Hello I'm new and I have a bit of a dilemma?

HufflyPuffly

HufflyPuffly

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Firstly hi *waves*, I've lurked for a while before plucking up the courage to join and my first few posts seem to have gone largely unnoticed :D, but I'm having a dilemma and I'm not sure what to do :confused:.

Ok here goes, I have read enough on here about the pro's of barefoot and thought it would help my mare, she's a veteran and a bit arthritic so I thought it would be of benefit for her. Also I thought it would be better to try and transition sooner rather than later with her getting older :(. She is bare behind and has great feet, backs are great, and her fronts in shoes seemed to be great too, hardly ever lost a shoe in the 7 years I've owned her.

I changed part of her feed to include Biotrition, magnesium and also changed from the Mollichop showshine to the veteran one as it contains linseed amongst other things. I had boots for when she was ridden, but she was terrible when I took her shoes off, could hardly walk to the field :( and 5 weeks later I got them put back on, I just couldn't see her so uncomfortable :(. So my uncertainty is can I get her barefoot? Is it a question of feeding? If so, if her diet is too poor to withstand healthy hoof growth how are her back feet so healthy?

If anyones got any advice for me I'd be very greateful :).
My choices are:
- Keep her fronts on for the foreseeable future, no big deal but a worry when her arthritis makes her too wobbly for shoeing as I've seen with other older ponies...
- Maybe change her feed futher for a better hoof friendly diet, but as a horse I've really struggled in the past to put weight on I'm reluctant to make too many changes now I've found something that works for us...
- Stop worrying and live for the present, as she's (touch wood) healthy, happy and sound...

Sorry I know this has been done to death, but I just dont know what to do for the best :confused:
x
 
Afraid I have no idea :) But I wanted to say Hi and bump it up a bit in case someone more useful spots it - Perhaps PM Oberon about it? They know LOADS!!!!
 
First of all hi!

As the owner of many vets I can happily say, take each as they come! If she needs shoes pop them on. I have three unshod vets at the mo but it hasn't always been this way. My lovely connie x tb had horrible feet and even in the last working year of her life had fronts only just in the field as her feet were so bad. Her best pal a 38 year old did fronts only till her retirement in her 36th year.

My 17 year old is barefoot and always has been, the sme goes for my shettie and section A who are about 16 years old. My sec D, 25 year old has never worn shoes but is looking like she needs fronts as I do lots of road work where we are and is very tender footed.

My advice is, take it as it comes and you know your horse better than anyone on here so do what you think is best for them, not what we perceive to be the right thing xxx
 
Hi AlexHyde and welcome. Can't offer any advise as I'm in the learning process too. I do ride a 20 year old who is also a bit arthritic and had his shoes removed a year ago. He copes quite well on smooth or soft surfaces. Only had a problem when the farrier got carried away with his trimming.:mad:
Hope you find a solution to her problems:)
 
Thanks for the responses everyone :).

Hmm, Ambers mum maybe I'm over thinking this then :rolleyes:, wouldn't be the first time :D.
She has been perfectly fine for the past 8 years with just fronts on her, but I got swayed with the idea of barefoot. Also there is a lady on the yard who has done it with her tb who is the same age as Doodle, so I guess I thought if she could then Doodle could :o.

Sugar_and_Spice, I rely on another livery to turn out most week days due to restricted grazing and me working 50 miles away, so it wouldn't be fair to ask her to do that for me :(. Doodle loves the yard and hates going out in bad weather anyway:D (truely she does, she hasn't read the memo that shes a horse and should love the field regardless of the weather :eek:), so not planning a move at the moment...
Are there boots that can be worn in a muddy field and for long periods, could this be an option?

Keep the replies coming please, it's always useful to get others opinions.
(Also for some more info, she is 20 this year and fed 1 1/5 scoops of Mollichop Veteran, 1 1/5 scoops of Dodson and Horrell sixteen plus mix, 2 scoops of speedi-beet, cortaflex, biotrition and magnesium, split between two feeds a day).
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Rose Folly said:
Don't be swayed by shod/unshod. Do what's best for your horse. Don't make her suffer to live out a pipe dream.
Click to expand...

Yes definitely, others said I gave up too soon as she was fine on all soft/smooth ground, but the tinest stone would have her short and tentative and anything gravel sized or bigger was a big no-no!

On the positive she is feeling very well with her new shoes on :D, nobody is allowed to call her a veteran the way she carries on with all her prancing, leaping and attempted towing off :rolleyes:, she gets away with murder as shes older and so dammed pretty.
x
 
AlexHyde said:
Thanks for the responses everyone :).

Hmm, Ambers mum maybe I'm over thinking this then :rolleyes:, wouldn't be the first time :D.
She has been perfectly fine for the past 8 years with just fronts on her, but I got swayed with the idea of barefoot. Also there is a lady on the yard who has done it with her tb who is the same age as Doodle, so I guess I thought if she could then Doodle can
x
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have found, since the invention of Internet forums, people question their own knowledge. Don't, you know you horses better than anyone and what won't suit one will happily suit another. I work on my own principles and encourage my students the same. Apparently I am a NH person with a difference to some and a traditional horsemanship person to others... I think myself as a "my horsemanship person", I follow what my horse wants not what the latest convention says xx
 
Ambers mum said:
Exactly. I have found, since the invention of Internet forums, people question their own knowledge. Don't, you know you horses better than anyone and what won't suit one will happily suit another. I work on my own principles and encourage my students the same. Apparently I am a NH person with a difference to some and a traditional horsemanship person to others... I think myself as a "my horsemanship person", I follow what my horse wants not what the latest convention says xx
Click to expand...

This is very true ^, thank you :cool:.
I dont know what has come over me, I'm normally very good at following all Doodle's needs based on what is good for her the idividual... But seem to be doubting my own judgment at the moment :confused:. I think I can put this down as we tried, but barefoot all round is not for us, it's not the end of the world :D.
x
 
Good luck and remember foru s are great for sounding out ideas but at the end of the day it's the people who deal with our babies each day who have the knowledge and say o
At the end of the day xx
 
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