Barefoot? When SHOULD you shoe

[cptrayes]

Providing the horse isn't sore and there is a rim of hoofwall around the sole then it's fine.

Cluck can we define what you mean by "rim" because one word can mean something different to different people?

All my hard-working barefoot horses have a "ring" of hoof wall, but not a "rim" in the sense of the hoof wall being higher than the sole callous. At the toe, the callous is higher than the hoof wall, and if it isn't then I rasp it so that it is (a toe bevel). At the sides and in the seat of corn, the hoof wall is perhaps a couple of millimetres in height (at most). I have seen the same lack of hoof wall height in all the really hard working and self-trimming horses I have come across.

In my experience it is positively dangerous to have a hoof wall which is long enough to take the frog out of contact with the ground. The three barefoot horses which I know of who developed navicular spectrum lameness were all like this. (On the other hand some of the soundest and easiest to adapt barefoot horses I have seen had stilts for feet when shod, severely contracted heels and tiny shrunken frogs nowhere near the floor - and those feet are extremely difficult ever to get a weight bearing frog with)

 

[Cluck]

Cluck can we define what you mean by "rim" because one word can mean something different to different people?

All my hard-working barefoot horses have a "ring" of hoof wall, but not a "rim" in the sense of the hoof wall being higher than the sole callous. At the toe, the callous is higher than the hoof wall, and if it isn't then I rasp it so that it is (a toe bevel). At the sides and in the seat of corn, the hoof wall is perhaps a couple of millimetres in height (at most). I have seen the same lack of hoof wall height in all the really hard working and self-trimming horses I have come across.

In my experience it is positively dangerous to have a hoof wall which is long enough to take the frog out of contact with the ground. The three barefoot horses which I know of who developed navicular spectrum lameness were all like this. (On the other hand some of the soundest and easiest to adapt barefoot horses I have seen had stilts for feet when shod, severely contracted heels and tiny shrunken frogs nowhere near the floor - and those feet are extremely difficult ever to get a weight bearing frog with)

Oooh yes what fun. I love talking barefoot.

By rim of hoofwall I actually do mean hoofwall slightly raised above the sole by 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch depending on what the horse needs. This is approximately the same amount as you are talking about. I absolutely agree; the frog has to contact the ground, although sometimes the frog can take too much load if the digital cushion is not allowed to develop as well.

Some horses need a little more hoofwall if they haven't transitioned enough and developed sufficient digital cushion, sole depth and callous to deal with that much loading of the sole.

I also find that it's best to aid in breakover with a good bevel at the toe. My horses tend to do that themselves anyway and I just neaten it up and rebalance.

There is some research coming out of Australia

http://www.wildhorseresearch.com/

which suggests that a really strong bevel or mustang roll all the way around the hoof is perhaps not ideal because the outer hoofwall tubules are designed to be loaded as much as or more than the more moist and less hard inner hoofwall tubules.

The trimmers I work with here no longer do the older style Jaime Jackson trim and heavy mustang roll. Actually before the research came out, but that's another story.

Is this as clear as mud?

It's very interesting to compare views of barefoot across the pond.

 

[Oberon]

I have heard recently that a mustang roll is perhaps not required.

We did have a trimmer who did not do them and the other liveries were convinced the horses were tripping and cracking without it, so they sacked the trimmer.

I don't know if it was needed or not, but owners now seem fixated on it.

 

[Cocorules]

Is there anywhere which explains the ideal nutrional balance for a barefoot pony? (Book or internet)

I now for the first time have great access to off road riding and have two 3 year olds who I'm keen to keep barefoot, but I do not understand the nutritional side of things well enough. Many years ago the local riding school I went to kept all its ponies barefoot and they all did absolutely brilliantly with it, but the grass was never too much and they were simply fed hay and all sorts of root vegetables on top. That would have been done without understanding of the nutritional side. I am keen to learn more.

 

[Cluck]

Is there anywhere which explains the ideal nutrional balance for a barefoot pony? (Book or internet)

I now for the first time have great access to off road riding and have two 3 year olds who I'm keen to keep barefoot, but I do not understand the nutritional side of things well enough. Many years ago the local riding school I went to kept all its ponies barefoot and they all did absolutely brilliantly with it, but the grass was never too much and they were simply fed hay and all sorts of root vegetables on top. That would have been done without understanding of the nutritional side. I am keen to learn more.

There are literally hundreds of websites on horse nutrition but steer clear of those advertising some kind of product.

This is the best one that I know of:

http://www.safergrass.org/

and this one is useful to:

http://www.performancebarefoot.co.uk/

There is nothing special about feeding a barefoot horse, except that shortcomings in their nutrition will just be much more obvious because the discomfort in their feet will be immediately apparent rather than being masked by shoes.

The main factor is to keep sugars low and that can be difficult if the horses are on lush pasture and some of the richer hay substitutes which seem very common in England.

I like to supplement minerals that the horse needs for good hoof growth and sugar metabolism. The main ones are copper, zinc, magnesium oxide and chromium. Ideally, mineral supplements will depend upon your soil and hay analysis.

My horses get no grain but are supplemented with the above minerals. They get 1.5 to 2% of their body weight in grass hay per day depending on the season. More in winter when it's cold and less in summer when they have some (but not much) access to fresh grass. This works out at 15-22lbs per horse. I feed this in small mesh haynets (hung at ground level) to make it last longer, slow down their eating and reduce waste.

There are many roads to Rome though and I hope others will share their feeding methods.