I'm thinking about barefoot... What's the protocol?

[ILikeThemHairy]

As the title suggests, I'm thinking about going barefoot. How easy is it to do? Is it better suited to some than others? How would I go about it? Do I need to prepare / feed extra suppliments? How long does it take to get there?

 

[Oberon]

Do you have an angle grinder?

 

[muff747]

In the meantime, while the experts answer, I would say "How long is a piece of string" to your questions.
It all depends on a lot of variables like, how long your horse has been shod, what are his/her feet like now, what feed does it get now, what are your turn out arrangements, how much do you ride etc etc.
I would begin by getting your horse onto a high fibre, low sugar diet with some added vitamins and minerals, like a Forage plus, Pro Hoof or Meta Balance mix.
Tell us all about your horse and the way you keep him/her now.
Take pics of clean feet from the front and side from ground level, and the sole and then post them on here.
Do lots of research on sites like Pete Rameys Hoofrehab.com and Rockleys Blogs so you get to know what a healthy foot looks like. Get to know what people are talking about so you understand how much involvement you need to have with caring for your horses feet. You really need to be dedicated to the cause because it is you who needs to learn to cope with bare hooves more than your horse. Good luck
Or I should say while you get a sensible answer from the experts lol

 

[amandap]

I'm another who says... how long is a piece of string. Second muff747's post and here's a fact sheet produced by a very switched on vet practice.
http://gallery.myff.org/gallery/1257585/barefoot.pdf

Marjorie Smith at barefoot horse is another site to google.

 

[JennyNZ]

x3 the string thing. It takes as long as it takes.

Find yourself a trimmer who knows what they are doing.

 

[Skippys Mum]

I got Arnies diet more or less sorted out before hand (although its been tweaked repeatedly since the shoes came off). I picked a time when I knew I wouldnt be riding for a while so no pressure to have him out and about immediately.

Then I took the shoes off. A year ago.

Then I spent the best part of 6 months riding my horse but panicking almost daily, obsessively checking his feet, obsessively spraying his feet, obsessively reading about feet, obsessing over hoof boots.

Then I spent the next 6 months having great fun and doing all the things I used to do with shoes on - but way cheaper - and without obsessing so much

In hindsight, if I was doing it again, I would do the back feet first, get them sorted out then do the fronts. My original plan was shoes off for the winter when I knew I wouldnt be riding. Then things were going well so I never quite got round to putting them back on. Then I decided I would definately give it a full year even if hoof boots etc were a bit of a faff. Then he didnt really need boots most of the time so it stopped being an issue. There is nothing I have wanted to do this year with him that I havent been able to do without shoes. To be fair though, he had lovely feet to start with so its been fairly easy for me

 

[Oberon]

Marjorie Smith at barefoot horse is another site to google.

She is a legend .