Kat
Well-Known Member
My mare had her shoes off at the end of Sept whilst suffering bruising which made her lame. We made the decision to keep her bare and with the help of the barefoot taliban overhauled the diet and bought boots.
It has been a long road but I hope I have done the best thing for madam's long term soundness. Anyway she was sound in hand on all surfaces, sound ridden in the school and hacking over all surfaces in front boots. I have been putting off hacking bare as we have to go down a potholed stoney lane to get off the yard and I wasn't sure how she would cope. She's been fine in hand on this track and with a child on board so I decided it was time to try myself.
So I arranged to do a short hack with plenty of off road to give her a gentle start.
Well she was definitely short striding down the stoney lane but not lame or gimpy. Where possible I took her on the verge. My hacking buddy said she looked tentative.
She felt great on the smooth tarmac, down hill she was more sure footed than in boits or shoes. She was fine off road too, a bit tentative on stoney sections and favouring the grassy bits but happy to canter up the field.
On the way back she felt a bit more confident on the stoney lane, striding out on the better bits but more cautious on the stoney rough bits.
Her feet seemed fine after, maybe a little chipped but not sore or hot
So how do I proceed?
Do I give her more time in boots or do I carry on taking her bare for hacks that aren't to tough? How do I know how much she can cope with?
Most of our hacks are tarmac but as it is rural small lanes they can have gravel on top in places.
What do you reckon?
Glass of red for anyone who posts something helpful before OH comes down stairs and finishes the bottle!
It has been a long road but I hope I have done the best thing for madam's long term soundness. Anyway she was sound in hand on all surfaces, sound ridden in the school and hacking over all surfaces in front boots. I have been putting off hacking bare as we have to go down a potholed stoney lane to get off the yard and I wasn't sure how she would cope. She's been fine in hand on this track and with a child on board so I decided it was time to try myself.
So I arranged to do a short hack with plenty of off road to give her a gentle start.
Well she was definitely short striding down the stoney lane but not lame or gimpy. Where possible I took her on the verge. My hacking buddy said she looked tentative.
She felt great on the smooth tarmac, down hill she was more sure footed than in boits or shoes. She was fine off road too, a bit tentative on stoney sections and favouring the grassy bits but happy to canter up the field.
On the way back she felt a bit more confident on the stoney lane, striding out on the better bits but more cautious on the stoney rough bits.
Her feet seemed fine after, maybe a little chipped but not sore or hot
So how do I proceed?
Do I give her more time in boots or do I carry on taking her bare for hacks that aren't to tough? How do I know how much she can cope with?
Most of our hacks are tarmac but as it is rural small lanes they can have gravel on top in places.
What do you reckon?
Glass of red for anyone who posts something helpful before OH comes down stairs and finishes the bottle!
