berefoot shoeing do you agree or disagree???

Jericho said:
I feel a bit sorry for op if genuine but........

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha very funny replies.

In all seriousness ( and I am sure this has been discussed before) but how much of the training a farrier does is about diet, non shoe wearing horses, does it look at the hoof and how it contracts and the restriction of blood flow I.e some of the more recent research in slow motion. How up to date is the farrier training, does it adapt beyond the traditional? A genuine question as I have no idea what the training involves. I did 3 months doing a management accounting module as part of my psychology and management degree - a management accountant that does not make me! If a farrier only spends a small proportion of time studying barefoot performance and trimming then maybe there is some comparison with trimmers....I am sure someone with more knowledge will know more and correct me!

I love the fact that barefoot debates are so hotly 'discussed' it always makes a good read / giggle. I for one have learnt a lot about hooves, diet and conformation since barefoot has become more popular regardless of whether my horse wears shoes or not.
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I get what you are saying, but just to turn it around Nutritionists study for years - do barefoot trimmers?

Farriers study the mechanics of the foot and, whilst I agree that it would do them no harm to spend part of their module on nutrition, it would still not make them nutritionists.
 
Beausmate said:
Is it advisable for the farrier to have a tray full of pea gravel to stand on while shoeing?
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Absolutely, and I will provide one for my farrier forthwith. He has already lost three toes on one foot (frostbite) and two on the other (horse jumped on him), I feel I should now also offer a Carlsberg in the interests of tradition :)
 
YorksG said:
So do I now have to ask my farrier to remove his boots and socks to shoe my horses? Or does he only have to take his boots and socks off to trim the one without shoes? Does he put them back on to shoe the one who is shod all round? Does he wear one boot and one sock to do the mare who only has shoes on the front, or does he wear boots and no socks, or just socks for that one?
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Oooer what a quandary :confused:

Perhaps you should just go with the tray of pea gravel and a Carlsberg :)
 
YorksG said:
So do I now have to ask my farrier to remove his boots and socks to shoe my horses? Or does he only have to take his boots and socks off to trim the one without shoes? Does he put them back on to shoe the one who is shod all round? Does he wear one boot and one sock to do the mare who only has shoes on the front, or does he wear boots and no socks, or just socks for that one?
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The rules as I see them,

4 shoes = farrier with nothing on feet - legwarmers are allowed - pea gravel tray available if required

2 shoes = Again, farrier with nothing on feet, only one legwarmer allowed - pea gravel tray (1/2 full) available if required

Trim - Farrier wears shoes (not flip flops), socks and leg warmers - no pea tray allowed

AND - only babies can be put up chimneys during the process. NOT infants.

I need a carlsberg now
 
Amaranta said:
I get what you are saying, but just to turn it around Nutritionists study for years - do barefoot trimmers?

Farriers study the mechanics of the foot and, whilst I agree that it would do them no harm to spend part of their module on nutrition, it would still not make them nutritionists.
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I would also go as far as to say I would not take feeding advice off a vet, apparently they don't need anything except grass in summer even though they have been desperately ill and look dull in coat and in demeanour.
One article by Professor no name" advised feeding sugar beet nuts dry, totally contrary to manufacturers advice, and all known "common knowledge"
 
Miss L Toe said:
I would also go as far as to say I would not take feeding advice off a vet, apparently they don't need anything except grass in summer even though they have been desperately ill and look dull in coat and in demeanour.
One article by Professor no name" advised feeding sugar beet nuts dry, totally contrary to manufacturers advice, and all known "common knowledge"
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Completely and utterly agree, this is one of my bugbears, because the vet (who does 6 days on nutrition btw) says something, people take it as gospel!
 
guido16 said:
The rules as I see them,

4 shoes = farrier with nothing on feet - legwarmers are allowed - pea gravel tray available if required

2 shoes = Again, farrier with nothing on feet, only one legwarmer allowed - pea gravel tray (1/2 full) available if required

Trim - Farrier wears shoes (not flip flops), socks and leg warmers - no pea tray allowed

AND - only babies can be put up chimneys during the process. NOT infants.

I need a carlsberg now
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Now I am confused, I have just sorted out the full tray of pea gravel and a Carlsberg but my horses are unshod, so the pea tray is not allowed? Does the farrier have to wear shoes and why?
 
I do have to pull you up on one thing guido, hobbit children are for cleaning chimneys. This is the original reason Tolkien had them patented & for his subsequent appearance on dragons den. The whole saving middle earth thing was a charity sponsored rehabilitation scheme for off the chimneys hobbits who had previously been discarded.
 
Amaranta said:
Oooer what a quandary :confused:

Perhaps you should just go with the tray of pea gravel and a Carlsberg :)
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guido16 said:
The rules as I see them,

4 shoes = farrier with nothing on feet - legwarmers are allowed - pea gravel tray available if required

2 shoes = Again, farrier with nothing on feet, only one legwarmer allowed - pea gravel tray (1/2 full) available if required

Trim - Farrier wears shoes (not flip flops), socks and leg warmers - no pea tray allowed

AND - only babies can be put up chimneys during the process. NOT infants.

I need a carlsberg now
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Does he get the Carlsberg before or after he does the job?
Do I have to provide the leg warmers as well as the pea gravel, how often should one change the pea gravel?
Do I just have to provide the electricty point for the angle grinder, or do have to let him use the one my Dad bought me for my birthday (that bit is actually true, my Dad did buy me one for my birthday :D )?
Does the colour of the leg warmers matter?
How many babies can I stuff up the chimney?
 
YorksG said:
Does he get the Carlsberg before or after he does the job?
Do I have to provide the leg warmers as well as the pea gravel, how often should one change the pea gravel?
Do I just have to provide the electricty point for the angle grinder, or do have to let him use the one my Dad bought me for my birthday (that bit is actually true, my Dad did buy me one for my birthday :D )?
Does the colour of the leg warmers matter?
How many babies can I stuff up the chimney?
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Before AND after, after all berefoot farriers are traditionally drunk.

He will probably bring his own angle grinder.

personally, white/cream leg warmers are more traditional but any colour is allowed - would just like to add that bling is NOT allowed.

I disagree with Guido, I think infants are better because:

a) you only need one (as opposed to 2 or 3)

b) they are more efficient at stopping the smoke escaping and collect more soot


ETA: You should wash to pea gravel (in non bio) after each use
 
This has to be the funniest thread I have read in a long while :D Thanks for the giggle.

Now where did I put that pea gravel...
 
YorksG said:
Does he get the Carlsberg before or after he does the job?
Do I have to provide the leg warmers as well as the pea gravel, how often should one change the pea gravel?
Do I just have to provide the electricty point for the angle grinder, or do have to let him use the one my Dad bought me for my birthday (that bit is actually true, my Dad did buy me one for my birthday :D )?
Does the colour of the leg warmers matter?
How many babies can I stuff up the chimney?
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I dont know any hobbit children, can I buy one somewhere.

Right to clear things up. It is "berefoot shoeing" therefore if no horse shoes involved, the farrier wears shoes.

The carlsberg is for the owner
The farrier provides the leg warmers - He has to ensure the colour matches his outfit..
Owner supplies the pea gravel, should be changed every second visit.
I am the angle grinder trimmer and I bring a belt battery pack - it makes me look like a super hero.
As I said, the farrier will have a full range of leg warmers and owners should not attempt to get involved in this risky fashion subject
I have managed to stuff 7 babies up my chimney, littlelegs will need to provide stats on how many hobbit children she can get up a chimney. Apparently they can wear shoes.

As clear as mud, dont you think?
 
Amaranta said:
Before AND after, after all berefoot farriers are traditionally drunk.

He will probably bring his own angle grinder.

personally, white/cream leg warmers are more traditional but any colour is allowed - would just like to add that bling is NOT allowed.

I disagree with Guido, I think infants are better because:

a) you only need one (as opposed to 2 or 3)

b) they are more efficient at stopping the smoke escaping and collect more soot


ETA: You should wash to pea gravel (in non bio) after each use
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I was told it had to be babies due to new slimmer chimneys. Hobbit children are apparently the traditional ones to use.
 
LucyPriory said:
Sorry guys but let's strive for accuracy here.

Berefoot refers to Beer or Barley foot which came into use pre Saxon era.

Whilst the origin is lost in the mists of time (or alcohol) it is thought to have come about when farm labourers drank too much of the local (and not very good) beer and got gout or similar type problems.

So the local lords realising that sore footed workers were not very productive took to supplying them with shoes. Usually made from from old sack cloth or leather. Sometimes they put iron studs to improve wear and grip, but they tended to find these caused as many problems as they solved.

So there you go - berefoot shoeing

Putting shoes on farm labourers who drank the local sauce rather too often. :-)
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lol lol, are you a retired scriptwriter for "Call My Bluff"? Hilarious!
 
do remember though that although you are concentrating on the foot "conditioning" with the pea gravel etc - you may also need to supply a washing up bowl of water for your poor farrier to stand in if the weather is exceptionally warm and the ground dry (think he is allowed to take the leg warmers off for this but needs to rub the ointment in after !)

remember as well to keep those farriers toe nails down nice and short with your angle grinder - he needs a good break over point.
 
guido16 said:
I was told it had to be babies due to new slimmer chimneys. Hobbit children are apparently the traditional ones to use.
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Yes Hobbit children are traditional but are like rocking horse manure to find, human infants are the next best thing :)

Hobbit children were popular because they did not need shoes (they were barefoot) and you could pull them out by the hair on their feet. If using human infants you need to provide woolly bootees with tassles for easy grip, this is probably where the confusion with babies came from.
 
meesha said:
do remember though that although you are concentrating on the foot "conditioning" with the pea gravel etc - you may also need to supply a washing up bowl of water for your poor farrier to stand in if the weather is exceptionally warm and the ground dry (think he is allowed to take the leg warmers off for this but needs to rub the ointment in after !)

remember as well to keep those farriers toe nails down nice and short with your angle grinder - he needs a good break over point.
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You don't need a separate bowl - you just put the pea gravel in a deeper tray and add water :) some people also put little Thai fish in there so the farrier gets a foot treatment at the same time. Personally though I feel that this interferes with the foot conditioning and don't condone the practice, besides farriers are really clumsy and I found that a lot of the fish got squished :(
 
Amaranta said:
Yes Hobbit children are traditional but are like rocking horse manure to find, human infants are the next best thing :)

Hobbit children were popular because they did not need shoes (they were barefoot) and you could pull them out by the hair on their feet. If using human infants you need to provide woolly bootees with tassles for easy grip, this is probably where the confusion with babies came from.
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What do you do if you get one stuck up the chimney. When I put 7 up, I only got 6 back down. Now I am sure I didnt miscount and despite trying to smoke them out with a nice big fire, blast them out with the shotgun, and use a long spikey stick to try and dislodge them, nothing is coming out!

Any suggestions?

p.s - it is a baby with no shoes on.
 
guido16 said:
What do you do if you get one stuck up the chimney. When I put 7 up, I only got 6 back down. Now I am sure I didnt miscount and despite trying to smoke them out with a nice big fire, blast them out with the shotgun, and use a long spikey stick to try and dislodge them, nothing is coming out!

Any suggestions?

p.s - it is a baby with no shoes on.
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:eek::eek::eek::eek: have you got a garden blower that also sucks? This could work - I don't think a normal vacuum will be man enough to prise the little sucker out, failing that you could contact your local garage mechanic and ask if you could borrow that machine they use to clear diesel pipes out.

PS: make sure that if you use the garden blower that you have it on the SUCK option if it is on blow the baby could be blown right out of the top of the chimney and end up in the next county :eek:
 
wine ! r u mad !! the sugars in that will not do the foot growth any good and you risk lami !!! off the wine, off the grass and into the pea gravel (in a cat litter tray) filled with fish and water NOW !
 
Where has the OP gone? I'm starting to think they may have left the forum through fear of ridicule, attended a five minute course on everything about feet and beer, then attempted self-trimming, possibly with the use of a grinder.:eek:



Nasty..........
 
abitodd said:
Just a quick question regarding this berefoot shoeing.........I do not have any pea gravel ,so can I use the cat litter tray instead?
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Hmmmm you could not ideal but make sure it is really lumpy - used would be perfect, although the farrier may whinge :)
 
piebaldsparkle said:
??? Surely they are unshod (BAREFOOT) or shod.


There are good trimmers and bad, same as there are good farriers and bad.


A trimmer doesn't qualify to shoe (which is what a farrier qualifies for).
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Exactly. I use both. A farrier shoes my competition horse and my 2 retired ponies are seen by a barefoot trimmer. Remember that barefoot trimmers ARE qualified as well, just totally differently from farriers obviously. My ponies have never been so sound as they are now being barefoot. It just depends on what suits the horse and how good the farrier/trimmer is at the end of the day.
 
This goes to show why hobbit children are preferred. I currently can fit 12 in a modern chimney, they take packed lunches ( with sandwiches analysed for mineral balance) with them. That way you don't worry if one gets stuck. In your predicament guido, I suggest you set fire to aromatic oils, therefore negating any lingering funny smells in the chimney. Do be sure to use several gallons of oil right in the hearth.
Back to the topic, I ask my farrier to stand in the fish pond, thus adhering to the traditional way. Just be sure to apply a moisturising toe treatment after.
 
meesha said:
wine ! r u mad !! the sugars in that will not do the foot growth any good and you risk lami !!! off the wine, off the grass and into the pea gravel (in a cat litter tray) filled with fish and water NOW !
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No NO NO! You are quite wrong, all the sugar has turned to harmless and beneficial alcohol - no risk of laminitis although there is a risk of liver damage, if your farrier starts turning red in the sun, withdraw the Carlsberg and put a muzzle on him.
 
Amaranta said:
:eek::eek::eek::eek: have you got a garden blower that also sucks? This could work - I don't think a normal vacuum will be man enough to prise the little sucker out, failing that you could contact your local garage mechanic and ask if you could borrow that machine they use to clear diesel pipes out.

PS: make sure that if you use the garden blower that you have it on the SUCK option if it is on blow the baby could be blown right out of the top of the chimney and end up in the next county :eek:
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I dont have one of those and to be honest, my next idea was to tie a bit of rope to my angle grinder and lower it down the chimney (obviously this wouldnt work going up the way)
My extension cable that goes to my belt battery pack (that makes me look like a super hero) will probably stretch far enough. I think this would work if I set the speed to the "high" setting although will have to make sure their is a large bucket in the fireplace to gather up the sloppy mess at the bottom.

Failing this I will just take Meesha`s advice and leave it.

Anyway, back to the OP, is everyone clear on the do`s and dont`s of berefoot trimming?
 
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