Horse struggling with barefoot - "Helpful comments"

Just re the supplements.

The Progressive Earth stuff is good but would also be worth taking a look at the Forageplus ones. Similar mix of minerals but higher levels of the key minerals which might be helpful for a particularly sensitive horse. It's early days though and feed and supplements will take a while to kick in and you will only see the benefit in the new hoof growth.

How is he on smooth tarmac, if he's OK on that I would be taking a step back and doing lots of in hand walking on it. Ideally you need to find a surface he is comfortable on and do lots of gentle work unbooted to stimulate the foot.
 
Goldenstar said:
I think boots interfere with breakover and I am unconvinced their long term use is a good idea.
They are scary to use on big moving horses I nearly had an awful accident on J whose got ridiculously expressive back legs when he stood on his front boot with his hind foot.
However all my horses except one have boots and I use them when I need to but then I also use shoes when it suits me .
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So it is mostly design and fit issues?
 
Whilst mineral supplementation is always advisable, no minerals will stop a horse being footy, they will merely help grow a better foot, which will take something in the region of 9-12 months, so please OP do not waste your money changing mineral supplies and having forage analysis done (they are all very expensive). The Progressive Earth one will produce just as good results.
OP is your horse footy at walk, or is he just doing a choppy trot when you work him? Is he moving in the field normally with his mates or just standing still (without boots)?
I always take 'footy' to mean that the horse is reluctant to move- especially to either side and is in obvious discomfort with a shortened stride and obvious 'ouch' moments when walking.
If it is just the lack of extension and choppy trot when ridden, then this could be something that will eventually pass and would not mean that the horse is uncomfortable at turnout.
Equally it may not: My mare was bought barefoot at 4, had never had shoes, has always had the right diet, surfaces, and has excellent feet and was never footsore etc etc but she too developed a very choppy short trot, she was wearing more than she was growing, and very unevenly. I shod her purely because at 4-5 she needs to be developing muscle and doing and experiencing lots of things, not waiting around for her feet to grow.......... so that I can take her for a 10 minute walk....... in hand.......with boots on.....once a fortnight.
 
I had "helpful comments" last night for the first time ever, regarding my pony.

Took his shoes off almost 2 years ago to the day. He has been absolutely fine and tends to wear them down quite evenly himself, then has the farrier every 10 weeks for a tidy up and check. I've really upped his work the last month or so and in response his feet have done what nature intended and upped their growth. Pony has then self trimmed as he normally does and started chipping away the excess horn. I booked the farrier for Tuesday next week (which will be 6 weeks since last visit)to tidy them up for a big show we are going to in 2 weeks. All perfectly normal and natural and he is sound as a pound.

Well my friend was chatting to me last night while I was grooming and she told me his feet were in bad condition and that he needs shoes because his feet are so cracked. *Sigh*

Edited to add - She should have seen them 2 weeks ago when he was shedding his soles!
 
Just to add- to quote my vet and farrier- boots are absolutely fine on roads, and in emergencies, but yes, they do interfere with breakover, they do not offer the support to the hoof that it sometimes needs, and at faster paces can be just plain dangerous. I totally agree, I have limited boot experience but mine have got stuck in mud and pulled off, flown off in canter and slipped like crazy on damp short grass and mud. They are also an ideal breeding ground for bugs (thrush, fungus, bacteria- these all love warm, damp places and summer or winter, hoofboots will be just that!!!!) especially if used longterm.
 
OP that is just what I use my front boots for - hacking with others on stoney tracks. He has a slow walk anyway so has to be able to trot comfortably to keep up and not take his time walking over stoney bits.

They are easyboot gloves with power straps that he has had since day 1 - unusually he didn't change shoe size ;) and I am not sure they affect the breakover any more than standard shoes do/would, in part because he has worn them where he would like his break overs. They aren't great on wet grass on hard ground but then neither are shoes, or his barefeet much so I wouldn't be going faster than a walk/trot anyway. I have never had one come off, even in deep and clayey mud. The only time I have had an issue was while he was trying to keep up with a TB .... he must have overreached slightly but he just pulled the gaiter through the screw bit as the boot didn't shift (or the gaiter they just lost their connection!)

I don't think I'd want to use them all the time as I probably prefer him without them on but for sometimes use I think they are a pretty good compromise.

With regards to bacterial/fungal growth - they don't grow that quickly that I'd think an hour or twos hack are going to cause any issues ;)
 
serenityjane - the walk is great if the surface is forgiving. He plants when he knows he's got to go over a stony bit - e.g., from yard to tarmac there's a gap of around 15m of rough ground. He's pretty easily coaxed, but doesn't like it. He's moving in the field - although seems far more interested in grubbing than running (as do his fieldmates!). However, I have seen him buck and bronc and career around until of course his attention is diverted quickly back to the green stuff! The field is on a good hearty slope and the water is in the far corner from the gate - he's not parched when he comes in, so he's got to be going down to drink.

The trot is choppy when ridden, I've not tried in hand - will strap on my engines and give that a go.

I'm actually taking him north of Orkney - so let's hope there're minerals in abundance!
 
serenityjane said:
Whilst mineral supplementation is always advisable, no minerals will stop a horse being footy, they will merely help grow a better foot, which will take something in the region of 9-12 months, so please OP do not waste your money changing mineral supplies and having forage analysis done (they are all very expensive). The Progressive Earth one will produce just as good results.
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The forageplus (and equivita) balancers have roughly twice the levels of key minerals than the progressive earth ones so you can't say that the OP's horse will do just as well on that or if it needs the higher levels.

No it won't make the horse magically rock crunching overnight but my experience (2 ex racers and a warmblood) is that if you don't get it right, then you won't get them rock crunching in the long term. And not having them could make a previously rock crunching horse footy.

Once the shoes came off mine it took 6 months for a new hoof capsule (as opposed to the 9 to 12 months in shoes) and it was fascinating to see the new better tighter growth coming through as a result of getting the minerals right.

The OP is moving in a few weeks so obviously it doesn't make sense to have an analysis done now but if they are in their new place long term it can be useful and save money in the long term as making up your own mix can work out cheaper if you shop carefully.
 
Then if he were mine- for now I would turn out bare and ride in boots and ignore any adverse comments.

North of Orkney I would imagine he will naturally be moving about more to graze as the grass will not be as plentiful (this is a good thing!!!), the pasture may be different too-ie more/less stones/hills/trees etc.

The other thing to think about is trimming- he may not actually need that much- or any if the shoes have only just come off. We have a 17.1 hh ID, her feet are relatively slow growing, if she were barefoot she would have the same problems as your boy with no trimming, so if we had her trimmed too....... People always feel that to be 'barefoot' their horse needs a 'barefoot trimmer or EP', but whilst the advice and support they can give is invaluable.....sometimes the trimming is just totally unnecessary- our roads and yard are so abrasive that our horses would undo in 10 minutes any trim for 'balance' that the trimmer may spend an hour or more to create.
Our Hanovarian is Barefoot, her feet are very self-trimming, she is sound on all surfaces in the yard (stone, tarmac, concrete) and pasture, but she is a broodmare -so currently un-ridden, she has not been trimmed, but when she hunted last season, she needed shoes every 5 weeks, not just because of hunting, but because she was hunting fit and needed lots of roadwork to get that way! Her hooves would not have coped without and hers are fairly fast growing. When her shoes were removed she was not trimmed either- the edges were just rolled with a rasp by the farrier.
 
While I agree that less is more trimmingwise my experience was that my barefoot trimmer cuts off less than the 2 farriers I used who made him lame.

Get recommendations in your area (could be a farrier or trimmer) and if they leave the horse sore after a trim then look for someone else.
 
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