hackedoff
Well-Known Member
I have posted a few posts about how my poor horse had fell in the field last May and ruptured a tendon. It was a long haul with many months of box rest and then restricted exercise. The healing process has taken time not least due to the fact he is now 22 years old.
I got the old clear to start working him in January. Meanwhile whilst the tendon was healing his pastern and fetlock on the same leg started to pull up right and misaligned. There was some heat on and off indicating artheritis but he was sound.
The last couple of months I have been riding him at a walk at weekends but became concerned as he was very reluctant to trot.
I have his shoes pulled off last Autumn and he has been barefoot since then with hoof boots to hack over the very stoney tracks round here. He was very reluctant to trot unless in company. he has had a very good barefoot trimmer who I would happily recommend to anyone, no grass since then and D&H safe and sound plus hay.
I loose schooled him in the menage last weekend and he was very unhappy in trot, tried running him up the lane to see if he was lame in trot and he refused to do more than a few pottery strides.
I discussed this with my OH as my instinct was that no shoes didnt suit pony but was very close to PTS. OH view is that he wouldnt run around here barefoot no matter how long his feet were conditioned and pony had been happy with shoes for at least 19 years .
As a last ditch try I had my farrier come up today and re shoe him. she was very pleased with the state of his feet and how they had been trimmed. This pleased me as I hate it when professionals criticise each others work for no reason other than to big themselves up.
No I dont claim a miracle happened with his shoes going on but.... he walked up the track to the menage slightly more forward than last week. He came out of the menage and down the track almost like his old self. I thought what the heck, Ill try to trot him up and bugger me if he didnt take of past me at a fast trot! Not his old mega ground covering trot of his youth, but then I dont run the same as I did with him 10 years ago either!. He had a decent length of stride and not pottery. It was a distinct improvement on last weekend when I thought that picking him up and carrying him would be esier. More importantly I had to haul to stop him. He did the same down hill as well.
I am so happy to have my boy sound again . If I hadnt had my little boy (human) with me I would have had a good blart.
I really dithered about posting this as there are suddenly so many pro/anti barefoot threads today. But all I can say is that Im happy, he's happy and I hope that what else others choose to do, shoeless or shod, they and their horses are equally happy.
I got the old clear to start working him in January. Meanwhile whilst the tendon was healing his pastern and fetlock on the same leg started to pull up right and misaligned. There was some heat on and off indicating artheritis but he was sound.
The last couple of months I have been riding him at a walk at weekends but became concerned as he was very reluctant to trot.
I have his shoes pulled off last Autumn and he has been barefoot since then with hoof boots to hack over the very stoney tracks round here. He was very reluctant to trot unless in company. he has had a very good barefoot trimmer who I would happily recommend to anyone, no grass since then and D&H safe and sound plus hay.
I loose schooled him in the menage last weekend and he was very unhappy in trot, tried running him up the lane to see if he was lame in trot and he refused to do more than a few pottery strides.
I discussed this with my OH as my instinct was that no shoes didnt suit pony but was very close to PTS. OH view is that he wouldnt run around here barefoot no matter how long his feet were conditioned and pony had been happy with shoes for at least 19 years .
As a last ditch try I had my farrier come up today and re shoe him. she was very pleased with the state of his feet and how they had been trimmed. This pleased me as I hate it when professionals criticise each others work for no reason other than to big themselves up.
No I dont claim a miracle happened with his shoes going on but.... he walked up the track to the menage slightly more forward than last week. He came out of the menage and down the track almost like his old self. I thought what the heck, Ill try to trot him up and bugger me if he didnt take of past me at a fast trot! Not his old mega ground covering trot of his youth, but then I dont run the same as I did with him 10 years ago either!. He had a decent length of stride and not pottery. It was a distinct improvement on last weekend when I thought that picking him up and carrying him would be esier. More importantly I had to haul to stop him. He did the same down hill as well.
I am so happy to have my boy sound again . If I hadnt had my little boy (human) with me I would have had a good blart.
I really dithered about posting this as there are suddenly so many pro/anti barefoot threads today. But all I can say is that Im happy, he's happy and I hope that what else others choose to do, shoeless or shod, they and their horses are equally happy.
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At the end of the day all we ever want is what is best for our horses, if that includes shoes then so what, i have 5 that are unshod at the moment but i'm well aware that the new one is not happy with the stony track, I prefer to keep them as natural as possible but will have shoes put on him without a second thought.