Brand new to barefoot - where to even start?

[ThinkMyPonyIsBroken]

Hiya, first post to HHO!
I'm a young(ish!) girl, pretty new to horse owning and everything with Alfie seems to be going to pot. Currently has a suspected infected pastern, lame down front left leg, sore as anything through back and I suspect there's something up with his teeth. Struggling to find a physio that can come out asap but that's all besides the point.
Anyway, he is currently fully shod all round. I've been thinking (oh dear) about why is it we have found an alternative for everything else equine except being shod? The more I read the more appealing it sounds. He's currently out of work (thanks injuries!) and probably will be til at least April time. I'm basically looking for ways to improve how he is. I know it's all about diet with barefoot. He's currently on TopChop Lite, Glocosamine + MSM 10000 for his joints and NAF Multivit. He has hay and has Fibre Plus Nuggets in his ball over night so his legs don't swell. He's an 11 yr old Anglo Arab with not brilliant confo but he's with me to stay
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I have a barefoot anglo-arab. She was taken BF after I changed farrier due to moving area. The new farrier changed the balance of her hooves (for the worse) so he was sacked and the next farrier took her shoes off to help her hooves recover. She's never looked back and transitioned very easily. I do feed a low sugar/high fibre diet with a vit&min supplement. One interesting point is that the more roadwork she does, the better her hooves look. I did have to build it up slowly though, I actually started by walking her out in-hand and progressed from there.

 

[flirtygerty]

Well worth doing, my TB was 20+ yrs old when I took him BF, he did struggle and I sometimes wondered if I'd done the right thing, he wore cavello simple boots at first, then nappies gaffer taped on, more because he thought walking would hurt, than he needed them.
Don't be afraid to ask for advice, there's a wealth of good advice on here, get the diet right and if you ask for advice act on it, good luck