Making the change to barefoot? (Sorry Patterdale!)

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Dizzy socks

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So, I have a new pony arriving next week, who is currently shod, but has previously been unshod. We would be looking to have her barefoot. How would you go about it, just whup them off? :)

And anyone ever used Keratex hoof hardener-Is it worth it?
 
Patterdale said:
But beware - I think that Ker***x and H**f Har***er are dirty words among the barefoot fraternity....;)
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They get off on some weird things, that barefoot mafia :eek:

btw, op, you may have more joy in the vet & hoof care section of the forum :)
 
am not a barefoot nut but all my ponies are barefoot. unworked but they still have uneven ground, frozen ground and gravel to contend with. have found keratex hoof hardener to work, much to my surprise! first lami pony took 3 years to come sound on gravel after a trim, second lami pony fine after keratex treatment. expensive but lasts forever. inside out and all that is all very good but I guess it won't suit all and during the adjustment period if boots are allowed then so is keratex, in my view :) *dons tin hat*
 
Dizzy socks said:
And anyone ever used Keratex hoof hardener-Is it worth it?
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I've sent you a couple of PMs with some general advice.

Hoof Hardening products are very popular and many people swear by them.

Barefoot fans are more reserved on the subject of using magic potions to harden soles......

Making the tissue hard IS NOT the same as making it THICK. It's not the same as getting the frog muscular and capable of doing it's job.

If you have a weak frog and paper thin sole - painting magic lotion on won't make the hoof suddenly healthy.

If you look at these cadaver hooves. Ignore the dissected toe area and look at the sole - see how thin it is.

thinsole_zpse61e9742-1_zps6c2133c4.jpg


And now this hoof - can you see how nice and thick the sole is in comparison?

Thicksole_zps9ec02f1b.jpg


And look at this weak and wimpy frog and heel

weakcaudalhoof.jpg


And compare to this, beautiful example of a strong caudal hoof

healthyfrog-1.jpg


So, perhaps Keratex can help - I'm not pooh-poohing the idea of using it AS A TOOL. But there is no short cut to a healthy, fully functioning bare hoof. It doesn't come from a bottle :)
 
Not directed to the OP - but perhaps people can understand the frustration of the Barefoot Taliban when someone talks about taking the shoes off their horse and are then led to believe just painting on Keratex or Kevin Bacon will make the hoof instantly healthy and comfortable :(.

We humans do love an instant cure :o
 
Wow! Very interesting pictures Oberon. Thanks for sharing, I have so much more to learn about feet!

I personally love Keratex. My gelding was having a very hard time keeping shoes on last year and I felt I needed an action plan. I changed his diet, changed his turnout (he was out in a very wet field and I felt it could be softening his feet excessively after the terrible summer we had), made sure he always wore boots for turnout and started applying Keratex. The only thing out of this list that could have caused the instant improvement that I saw was the Keratex as all the other changes would have taken a while to come into effect (you may argue the boots kept the shoes on but I went through pair after pair of overreaches as he kept taking them off and losing them in the field so it wasn't that :)) I was so happy with the result I got from using the stuff. Fairly expensive but worth it against the price of replacing shoes every week!

I can't comment about using it when transitioning from shod to barefoot but I will say it really appears to improve hardness of the feet.
 
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