his back boots on. Note the foot needs to be off the floor when you measure, at first I could not work out why the measure was different between off the floor and then if i drew around the hoof on the floor. Simple the foot expands when it has its weight on it. The foot drawing did help with the first off fit for boots as whilst their are fit kits available for some of the boots, it is not available for all and will give Liz an idea of the shape of the hoof.

 

[Honey08]

It's not just supplemental iron. Most grazing in the UK is overloaded with iron, which means that most horses in the UK would be better off given additional copper, and zinc to balance the copper.

I feed copper sulphate and zinc oxide because it's much cheaper, but most people find the premixed balancers easier and less worry about getting things right.

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Very interesting. I feed a low cal balancer (top spec). Do you think I’d need more copper and zinc or do you think there’s enough in that? They have water from a stream/borehole that has a lot of iron, on top of the grass..

 

[HBB]

All great advice given so far regarding transition to barefoot and diet. My preferred supplement is Equivita Ultra.

How long has he been out of work for? If it has been a long period, it might simply be a case of adjusting feed and start a suitable fitness program to build/strengthen muscle and condition his hooves to difference surfaces.

 

[ycbm]

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Very interesting. I feed a low cal balancer (top spec). Do you think I’d need more copper and zinc or do you think there’s enough in that? They have water from a stream/borehole that has a lot of iron, on top of the grass..

It's worse than that I think. I suspect your balancer has added iron and manganese. I would not personally feed any balancer but one of the four listed above, which all contain much higher levels of copper and zinc and no iron or manganese.

If your borehole water, like ours, is full of iron then your grazing almost certainly is too. I would strongly recommend you either switch to a barefoot balancer or top up very significant levels of copper (usually about 400mg a day) and zinc ( ditto but 1200mg a day).

Incidentally Top Spec balancers have, anecdotally, a very poor record for footie barefoot horses.

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[JennBags]

All great advice given so far regarding transition to barefoot and diet. My preferred supplement is Equivita Ultra.

How long has he been out of work for? If it has been a long period, it might simply be a case of adjusting feed and start a suitable fitness program to build/strengthen muscle and condition his hooves to difference surfaces.

He's been off since July last year.
Unfortunately I didn't get to ride this morning, maybe tomorrow instead.