Can hoofboots hinder barefoot transitioning

[lizziebell]

Due to injury my oldest horse retired about a year ago, and subsequently the shoes came off. From day 1 she was very footy on the stoney track to/ from the paddocks, so after a few weeks I started putting hoof boots on her to bring her in/ turn out. I know it can take a while for horses to adjust to barefoot, but should she still be so footy after a year? I‘m still using the boots as she’s still footy, but I’m wandering if by using the boots I’m hindering her getting used to stoney ground. She’s not footy on any other surface except stones, and the vet and farrier can’t see why shes footy as no obvious issues going on in the feet. They think it could be psychology/ behavioural and she thinks it’s going to hurt so potters in anticipation.
So do I keep using hoof boots or do I need to wean her off of them?

 

[TPO]

Hooves can still hurt in boots.

Firstly I'd review the horses diet and check sugar and starch levels as well as examine the ingredients.

What sort of grass is the horse turned out on? For how long? Are they muzzled?

Have hooves been treated for thrush.

Are you using a trimmer or farrier? Good and bad in both trades but when comparing the good of both there is usually a difference in the trimming technique.

The idea of transitioning is for the horse to take comfortable steps. It is only by moving comfortably that they will start to build up the causal aspect of the hoof.

Sometimes boots alone arent enough and you need to use pads. If you read the Hoof Geek website/blog they have excellent articles/blogs and one addresses the use of EP pads really well.

During transitioning having a body worker put regularly to the horse is a massive help. As they move differently on their hooves their bodies change and this also affects saddle fit. It's really important to keep on top of this

Is your horse landing heel first in boots on all surfaces? Does you horse land heel first in boots over stones? Does your horse land heel first out of boots on all surfaces apart from stones?

If the horse is sound over every surface with heel first landing but is only "footy" over stones that might not mean footy. Loose large stones is the most challenging surface for any horse. It's perfectly reasonable for a horse who can feel their feet (this is a good thing, showing restricts blood flow and the consensus is that hooves become numb) to take their time to pick over a challenging surface. Much in the same way that you would over the stoney bit at the beach or what not.

 

[paddy555]

I don't think the boots are hindering her. If she can't manage after a year there is a problem somewhere. You cannot transition a horse to a surface if it is sore walking over it. It should be able to walk soundly over stones and then you start to get it walking more quickly over more stones to get it's feet conditioned.

If it is your own yard and not too far you can put carpet down on the stones to dispense with boots. (carpet warehouse skips and talk nicely to the manager)

I would examine the thrush aspect in great detail. Really push a hoof pick down into the central sulchus. If she reacts to this she is not going to like putting her weight on the foot on stones.

Make sure the farrier/trimmer is not trimming her too short. Is she equally bad at the end of a trimming cycle as when she has just been trimmed.

Is she any better in winter than summer? if so look at the grass.

In view of her age I would also look at cushings. This can cause that sort of problem.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I decided to transition my two cobs as from September last year; sadly we lost my older gal during that time but with both of them we transitioned successfully without using hoof-boots.

We do a fair bit of roadwork here and I was expecting we would need to use hoof-boots but we did manage to transition without them. I think some horses can, some can't. You just have to be sensitive to what yours is needing at any given time and there are some surfaces where yes you will always need boots such as flint or gravel.

May I recommend (if you "do" Facebook!) that you get onto one of the Barefoot sites? There is one called "Barefoot Horse Owners UK" or something similar and I got a lot of great advice and support when I was going through the whole newbie transitioning process.

 

[lizziebell]

Hooves can still hurt in boots.

Firstly I'd review the horses diet and check sugar and starch levels as well as examine the ingredients.

What sort of grass is the horse turned out on? For how long? Are they muzzled?

Have hooves been treated for thrush.

Are you using a trimmer or farrier? Good and bad in both trades but when comparing the good of both there is usually a difference in the trimming technique.

The idea of transitioning is for the horse to take comfortable steps. It is only by moving comfortably that they will start to build up the causal aspect of the hoof.

Sometimes boots alone arent enough and you need to use pads. If you read the Hoof Geek website/blog they have excellent articles/blogs and one addresses the use of EP pads really well.

During transitioning having a body worker put regularly to the horse is a massive help. As they move differently on their hooves their bodies change and this also affects saddle fit. It's really important to keep on top of this

Is your horse landing heel first in boots on all surfaces? Does you horse land heel first in boots over stones? Does your horse land heel first out of boots on all surfaces apart from stones?

If the horse is sound over every surface with heel first landing but is only "footy" over stones that might not mean footy. Loose large stones is the most challenging surface for any horse. It's perfectly reasonable for a horse who can feel their feet (this is a good thing, showing restricts blood flow and the consensus is that hooves become numb) to take their time to pick over a challenging surface. Much in the same way that you would over the stoney bit at the beach or what not.

Thank you TPO. Lots of useful information. She’s turned out on old meadow grass at night and in with hay during the day. Anti-lam balancer and nothing else. I tried a muzzle when she first retired as I didn’t know if the lack of being ridden would effect her weight, but she ate more with it on! She’s maintaining a healthy weight without the muzzle.

The farrier I use is very good and open minded with trimming. Both the farrier and vet have looked for thrush, and they’ve both used hoof testers and she’s barely flinched.

She‘s not footy with the boots on. She’s not footy on any other surface, and now you’ve mentioned being “reasonable” about the type of stoney ground, I think this is the issue. The track is made of several sized/ shaped stones, but does contain quite a lot of large angular 50mm stone.

Think I need to just keep using the hoof boots until the track gets a makeover.

I don't think the boots are hindering her. If she can't manage after a year there is a problem somewhere. You cannot transition a horse to a surface if it is sore walking over it. It should be able to walk soundly over stones and then you start to get it walking more quickly over more stones to get it's feet conditioned.

If it is your own yard and not too far you can put carpet down on the stones to dispense with boots. (carpet warehouse skips and talk nicely to the manager)

I would examine the thrush aspect in great detail. Really push a hoof pick down into the central sulchus. If she reacts to this she is not going to like putting her weight on the foot on stones.

Make sure the farrier/trimmer is not trimming her too short. Is she equally bad at the end of a trimming cycle as when she has just been trimmed.

Is she any better in winter than summer? if so look at the grass.

In view of her age I would also look at cushings. This can cause that sort of problem.

Thank you Paddy. She’s been tested for Cushing, and both the vet and farrier have used hoof testers which she doesn’t respond to. No difference in footyness in winter or summer, or post trim.

Unfortunately its a fair distance from the stable block to paddocks, however resurfacing the track is on the cards, and as TPO has now made me realise, it does currently consist of large angular stones so I’m probably asking too much for her to cope with. Hoof boots it is until we get the track done.

I decided to transition my two cobs as from September last year; sadly we lost my older gal during that time but with both of them we transitioned successfully without using hoof-boots.

We do a fair bit of roadwork here and I was expecting we would need to use hoof-boots but we did manage to transition without them. I think some horses can, some can't. You just have to be sensitive to what yours is needing at any given time and there are some surfaces where yes you will always need boots such as flint or gravel.

May I recommend (if you "do" Facebook!) that you get onto one of the Barefoot sites? There is one called "Barefoot Horse Owners UK" or something similar and I got a lot of great advice and support when I was going through the whole newbie transitioning process.

Thank you. I also wander as she’s retired her hooves aren’t getting conditioned in the same way they would if being ridden regularly over different terrain.