Feet, transitioning, hoofboots help please

[paddy555]

It may well meed help to reduce over time, but when the shoes are first off, I also don't trim. I do as another poster and just take off the edges, and leave for 2 weeks. I think of it as time for the hoof to relax.

My farrier has given me a rasp, and after that I start the road walking in hand and keep at the edges. At first they will wear quite a lot. I stop any square bits appearing where the horse may wear more toe.

that is what I would do, nothing for 2 weeks. Ask for a s/h rasp now and as the feet grow down they will chip badly until the nails holes have grown out. Practise every 3 or 4 days with your rasp. Use it like an emery board on your own nails. It will take you several attempts to learn to use the rasp effectively and by keeping the edges running round and smooth you will keep the chipping under control.

I wouldn't book the farrier at this stage. You don't know when you will need him. Barefeet are not like shod ones. It won't matter if the farrier is a bit late in trimming them.

 

[ester]

If he is the sort that likes to book in advance I'd book for 6 weeks time. If he is happy to go a bit more ad hoc do that.

 

[Wheels]

Are the riders rasps any good or am I better with a standard farriers rasp?

 

[ester]

To start with, ask your farrier if he has a fairly blunt one . iirc more people like the riders than the radius but I have always used a proper rasp.

 

[Red-1]

I tried the riders rasp, but found the farrier's one easier. I got one from him that was brand new (I did pay) but had the finer rasp both sides. If I rasp when her feet are damp then it fair rolls off.

I find a bunt one too hard work! LOL.

I do NOT advise one from Ebay, I tried but it was rubbish!

As I have done this a few times with a few horses, the farrier is happy not to see her, but I still attend every 3 months or so for him to have a look as many insurance policies say they have to be attended to regularly by a farrier. As he generally just looks he does not charge me (but then we transport to him, if he had to travel to me I would pay).

WARNING - Always wear gloves to rasp!

DOUBLE WARNING - Hoof care is addictive. I spend a lot of time making them just "so" and then admiring them!

 

[paddy555]

Are the riders rasps any good or am I better with a standard farriers rasp?

just ask your farrier for a s/h one. You may need to get a handle for it or the farrier may have an old one. He will show you what to get if you need one. Alternatively ff you have any friends who are mechanics/engineers/ even DIY they will have grinders and they will be able to grind the end off for you, a very quick job. That will make it shorter and easier to use.

Next thing on the list is GLOVES before you even start with the rasp. It is so easy, especially to start with, to rasp your own hands and that makes then very sore.

 

[ester]

Lol every time I have gone I'll just to that little bit without gloves (especially when he went home and they went missing) I regretted it.

I sort of found once I got fed up with my used one I needed a sharp one and now I have much less tolerance for blunter rasps. I've always had save edge as I like having both sides, though I've not got through many.

 

[Wheels]

Ok so now my next issue is boots, his feet are just over 130mm long but slightly under 145mm wide (probably because of the flare) - I haven't found any size charts for boots that can accommodate this??

 

[Red-1]

Ok so now my next issue is boots, his feet are just over 130mm long but slightly under 145mm wide (probably because of the flare) - I haven't found any size charts for boots that can accommodate this??

You will most likely have 4-6 weeks before his feet wake up. In that time, if you start some walking and do some shaping of the edges they will likely already have changed shape.

The other thing to do is check that you are measuring correctly. In the photos they have been measured very short, the boots have to go over his frogs which presently stick out further back than the hoof wall, looking at the photos. This will change very quickly as the point where the heels meet the floor will become further back.

 

[paddy555]

Ok so now my next issue is boots, his feet are just over 130mm long but slightly under 145mm wide (probably because of the flare) - I haven't found any size charts for boots that can accommodate this??

there is nothing you can do about boots ATM. To measure for boots the feet need to be either trimmed with a rasp or trimmed by work. Wait for 2 weeks till he gets acclimatised to them and then post some more pics and measure again. The feet will change shape as the old wall chips off.

What do you want to do with your horse, exercise wise? Do you want to ride him in boots for a while and then gradually start to remove them and increase the barefoot or do you want to start immediately barefoot doing only a tiny amount of work. Also what sort of riding? There are boots better for riding ie cantering etc eg scoots, renegades, gloves and some eg cavallos which are more clumpy and probably not as good for actively riding.
You have plenty of time to sort boots. In a couple of weeks or maybe a bit longer you may be considering a slight trim so you can measure for boots, we will see. Alternatively you may just start leading him in hand and wait or a while for boots.
Then after looking at all types and working out the sort of thing you want you could e mail pics and a bit of history and measurements to either urban horse or hoof boutique and they will help you. You should find a reasonable choice to fit your sort of measurements

 

[ester]

TBF we measured for boots (with a fit kit too) when we took Frank's shoes off so it is doable.

It is absolutely worth discussing with retailers, even if it is just to get a suggestion that would do 'now' which means you can get some quickly if required that will do the job but might not be perfect.
urban horse/hoof bootique/the saddlery shop/equine podiatry supplies are all helpful people especially as there is a lot more choice these days.

 

[Wheels]

Ok, gotcha - I thought he might need boots going to and from the field as its stony and i didnt want him to get bruises but will try and keep him on the softer stuff and measure him again in a few weeks.

You're right re. Measuring red - all the pics I've seen show to measure to the heel buttress but logically the frogs need to go in the boot too.

Paddy riding wise I had planned to ride in boots for a while and gradually wean him off them but I could just try and do some very short ridden sessions and build up gradually, I'm not in a rush.

Pretty much all of my hacking is on the roads but it's not nice, flat tarmac - all of the local roads are tar sprayed and a layer of gravel put down every couple of years or so - you end up with sharp stones loose at the edges of the road where you ride so this may mean we need boots.

My other hacking is when I trailer to the beach so that will probably be without boots.

My arena is rubber mixed with smooth pea gravel but there is no membrane so sometimes sharper stones can rise to the surface.

Otherwise, long term we will mostly do dressage, some SJ and some XC schooling

 

[ester]

Honestly, I have a size to big cavallo simples which I have mostly used for poulticing but they've also been useful for getting to/from field when required as they aren't ever going to come off in walk but they are much easier to get on than his alternative that fits for cantering.

Wheels they resurfaced our main hacking route like that the summer I took his shoes off. Mum and I did discussed whether it was very bonkers to sweep up the worst bits .

 

[ycbm]

His feet are flat yes and with quite a bit of lateral and medial flare - some pics below from when he pulled his shoe a few weeks ago (outside pics) and one of the underside from this morning after he pulled his shoe yesterday + an xray from vets 6 weeks ago

Any comments will be most welcome! View attachment 38099View attachment 38100View attachment 38101View attachment 38102View attachment 38103View attachment 38104

Looking at those, I wouldn't be at all surprised if his recent lameness was because the toe clip is pressing into the white line. If you keep him in shoes, I would ask your farrier to fit double toe clips if hes going to bring the toes back that far.

Otherwise, lovely wide heels, good frogs, a bit flat that I would want to try to adjust with minerals as you've already been advised.

I have been through three sets of boots in seven months with my TB due to foot size and shape changes. Hold off buying for a few weeks if you can and you might avoid at least one boot change! I have some almost unused Cavallo simple threes for sale if they would fit and you need some.

.

 

[paddy555]

Ok, gotcha - I thought he might need boots going to and from the field as its stony and i didnt want him to get bruises but will try and keep him on the softer stuff and measure him again in a few weeks.


Paddy riding wise I had planned to ride in boots for a while and gradually wean him off them but I could just try and do some very short ridden sessions and build up gradually, I'm not in a rush.

Pretty much all of my hacking is on the roads but it's not nice, flat tarmac - all of the local roads are tar sprayed and a layer of gravel put down every couple of years or so - you end up with sharp stones loose at the edges of the road where you ride so this may mean we need boots.

to my mind then it is going to be better to get him booted and get cracking after a short while, 2/3/4 weeks perhaps. You will just have to see how you get on with the stoney track. People have put carpet down over stones but obviously that depends on how long it is and how much you can keep on softer stuff.

I think you may find it harder to transition on that sort of road surface. We get this when they resurface and it is a PITA.
Boots will solve this and there is no need to make things any harder than necessary.
If a lot of your riding is on roads gloves would do fine, they are very long lasting on that sort of surface and have good road traction. Scoots also last a long time and have good traction. Renegade classics I have found don't last long on that surface.

Nice foot though and you may even get away with only one boot size. It will depend if you can cope on the stoney track for 2/3 weeks.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Loose gravel on tarmac roads is a bugger, we have it round here. I reckoned that I could keep my girl away from the gritty sections of road, but it just wasn’t practical IRL what with traffic etc, and she got foot sore without boots. Lol at ester and her mum thinking of sweeping the gravel up!

Urban Horse were very helpful with boot suggestions and supplied fit kits.

 

[Wheels]

Thanks Paddy - I do think boots will be helpful but i will wait a few weeks and see how he gets on. I like the look of the scoot boots but I think his flare needs to reduce first for them to work.

If he is struggling getting to the field will pick something up sooner just for that.

When I cant get them out in the field in really wet weather they have a smooth concrete yard to mill about in, will that be help or hindrance?

 

[Wheels]

Th

Looking at those, I wouldn't be at all surprised if his recent lameness was because the toe clip is pressing into the white line. If you keep him in shoes, I would ask your farrier to fit double toe clips if hes going to bring the toes back that far.

Otherwise, lovely wide heels, good frogs, a bit flat that I would want to try to adjust with minerals as you've already been advised.

I have been through three sets of boots in seven months with my TB due to foot size and shape changes. Hold off buying for a few weeks if you can and you might avoid at least one boot change! I have some almost unused Cavallo simple threes for sale if they would fit and you need some.

.

Thanks will keep that in mind

 

[ester]

It annoys me on the bike too took the nice one home and wasn't warned at the paint chipping routes!

That will likely be fine . You just need to keep an eye on wear v. growth in early days. I think the biggest thing to start is just paying attention, while not worrying too much and being patient

 

[paddy555]

Thanks Paddy - I do think boots will be helpful but i will wait a few weeks and see how he gets on. I like the look of the scoot boots but I think his flare needs to reduce first for them to work.

If he is struggling getting to the field will pick something up sooner just for that.

When I cant get them out in the field in really wet weather they have a smooth concrete yard to mill about in, will that be help or hindrance?

concrete wears feet. That can be good or bad. I had a horse many years ago. He had been treated terribly and there was no way his feet could be picked up. No way I could trim him or even clean his feet. He had a stable with a concrete yard outside and self trimmed beautifully. He ended up with perfect feet by his own efforts.

If it is smooth concrete it will probably be easy for yours to walk on and it may help do some trimming for you just watch it is not too much. If he is sound and happy on it then probably no bad thing and it could be a bonus.

 

[Wheels]

Well that's them off now and the farrier did give me a pretty worn out rasp so thanks for that tip.

Will now just have to not let myself get too obsessed by it for the next few weeks!

 

[ester]

did your rasp come with a handle?

obsession is inevitable, sorry.

 

[ycbm]

Will now just have to not let myself get too obsessed by it for the next few weeks!

No chance 😂 Hoofporn will be the highlight of your life for weeks now!


I spent hours yesterday looking at ten year old photos unearthed by my new tablet PC.

.

 

[Wheels]

did your rasp come with a handle?

obsession is inevitable, sorry.

No, he took the handle off!!

 

[ester]

they aren't super cheap so can understand why, worth it though mine was abotu £7, I don't imagine it will wear out in my lifetime.

 

[ycbm]

I've never had a handle on my rasps. Feel deprived now ☹

 

[Red-1]

I am due my first set of photos for this year's removal. It is addictive. I rarely have a day where rasp does not touch hoof!

My handle came off the rubbish rasp I got from eBay.

I also recommend a stiff brush.

I also recommend the posh French barefoot hoof stuff. I really does make a difference, although many people say it can't. It does for mine! Keeps the water out when I turn out in the morning, then stops them drying right out when in at night. All mine grow right out with the nail holes intact, no breakage despite turnout and walking out. Plus they do different formulation for summer/winter/mid-seson so it is always a good consistency whether hot or cold.

ETA - I looked it up, the brand is Ungula Naturalis

Extra ETA - found the product... http://equiworldlimited.co.uk/tacks...ucts_id=1740&zenid=reurjt4o5to9cu4eba4q8btod1

I have used their frog sanitiser with success too.

 

[paddy555]

Well that's them off now and the farrier did give me a pretty worn out rasp so thanks for that tip.

Will now just have to not let myself get too obsessed by it for the next few weeks!

how exciting. As you now get obsessed and look at them every 5 minutes bear in mind that as the wall chips off up to the top of the nail holes they could well look pretty manky. Don't get discouraged. Look only at top at the new growth coming down.

 

[Wheels]

Ooh hoofy pics how exciting. They look pretty good really TBH, the sort that should progress well and reasonably quickly and grow that flare out.

The second frog pic particularly I would treat for thrush, they are good frogs generally but that will help them along even if they aren't smelly (I would spray with red horse sole cleanse and pack with hoof stuff).

Re. feed usual recommendations are:
equimins adv. complete (with additional mag might be needed), forageplus, pro hoof, equivita. Though as said, they don't look bad as they are.

Sole cleanse and hoof stuff on order, should be here tomorrow / thursday.

Do I pack the collateral grooves with hoof stuff as well as the central sulcus?

We do have mild seedy toe in one foot - clean and hoof stuff it too? What about if I have a bit of a crumbly / deepish looking white line?

 

[ester]

I'd probably give the grooves/seedy toe a squirt and leave it at that. The quantity of seedy toe looks normal to me for a newly unshod horse and usually grows itself out without too much bother.