Hind shoes came off today, aftercare...

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ScarlettLady

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My boy's hind shoes have come off today, just looking for some opinions on aftercare of this...
He's a 12yr old irish maxi cob type who will be out of work till at least the middle of winter as he's damaged his right hind suspensory ligament.
He's had previous problems with a crack in the outer wall of his left hind hoof, and afew yrs ago lots of bruised sole/absess problems, however farrier can't see any reason to not take his shoes off as the crack seems to heal when he's not getting regular roadwork etc.

He walked out sound to the field, but am worried about him becoming footsore, He had a sachet of bute this morning, would you give him another tonight? and how long for?

Also how long if at all would you expect a horse to be footsore, if at all? farrier has just left it as see how he goes if he's not coping call me.

He is out 24/7 now and fed only a handful of happy hoof a day. He gets kevin bacon to his feet a couple of times a week.

I will put his shoes back on if need be, but figured I had to try barefoot whilst I only have field ornaments, and am contemplating introducing another horse this summer.
My old girls back shoes will be coming off too in a couple of weeks but I expect her to cope better than him....

Any help much appreciated :D (would have asked farrier, but couldn't be there today and don't want to keep pestering him with calls/texts :rolleyes: )
 
I think you may be pleasantly surprised at how well he copes without hind shoes. You can always use a hoof hardener like Keratex on the sole and outer hoof (NOT frog) for a few days to help harden the hoof. All our 4 have no hind shoes on and 2 are completely barefoot - the other 2 mares have fronts on because we don't do enough stoney work to condition the feet for our summer hacking route - these fronts are off again in the winter (my hubby is a farrier).
 
Thanks, am hoping so, but he is a huge wimp!! I will just keep an eye on him i think :)
would like to take his fronts off eventually too, whats a realistic scale for this?

I'm rubbish with feet, :o but lucky I have a fab farrier :D
 
If you know nothing about feet how do you know your farrier's any good?;)

Feet crack for 2 main reasons: one is a poor balance which puts uneven pressure through the wall. Many feet that are cosmeticaly balanced are infact incorrectly for the leg above it. Very few horses have perfectly straight legs and therefore a perfectly straight hoof doesn't suit them.

Second reason is flare. The hoof wall should be very short and basically level with the sole. Any longer than that and parts start to get levered up and cause cracks. I would guess your horse has a mixture of both.

Diet is essential to consider when taking shoes off. Many horses get sensitive feet when on decent grass. The shoe masks it tho so you don't notice it until you take them off.

Work is also essential, which is where you will struggle if he's lame. Lots and lots of road work (a hard flat surface), built up gradually, is the best possible thing for developing feet. If all he does is stand in a soft field then of course all he will have is soft feet.

There is soooo much info on barefeet online so it would be well worth going off and learning more. It's scary how many people blindly trust a professional when they have so little knowledge themselves they can't tell if said professional is doing a good job or giving good advice!
 
Kallibear - because my instructor's partner is a barefoot trimmer, and we have no barefoot trimmers on island, but she is impressed with my friend's barefoot horse's trimming, which is done by my farrier.
He's brought my pigeon toed old girls front feet on a treat, shes so much better! and my horses are NEVER foot sore after shoeing, he'll go out of his way to help if I have a lameness or problem ( to me he is brilliant anyway!!)

I'm trying to do a bit of research, but its knowing the good stuff from the bad stuff ;)
Yep I had read about the work part, but we will watch this space and see what happens :(

Thank you
 
I'll be honest- I'm really bad- if my horse doesnt need shoes, I just take them off and leave him too it- he might be a little footie on stones, but he's always sound on grass and in the field.

I don't alter my feed or management at all, and he generally has his shoes off for at least 3 months a year.

If I need to take him somewhere frequently that I know he'll be footie, then I'll use keratex, but as a preventative more than anything
 
My TB had his shoes off last February and was only footsore on stony ground, never on smooth hard surfaces or grass. (And he's a tb of the gayest variety!)
 
FAB thanks every one :D

c&c i tried feeding biotin, but apparently its difficult to absorb unless fed alongside another vitamin?? and he gets happy hoof which has added biotin anyhow, will see how he goes though may introduce something else :)
 
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