had front shoes taken off - eek!

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mole

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ive been umming and ahhing about it for a while now and bit the bullet yesterday and had my pony's front shoes taken off. i had the backs taken off 6 weeks ago and pony didnt even notice! she is noticing the fronts tho and although walking out fine she will take the odd step if she lands on a stone.

havent ridden her yet as thought she'd like a day or so to get used to no front shoes.

what is best to do next? i lunged last nite but thought about taking her for a wander round the lanes if the weather perks up.

anything else i can do to help her out? how long should i give her to get used to it?
 
Take it slowly. Don't do too much too soon. Get boots for hacking and take your time. It can take anywhere between no time at all and a year for a horse to get used to it but with a good farrier/trimmer you should be ok.
 
Personally i wouldn't get boots for your pony straight away. Ride her by all means but keep to tarmac to allow her feet to harden. There is a horse on livery at same yard as me who is just transitioning to barefoot. His owner road him out along the roads for about a month and now he is hacking out as normal. Just try to avoid really stony areas to start with. Also get yourself a good barefoot trimmer.
 
I don't know if you can say categorically no boots kirstylou as each horses hooves are different. I wished I used boots more to begin with...
 
are your horses without shoes? what work do you do with your horse now? did other people think you were mad?


im sticking with my farrier as hes v good and supportive but can also shoe my pony if need be too - best of both worlds!
 
I did say PERSONALLY. I'm not saying no horse should year boots when going from shod to barefoot. I just meant i, myself, would allow time for the horses feet to have time to harden by walking out on just tarmac before considering boots. That's just my opinion.
 
mole said:
are your horses without shoes? what work do you do with your horse now? did other people think you were mad?


im sticking with my farrier as hes v good and supportive but can also shoe my pony if need be too - best of both worlds!
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You are lucky to have a good farrier. I was new to area and didn't know many, the one I had made him lame (nailbind) behind so I got and EP.

We started in July. The first two months I did nothing, just let him get used to having no shoes and the new feelings. Then I did walks out in hand but lunged in the school. Then started hacking about a month ago. He got bruised and needed boots. Thing is as he was turned out mostly, his soles stayed soft.

Ideally I would have a hard turnout area but you can't have everything!
 
KirstyLou said:
I did say PERSONALLY. I'm not saying no horse should year boots when going from shod to barefoot. I just meant i, myself, would allow time for the horses feet to have time to harden by walking out on just tarmac before considering boots. That's just my opinion.
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Did you? I thought you said "Personally i wouldn't get boots for your pony straight away".
 
Once the shoes are off I'd give it a few days just to let him get used to the fact that he is getting proper feeling back in his feet, due to the increased blood flow.

Obviously if your hacking out over stony tracks boots are a good idea. I've got a set for the fronts only, and I've had them over 2yrs because I don't use them that much any more as her feet have hardened up.

Basically, hacking on roads is great for getting them through the transition.

Look at www.performancebarefoot.co.uk and www.barefoothorses.co.uk.

With the correct diet, exercise and trimming we have never been happier with our horses.

Good Luck.
 
OP- My boy has always been barefoot, he was a very successful eventer in his younger years, now we mainly hack and school, but if he had his way he'd still be out eventing now!

tallyho - Yes personally i wouldn't get boots for the pony. That doesn't say 'don't ever get boots for your pony'!
 
my tb has just gone barefoot from being lame with navicular and constantly pulling shoes off, and he is very foot sore and has been bare for 10 days now and is improving every day. i am very very lucky that i have pea gravel as my winter turnout so he is very comfy on that. i have bought some cavallo simple boots although i havnt used them yet as i had to change them for a smaller size which i have recieved this morn so i will be trying them on him later. i lunged him the other day and he is moving the best i have ever seen him move! so good decision all round. my mare only has fronts on but she will be going bare also. have fun!
 
Re boots - If a horse is sore and unable to cope with moving then it will need boots. Horses will transition quicker without them but no horse should be in pain.

A horse's feet toughen and improve with correct diet and stimulation by varied surfaces. Inhand walking on the roads is very beneficial at first, but if said horse can't manage that, then that's where boots can help.
 
OOh good luck I am having my TB's Hinds taken off today, have decided to leave the fronts on for now though. Hopefully it will help him stop injuring himself as on Monday he managed to cut the inside of one hind leg with the other !!!! Although I cleaned it, it became infected so he has had daily visits from the vet since Wednesday !!( Vets where getting concerened as they hadn't heard from me for a week or so ;-)

I am not going to use boots, my personal opinion !
 
Have a read of this mole, it explains the thinking briefly. The emphasis has to be on your horse as a whole. http://www.hoofauthority.com/hoofauthority010608_002.htm

Having a 'good' and experienced Trimmer may have advantages because you will get advice and support in helping you and your horse make any nescessary changes in diet, exercise and protection that may be needed.

You can tape pads on for walks in hand if needed. Conditions and your ability to control duct tape lol of course are factors in how practical this is.
There's these http://www.aepsupplies.co.uk/index.cfm?sid=21583&pid=330565
 
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Don't ride him for a while. Walk him on smooth surfaces like clean concrete or smooth road, starting with about 20 minutes. If you have a sand school you are lucky, use that as well. He will feel stones to start with, not suprisingly and you don't want to get a bruise. If, like me, you have a rough, stoney drive to get out onto the roads, then some front boots would be a good idea. They are comfortable in boots and it helps them to use the foot correctly which will build up the inside of the foot faster. Do the in-hand walking and it is like fitness work, get the foundations in first and it will be quicker in the long term. According to how he is, ask your trimmer about riding him. If in boots don't do too much too soon as he will be getting use to a different way of walking and moving, build up slowly to longer distances and time in boots. Less haste more speed.

Oh, and have you given the feet a good disinfectant routine to get rid of any fungal problems? Do that soon if you haven't

Those were my experiences anyway.
 
i walked her out tonight on the road for about a mile and was going to ride her on the road a little further 2mrw. she was fine on the road and wasnt footy at all just walking normally.

she has always had fronts on tho so i guess it'll take a little longer.


for the moment i am brushing and then purple spraying the bottom of her hooves when she comes in for the night. thought this would kill any unwanted bugs!
 
Echo Bravo said:
So why if you have the shoes taken off,would you need to put Boots on:confused::confused::confused:
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For the same reason that if you took your shoes off today and went for a walk you would be sore. (But in a few months you would be fine without shoes). It can take some horses time to recover from the weakening effect of shoes, and if the owner wants to carry on riding normally during that time, the owner will need boots for that horse. Other horses will manage without right from the start, some can't.

OP if your horse has contracted feet or spread feet they may get a boot size or more bigger or smaller within a few weeks or months and you will need another pair. For that reason, I would delay if your horse is not sore with what you currently want to do with it. And there is certainly no point in buying any until you know whether it will be footie at all, some never are.
 
Assuming he has good feet, the basic rules are build up slowly, just listen to your horse will let you know how fast to go!!!

But would start doing a little bit on roads, etc asap to start acclimatising the horse's feet to different surfaces.
 
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