Decided to take the Barefoot Route... (Advice Please?) :)

[Holzdweaver]

Iv got bits and pieces of new knowledge from reading barefoot posts and have been toying with the idea for a while, but have decided to take the plunge! I have talked it over with my farrier and he backs it 100% as he is such a pain to keep shoes on, he pulls them off (every week it seems!) in the field.

Hes a TB, been shod for his entire life and a few months ago, took his backs off, but he went very 'footy' and so i had them put back on. I quite like the idea of hoof boots and have been looking at them and would be putting these on him from day one when im hacking. I was thinking either the Cavallo Simple boots, or the sport depending on what his feet measure on tuesday when he has his feet trimmed. as well as the gel pads and the wraps for his wussy feet xD

I wouldnt be riding him with just his barefeet, he probably wouldn't even walk lol, well not until his feet have adjusted anyway.

But i have a few specific questions if someone with barefoot knowledge would be so kind?...

Im a bit confused about feed/sugars/starches etc...
He is currently fed on:

Sugarbeet (2 'after'soaked scoops) Would speedibeet be better?
Micronised Linseed (1 mug)
Scoop of Barley
Scoop of oats
50g of Diamond Omega for his vits

How does this sound for a barefoot diet?
Is it better to cut things out/change etc?

Hes out 24/7 on, well, not so great grazing
Hes also having 1/3 bale of hay at night
and a bucket of readigrass
With his current diet, hes holding his weight well and is nice and healthy, building up his fitness after his winter off (due to lameness) , and is moving onto what id call medium work.

Can i showjump in well fitting boots? (not affiliated and max 3')

I do a lot of roadwork, would the boots stand up to 5-8 hours (an hour to hour and a half- five days a week) hacking work on tarmacked roads including quite a bit of trot, a week?

what is the grip like on the boots? do you think i would need studs for the amount of roadwork? or just pop them on for slippy grass?

any advice/tips would be much appreciated x

Id rather know 100% that this is the right thing and get these 'niggles' out of the way, before whipping his shoes off lol

 

[abitodd]

I would remove the sugarbeet and replace with speedibeat because you need to avoid adding sugar (molasses etc) to the diet.
Oats seem to be a tolerable cereal but I am not sure barley is a good idea.

It might be worth having a look here http://www.thepurefeedcompany.com/products and perhaps giving them a call to discuss your horse. They are very knowledgable on nutrition and on barefoot horses and very helpful too.

The amount of road work you do is actually ideal for a barefoot horse. If you have the dedication and time to condition the feet to the demands(you might need to jump off and remove the boots for the last 5 minutes of the ride week one,ten minutes week two etc) in a years time you will wonder why you ever bothered with shoes!

I have no experience of boots,I'm afraid, because my horse has never been shod, so we have built the feet and the body together after backing.
I am sure you will get some response here. If not try http://phoenixhorse.myfastforum.org/index.php

 

[Pale Rider]

Hi, I think that you are going to have to make some changes if you want a good, quick, transition from shod to barefoot.

As you have already picked up on diet and exercise is the key, lastly as little trimming as you can get away with.


Sugarbeet (2 'after'soaked scoops) Would speedibeet be better?

Sugar beet is often molassed, which is of course added sugar, unmolassed sugar beet is a good feed for barefoot.

Micronised Linseed (1 mug)

Linseed, excellent stuff.

Scoop of Barley
Scoop of oats

I'd lose the oats and the barley, cereals are not a good feed for horses, it has the efect of slowing down the digestion and the starches are not good.

50g of Diamond Omega for his vits

I use simple system Lunar Eclipse, Linseed, unmolassed sugar beet and Lucern nuts for a horse similar to yours.


Hes out 24/7 on, well, not so great grazing
Hes also having 1/3 bale of hay at night
and a bucket of readigrass

Horses do best on fibre from forage which is better than cereal based hard feed which causes lots of the usual problems, both feet and nutritional.

Replacing the cereals with fibre based replacement should enable him to keep weight on, lucern really puts it on.

Can i showjump in well fitting boots? (not affiliated and max 3')

Take a look at performance barefoot, this should help.


I do a lot of roadwork, would the boots stand up to 5-8 hours (an hour to hour and a half- five days a week) hacking work on tarmacked roads including quite a bit of trot, a week?

what is the grip like on the boots? do you think i would need studs for the amount of roadwork? or just pop them on for slippy grass

Roadwork really helps the barefoot horse, the more the better really. You will find that the more trotting you do on nice smooth tarmac the need for boots lessens. Either with or without boots, you won't need studs on the road. Slipping is not a problem on roads, and without boots very, very rare.

Hope this helps.

Some boots are a bit slippy on grass and studs can help.

 

[claribella]

Regarding the feed I would definitely take him off the sugar beet. Most horse feeds contain high sugars and molasses. I would also take him off the barley. Speedibeet is a good alternative although I prefer fast fibre because it contains vits and mins. I would then compensate what you've eliminated with more linseed. It is a miracle feed for condition and weight.
Although you say the grazing isn't great, that's not a bad thing because the sugar content in grass can make them footy. I'm having a footy moment with my girl because she's just moved to the summer field with grass in it. If you are worried about weight loss then you could up the hay you give. I know that some people soak the hay but my girl doesnt seem to need that.
I know you say you want to get every niggle sorted now and that's really wise but I do think that this is one of those things that you can't be totally and fully prepared for because it's different for every horse. Yes you can get the basic knowledge down but it's a process as with most things.
I can't really help with the hoof boots. We didn't go down that route but I have found that the more road work I do the tougher the feet become and the more the feet can cope with. I spent lots of time lunging in the school to keep her fit but walking her out in hand to build up the callous on her feet until I felt she could cope with being ridden.
Hope this helps a bit and good luck with your journey!

 

[Holzdweaver]

Thank you ever so much for your replies, its wonderful to hear it from people who ave been there and done it

Id rather start changing his food asap to help him and his tootsies xD

i can change the type beet, cut out the barley and oats, and up his hay no problems, i know some types of food arent good for barefoot horses, im just a little unsure about which ones. Iv always proffered to feed straights, and im a big fan of the linseed, so upping that if needed is more than fine with me

What about the Graze on/Readi-grass?
will this send him footy like fresh grass might?

Hes on a bucket a night which he always chomps his way through, but would it be better if cut it out? or the opposite? Should i give him more for the fiber?
The only reason im asking is that i was contemplating putting him on grass pellets to replace the barley and oats, but wont if its going to affect his feet

 

[Pale Rider]

Fibre derived from forage is always ok, in as much as it doesn't do any harm. Obviously if you are making any changes do it gradually over a week or so to allow the gut bacteria to adjust.

I have a rule that I never feed anything that I don't think would be found by a horse in its natural state, as far as possible, for example I wouldn't feed coco nut fibre. I'm not saying its harmful, I just don't like things like that.

 

[Holzdweaver]

Thank you for your input

Im going to be swapping his feed over gradually as i would do with any additions/changes t his diet, i usually do it over two weeks

 

[Holly Hocks]

My TB mare is transitioning from shoes to barefoot with hoof boots on the front (she's never had boots on the backs - she didn't need them). I use Cavallo simples on the fronts as she has round hooves.

Firstly, if you get the cavallos, when you first put them on they will look like wellies - they look MASSIVE. But they mould to the hoof quickly and soon become the equine equivalent of Nike Air trainers!! Do not expect the cavallo gaiters to fit - they don't, they are rubbish, and ride up. The easycare gaiters are much much better as they have a plate which goes under the foot. Also the cavallo pads which come with the cavallo boots are not ideal initially. I would get some of the easycare 12mm pads - probably medium density.

As for slipping, I find my mare does slip a little in the Cavallos if she does a major spook - mainly on wet roads - but no worse than she would have in shoes, and going downhill is much more secure than in shoes.

Dietwise, get rid of the sugar beet - speedibeet is much better. Micronised linseed is wonderful and I also use a supplement called Pro Hoof from a seller called Progressive Earth on ebay. I have no idea whether it actually does anything or not, but because her feet are improving so much I'm too scared to stop feeding it to her!
Good luck - be patient - it has taken me over six months to see a significant improvement.

 

[Holzdweaver]

Thank you for the advice regarding the hoof boots, il invest in a pair of the better gaiters and some more pads too.

hehe im glad you told me that they will be massive but will mould, so i know what to expect with them, if id have put them on and they were huge, id probably start thinking 'what on earth have i done' lol xD

Il look into the pro hoof too

 

[itsonlyme]

I was told that instead of spending X amount of pounds on pads, buy some cheap yoga mats and cut them up. Works for us

 

[dressagelove]

Pro hoof is great, I would defo try some if you can afford it.

I also use Cavellos Simples, and love them, as does horse, I didn't actually find them too clumpy, I liked them cos thought they looked like over reach boots once on

Otherwise, everyone elses advice is fairly sound
If you want to read a positive story to help reassure, I posted about my lad the other day, you are welcome to have a read.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=534542

 

[Goldenstar]

For boots I have the easy boot back country's which have the advantage of having replaceable parts so if you wore out the soles doing a lot you can replace it much cheaper than having to buy a whole new boot.

 

[drift91]

In my experience: For boots, I would recommend easy boot gloves, I have cavallo sports but I do find them much more clumpy but my boy tracks up an awful lot and catches them now and again. As has already been said the gaitors aren't brilliant but I have heard a few people just use old socks as gaitors! The gloves, if you get the right fit are fab (but getting the right fit can be tricky), I found they don't move at all! I'm sure sj would be fine in boots, but I would be worried about them slipping on grass, but I haven't an awful lot of experience as mine jump bare, and touch wood don't slip at all. You might find he won't need them anyway! We only use our boots for hacking over stoney areas if needed! Also keep in mind once going barefoot over time their hooves often change an awful lot so what might fit now, might not later, I was lucky when I bought my gloves for pony, they were too big, but a few months later and now they fit perfectly!! This is where the cavallos are more forgiving than the gloves, as my cavallos that I bought at the start do still fit, although they were a little (not much) bigger to start with too. As PR said the more work you do the better, I found with mine once he had built up to a good few long rides out in his boots he didn't need them at all! But it definitely depends on the horse and the environment, but that amount of work sounds great for bare hooves!

Also I found speedibeat didn't work for us, I think there is still some molasses or something in it (I may be wrong), and I found fast fibre much better! Mine went a bit loopy on it!! But a lot of people do use it and works well! Just having a play around and see what works for your ned! Magnesium is often found to be a big help and certainly works for us!

Great that your preparing so much before they come off, your ned will thank you for it!! Good luck