Going barefoot- how?

[littlen]

Hi!
My horse has been fully shod for the past 6 months or so due to the previous owner shoeing all of her horses as standard (old fashioned stud farm) previous to this he was barefoot when he was younger but I'm not sure about for the past few years.
He has large but good feet and he is a native type.
I have always had barefoot ponies-never had a shod one and id like to keep him in a similar way.
He has not been seen by my farrier yet as he is not due for another few weeks.

How do I go about going barefoot with him and when's the best time? I was thinking about taking his backs off first and then working towards removing the fronts come winter?
Is this a good idea or should i do them all at once?

Diet wise he just gets restricted grass and hay at the moment as he is overweight! Should I supplement this?

With the farriers, most I've spoken to seem reluctant to remove shoes due to hacking etc (I've spoken to two who shoe on the yard)
Do I just tell the farrier to take them off? Will they try and talk me out of it? Does anyone use one of those trimmers instead?

He mainly hacks a few times a week, no huge amounts of work, turned most of the time, no lameness etc.

 

[WindyStacks]

"Those trimmers"? You mean people who specialise in the well-being of the foot? Yes, I do - and I would never use a regular farrier for barefoot trims - a pasture trim is NOT the same as a barefoot trim - and as for hacking with only shoes? Tosh.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Well if it was my horse, I'd get him on the 'BF' diet and pull the shoes myself when he was due to be shod. However I know how to do remove shoes - I was taught so that I could remove a shoe in an emergency.

Taking the shoes off when he's due to be shod will give him a bit of length of horn which should make it slightly easier for him to start with. Yes, the excess horn might slowly chip off but you can look at how he's doing and decide if he needs a tidy up or not. You don't want the farrier to cut him short, trim the frog, the sole and the bars as this will make it more likely that he will be sore. The aim is to keep the horse comfortable, so start by exercising on surfaces that he is comfortable on and build up the work very slowly.

My mare was happy on smooth tarmac straight away so I started off walking her in-hand for a few minutes. Eventually we built up to regular hacks ranging from 1 hour to 3 hours. She started to grow horn very quickly, so even with all that hacking she required regular trims. The only time she was sore was after a trim that definitely set her back and I had to give her time to grow a bit of hoof before taking her out again. It was a bit frustrating but it demonstrated how trimming a tiny bit too much off can cause the horse to be foot sore.

Boots and pads are very useful for some horses in the early days (or longer depending on the horse), so maybe consider researching these in case your horse needs a bit more help. I have wondered about getting some as I have one really stoney bridleway that my mare didn't like even when shod (the stones are all fist size). So far I've just not ridden along it with her since her shoes came off, but I have wondered whether booting just for that route would work?

You need to find a Farrier that is either pro barefoot or is at least open minded. If they are forever over trimming and hacking away at the frog/bars/sole you will have a much lower chance of succeeding. If you can't find one then consider a trimmer if you have a good one in your area.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Feed straight away: something with magnesium added, or a good mineral and vitamin mix with added MgO.

As things are happening quickly, I would buy a months supply of Pro Hoof [progressive earth] [start with 1/2 daily amount and build up over 7 days] and switch over to your long term choice at the end of the month. You should by then see an event line where you started the diet.

My diet is Hi fibre, lo sugar [<5%], some linseed, and balanced minerals with extra magnesium.

25-40gms minerals in including 5+ gms MgO
50gms micronised linseed
double handful Dengie non mollassed chaff [tasty and texture]
some salt [dessert spoon]
some non mollassed sugar beet pulp [soaks in 10 mins]

Feed is main thing, exercise management is the second thing. I found a tarmac road was best thing for self trimming as it rasps the feet for you. You need to have a regular amount of work as the feet grow in response to work.
I bought a farriers rasp as I can't stand chipping, and I wanted to roll the edges every two weeks, it takes a while to be confident, but keep farrier on hand to check on feet, at least every six weeks.
Most farriers will understand what you want when they remove the shoes, ie good balance, which should be already in place shod or not shod,, the bars left alone , shod or not shod, and THE FROG LEFT ALONE as you want the horse to use it, and not have it "sculpted".
There will be some length to be rasped off when shoe is removed, to prevent chipping, but this should not be severe, ............. and you don't want the sole pared either!!!!
You don't need to make a great fuss, but make sure he knows this is your intention so he does not over trim.

Rockley Farm have loads of information you can learn a lot by observation, the soles will change a lot at first,.
If the conformation is irregular you may find the hooves will grow to compensate.

It may be that you don t need a special diet, but I think it is best to go full on to begin with. Sugary feeds make feet sensitive, and this can include grass!

 

[WindyStacks]

Absolutely don't be afraid to rasp away those chippy bits as MrsD says - when you start going barefoot everyone from your yard will say "oooh, it's not working - look at those chips" - but it's just cosmetic and unless you put your back into it for 3 hours it's just like giving your nails a quick file.

 

[Alyth]

Well if it was my horse, I'd get him on the 'BF' diet and pull the shoes myself when he was due to be shod. However I know how to do remove shoes - I was taught so that I could remove a shoe in an emergency.

Taking the shoes off when he's due to be shod will give him a bit of length of horn which should make it slightly easier for him to start with. Yes, the excess horn might slowly chip off but you can look at how he's doing and decide if he needs a tidy up or not. You don't want the farrier to cut him short, trim the frog, the sole and the bars as this will make it more likely that he will be sore. The aim is to keep the horse comfortable, so start by exercising on surfaces that he is comfortable on and build up the work very slowly.

My mare was happy on smooth tarmac straight away so I started off walking her in-hand for a few minutes. Eventually we built up to regular hacks ranging from 1 hour to 3 hours. She started to grow horn very quickly, so even with all that hacking she required regular trims. The only time she was sore was after a trim that definitely set her back and I had to give her time to grow a bit of hoof before taking her out again. It was a bit frustrating but it demonstrated how trimming a tiny bit too much off can cause the horse to be foot sore.

Boots and pads are very useful for some horses in the early days (or longer depending on the horse), so maybe consider researching these in case your horse needs a bit more help. I have wondered about getting some as I have one really stoney bridleway that my mare didn't like even when shod (the stones are all fist size). So far I've just not ridden along it with her since her shoes came off, but I have wondered whether booting just for that route would work?

You need to find a Farrier that is either pro barefoot or is at least open minded. If they are forever over trimming and hacking away at the frog/bars/sole you will have a much lower chance of succeeding. If you can't find one then consider a trimmer if you have a good one in your area.

This puts your plan into words Good luck....

 

[Alyth]

Feed straight away: something with magnesium added, or a good mineral and vitamin mix with added MgO.

As things are happening quickly, I would buy a months supply of Pro Hoof [progressive earth] [start with 1/2 daily amount and build up over 7 days] and switch over to your long term choice at the end of the month. You should by then see an event line where you started the diet.

My diet is Hi fibre, lo sugar [<5%], some linseed, and balanced minerals with extra magnesium.

25-40gms minerals in including 5+ gms MgO
50gms micronised linseed
double handful Dengie non mollassed chaff [tasty and texture]
some salt [dessert spoon]
some non mollassed sugar beet pulp [soaks in 10 mins]

Feed is main thing, exercise management is the second thing. I found a tarmac road was best thing for self trimming as it rasps the feet for you. You need to have a regular amount of work as the feet grow in response to work.
I bought a farriers rasp as I can't stand chipping, and I wanted to roll the edges every two weeks, it takes a while to be confident, but keep farrier on hand to check on feet, at least every six weeks.
Most farriers will understand what you want when they remove the shoes, ie good balance, which should be already in place shod or not shod,, the bars left alone , shod or not shod, and THE FROG LEFT ALONE as you want the horse to use it, and not have it "sculpted".
There will be some length to be rasped off when shoe is removed, to prevent chipping, but this should not be severe, ............. and you don't want the sole pared either!!!!
You don't need to make a great fuss, but make sure he knows this is your intention so he does not over trim.

Rockley Farm have loads of information you can learn a lot by observation, the soles will change a lot at first,.
If the conformation is irregular you may find the hooves will grow to compensate.

It may be that you don t need a special diet, but I think it is best to go full on to begin with. Sugary feeds make feet sensitive, and this can include grass!

More good advice

 

[Goldenstar]

If the horse was happy BF in the past it should be easy .
My horses go in and out of shoes as it suits me.
Get the diet and management plans sorted straight away .
I shoe every five weeks but leave the shoes on longer before they are removed when the horse is going BF usually eight weeks this means the shoes comes off easily and there's a bit of extra wall .
The trimmer ( I use a trimmer when the horses are BF ) takes of the shoes removing each nail separately so it reduces damage to the wall verses prising the shoe off as a farrier would.
I then give the horses a few days off and then start in hand work daily .

 

[shannonandtay]

Im certainly no expert when it comes to barefoot but recently decided to try him last December after we were having trouble with shoeing him (fronts only), it was my farriers idea to try him bf so I really think having a good pro barefoot farrier (if you are going to have a farrier rather than a trimmer) makes all the difference as my previous farrier was of the mind that any horse that is hacked out regularly needs all four shoes! anyway pony has magnesium and hi fi lite, and shoes were taken off and we haven't looked back, he is checked every six weeks but have only had a small bit of flare removed from front insides the last two checks and haven't had anything else done with them. Im very pleased with the way his been going and he definitely seems happier without shoes and farrier time is now non stressful! I would probably take off the hinds first and see how you go and then remove fronts if you would prefer to do it that way.