Kingsley's Barefoot Rehab - Spt 20th 2010

viola

viola

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Once again many thanks to all the people who took the time to send PMs and replies on my previous thread.

Kingsley will be going to Rockley Farm in the second week of October. In the meantime, he had these shoes put on:

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They are aluminium shoes, very light and egg bar shaped. He is much more comfortable in them than in the small shoes with wedges he had on previously.

There is a video of Kingsley walking in these shoes on my blog - if you would like to see it please go to http://freelanceinstructorsdiary.blogspot.com/2010/09/kingsleys-barefoot-rehab-part-1.html

I also filmed a short part of his massage today as he has a sore brachiocephalic muscle on the side of the more severely affected fore leg. Video on the blog if you click the link above.

I'm ashamed to admit I have read more on shoeing, barefoot and hoof care in the last few weeks than I have in 15 years of owning and working with horses :( This makes me even more grateful to all the people on here who pointed me in the direction of some excellent educational materials - not only about barefoot but hoof care in general.

I will post an update once he arrives at Rockley. He will take part in the Project Dexter so hopefully the professional trimmers on here can trace more technical updates via Rockley.
 
I'm ashamed to admit I have read more on shoeing, barefoot and hoof care in the last few weeks than I have in 15 years of owning and working with horses :( This makes me even more grateful to all the people on here who pointed me in the direction of some excellent educational materials - not only about barefoot but hoof care in general.


Viola, same here regarding the above comment you made only its not 15yrs for me but 30yrs. God that makes me feel really old :?. my horse going barefoot next week. I am feeling apprehensive and excited at the same time. I wish you luck in Kingsley's re-hab and i am sure it will be a success. keep us all updated
 
I wish you both the absolute best Viola and am so looking forward to seeing how things go at Rockley for Kingsley. I'm saving the link to your blog if that's ok?
 
Good luck - please keep us all posted - I shall watch with keen interest especially as I am rehabbing my own navicualr horse at the same time!
 
Hi Viola, those feet look much more comfy in those shoes than the wedge/small shoe photos you posted previously. I'm glad he's more comfy for now. All the best
 
Chris you have just told me in a PM that you do not have one single hard working horse without shoes on in your practice, whereas Rockley Farm has a track record of curing (my word not theirs) horses which have already been failed by the best medications and remedial shoeing. Why wait and see if this works, when a barefoot rehab is almost certain to? Why keep shoes on the horse when he does not need them? Rockley Farm will probably get him completely sound without remedial farriery, which is prohibitively expensive in this country, so why bother spending the money even if the result was a sound horse in both cases? I hate to think what that pair of fronts cost, they look aluminium to me. In this area I would have to pay £150 the pair for those.
 
viola said:
I'm ashamed to admit I have read more on shoeing, barefoot and hoof care in the last few weeks than I have in 15 years of owning and working with horses :( This makes me even more grateful to all the people on here who pointed me in the direction of some excellent educational materials - not only about barefoot but hoof care in general.
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My horsey formative years were spent working at a big yard & doing BHS exams in the 80s. I did my stages 1 & 2 and trained for my AI but decided to go to Uni instead. What I can recall being taught about feet was basically what the various bits of the hoof were called, what the various sorts of shoe that you nailed to the foot were called and how frequently your horse should be seen by a farrier. Anything further than that seemed to boil down to 'get your farrier out and don't insult their years of training by having an opinion on anything they do'. I still have my 1985 Manual of Horsemanship and it's about as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to feet, I don't know if things are any better in 2010! Things weren't a huge amount better in 2005 when my old horse's shoes came off but at least I could borrow a copy of KC La Pierre's 'Chosen Road' off a friend. It made my head hurt but it was a lot more enlightening than anything I had ever read before, and it made me realise how right my gut feeling had been about the poor state of my horse's feet.

It may feel like it's late in the day in the overall scheme of things to be developing a knowledge of feet now, but I think it's great that all this stuff is available, it's great that you've taken the time and trouble to assimilate it and I wish you and your horse every success :cool:
 
Good luck with Kingsley. I am sure Nic at Rockley will have him rock crunchin in no time.

For five years I have been banging the barefoot drum and treated with amusement and suspicion, but it's finally getting out - the message that going barefoot may help. The message that there is more to the foot than previously thought is getting out.

People are listening.

Hallelujah!

(I am allowing myself a small smug feeling.)
 
I read your previous thread with interest and so pleased you've taken the plunge and going down the barefoot route - it really does work!.

Those new (and VERY expensive looking!) shoes look so so much better than the last lot but hopefully he'll soon not need anything on his feet to be comfortable. And, well, if the worse comes to the worst you can always try those shoes again.

All fingers and toes crossed for you and Kingsley.
 
shirley123 said:
Viola, same here regarding the above comment you made only its not 15yrs for me but 30yrs. God that makes me feel really old :?. my horse going barefoot next week. I am feeling apprehensive and excited at the same time. I wish you luck in Kingsley's re-hab and i am sure it will be a success. keep us all updated
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I will and you must put some updates on yours too, feel free to PM me. My friend and I are what I would call tentatively hopeful but even if it doesn't work I think it's still the right thing to do - I can't wait to see him with healthier looking pair of hooves!
 
Kallibear said:
I read your previous thread with interest and so pleased you've taken the plunge and going down the barefoot route - it really does work!.

Those new (and VERY expensive looking!) shoes look so so much better than the last lot but hopefully he'll soon not need anything on his feet to be comfortable. And, well, if the worse comes to the worst you can always try those shoes again.

All fingers and toes crossed for you and Kingsley.
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Thank you :) These shoes are aluminium shoes imported for his majesty from Sweden! He is much more comfortable in them but really, they are just a cover up. Now that I've finally read through the materials I should have done ages ago I do believe we are doing the right thing going barefoot.
 
ferrador said:
why not save a fortune and give these better fitted shoes a chance ?
you already say he is more comfortable in them
chris
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Ferrador, there two main reasons:

1) The shoes are not going to cure the problem, they just cover it up. He is more comfortable but he isn't sound.
2) We want him to be healthy & sound not on bute & fancy shoes till the end of his life.

There will be no fortune to save. Rehabbing him at Rockley will cost less than his current livery costs.
 
Andalucian said:
Hi Viola, those feet look much more comfy in those shoes than the wedge/small shoe photos you posted previously. I'm glad he's more comfy for now. All the best
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Definitely, in the previous ones he not only walked like on very badly fitted hight heels but also dragged his feet along as if he had weights attached to them :(
He even flicks his toes in these :) I guess if I still was a shoe enthusiast they would be my first choice.
 
Now that I've finally read through the materials I should have done ages ago I do believe we are doing the right thing going barefoot.
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Ahhhh, quick run. You'll very quickly turn into one of these mad, treehugging, zelous, opinionated, extremists who are pro-barefoot and preach the evils of shoeing. :eek:



Welcome to the club ;)
 
Kallibear - that might be the case! ;)

I'm still not after just taking the shoes off as seen it happen with poor results but I had a horse with navicular in my teens and will never forget the monstrous weird wedges and pads he had to endure :(

if it works with Kingsley I shall start making banners ....;)
 
viola said:
Thank you and all the best with yours! Are you doing it yourself?
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Yes I am - I trained with KC so am in the position where I feel fairly confident, although I contact other trimmers A LOT for opinions and guidance. Its a great learning curve.

The horse I have was written off by Rossdales, even for a return to very light work. He has terrible x-rays - so bad they didnt even bother with MRI.

He is now sound in walk and trot in a straight line on the road. When I first got him he couldnt even walk properly was constantly resting one leg then the other and didn't break into a trot for at least 6 weeks. He was nasty and grumpy and very miserable. Now he is a lovely happy chat - canters up the field to say hello and is a completely changed horse.

They prevoiusly tried wedges and then bar shoes with wedges and fancy farriers to all no avail.

I have every confidence that you will be riding Kingsley again barefoot in the not too distant future. Please keep us updated on his progress :)
 
That's brilliant. I have my horse currently at Rockley he's the Dun that is there. He is also a project Dexter horse. He had an MRI and had a collateral ligament strain. He has been there since July and is sound at walk, trot and canter, had our second canter in 18 months yesterday. We never thought in a million years that Bailey would come sound enough to do anything, let alone canter over Exmoor! 6 months ago i was thinking the unthinkable. And like you i have learnt more about my horses feet in the last months than in the last 35 years.........owch........ anyway no doubt i shall see Kingsley when i am down next to ride my boy. I was a true sceptic about the whole barefoot thing, but now my boy will never ever have a pair of shoes put on him...barefoot all the way. Roll on next year when we will be out competing, as like Kingsley because of his feet the rest of his body has suffered and he needs a lot of TLC and building up. Good luck and i shall watch your posts with interest. You will be amazed I promise.
Lx
 
Starting a quiet revolution in the way we think about these horses....

Keep the shoe Voila when it comes off - or keep the last set of shoes that fitted those hooves - you may be surprised at the change of shape in the hoof over a few months. I certainly was.
 
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