My horse has gone barefoot - any advice?

P

perryhillbay

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 February 2009
Messages
201
Visit site
Hi all.

My mare had her hind shoes removed at her last shoeing (so 8 weeks ago), mainly because she was demolishing her stable walls by kicking at night.

However, her hind feet are looking so good, that when the farrier came a couple of days ago, I took the plunge and asked him to remove her fronts too and just do an all round trim and I'll see how she gets on barefoot. If I'm honest, I wasn't overly happy with his shoeing anyway, as Fizz's heels were starting to get very narrow and she was starting to get a bit pottery which is unlike her. I did challenge him on this a few times, but he wouldn't do anything about it, he said that it was just her way of going, which I really disagree with because she has always had a lovely long stride and nicely shaped feet in the past.

Basically, what I am trying to find out is what to expect over the coming months? I know she will probably go footsore, as she has always been shod, but how long should this take to go away? And what changes should I expect to see with her feet conformation?

I am happy to put fronts back on her if she really isn't coping, but how long do I give it to see?

Cheers
 
Well both mine are barefoot, one I had as a 3yr old so has never had shoes on and she has amazing feet, can cope with any surface. Other I inherited aged 14 and used to team chase and he had awful feet when I got him, split, cracked etc. He had lived out barefoot the winter before I got him and I've never had shoes on him since - so about 6yrs in total that I know about.

He has coronet scars so has permanent cracks on three feet, can be a little sore on stony ground but he's been fine. I did have him on farriers formula for a long time but he's come off that now so don't know if it did much good.

I would say their feet can be quite chipped in summer with the hard ground, but come winter they sort themselves.

i think just give it time, they get used to it after a few months depending on their feet, if she's got good feet I would pesevere with it, I wasn't happy with my old farrier so changed, still worth keeping eye on how they trim as my old farrier used to spend 5 mins on each horse and the shape changed over time

Oh and a hoof moisturiser in summer can be useful
 
Morning.
My mare had her hinds taken off a year ago, and quite honestly, she pottered on even slightly stoney ground. Then all of a sudden, she was fine.
In October she had her fronts off, and I was expecting her to be really footsore and pottery. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well she has coped with no front shoes. Even her medium trot has improved beyond belief. My instructor feels this is because she has no shoes on.
She has not been pottery at all. My farrier said expect her to be lame for a year!!!
I think it does really depend on the type of feet your horse has. But if you keep her on softish ground without too many stones, she should be fine.
I know I wish I had taken the barefoot plunge years ago.
 
A lot don't go footsore. If she looks a bit pottery you could consider hoof boots rather than putting shoes back on. I'd have thought your farrier should have given you some advice really, he knows your horse's feet. If her heels are contracted then they will improve - with correct trimming. Why don't you Google and find some "barefoot" sites and have a read? They are very useful.
Just to add, you may not even need to keep her on softish ground. They are all different. Don't worry about a bit of roadwork, that's not the worst surface for them. In fact, sand in an arena can be worse.
 
If you're not happy with your farrier try looking for one local to you on UKNHCP.

My farrier is a registered trainer - I am very happy with him. Bob is rising 14 and had his fronts taken off 5 weeks ago. So far so good!
 
She might not go footsore. Star always wore fronts in the Summer, but has been wearing fronts all year due to poor hoof condition (Chemotherapy showing in the hoof made them wear too quickly). Her heel contracted on the fronts quite badly and she got thrush in there so the fronts came off in October.
I gave her a week or so just turned out, and then started riding her on the road - no soreness. Brilliant and has been brilliant ever sice.

She's had her feet trimmed by a registered foot trimmer rather than our usual farrier and her feet look fantastic for it.
'm hoping to keep her barefoot from now on.

Hadn't thought of a hoof moisturiser for Summer, because her hoof wall does get dry and chips away. (Hence the shoes in the Summer.....)
 
As mentioned above, try to keep on soft ground initially, but the more hard ground they go on the tougher their feet will get, my lad used to really struggle on stony/ gravel surfaces to start with but I kept riding him (along path to fields) and he has toughened up.
 
My horse had his hind shoes of Oct 08 and then his fronts Feb 09. He gets checked regularly by my farrier but has only had a tiny trim once in 12 months. He was never foot sore mind you I'm careful not to continually hound him round gravel tracks. He goes on roads all the time has done HT on hard ground. His movement is better and the farrier says his feet are as hard as nails and in good condition. I've never fed him any hoof supplements at all. Its brilliant in all this snow too as I'm the only one with a horse that can bimble round the yard and ride in the snow!

As youre just getting going barefoot just be careful with gravelly tracks and dont do too much roadwork initially
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you're not happy with your farrier try looking for one local to you on UKNHCP.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am actually about to relocate to Hampshire from Suffolk, so will look for a new farrier when I get there to trim her etc.

How long will it take for her foot shape to start improving?

My farrier was supportive of me trying her barefoot as she does have really good feet, but he warned me away from barefoot sites as he said that they can be a bit crackpot!
blush.gif

One that I went on said that she would need trimming every 2 weeks! If I had her feet trimmed every 2 weeks, she would have no feet left, I swear!
 
The time it will take for his hooves to improve is a bit like how long is a piece of string. It depends...
wink.gif
I can't remember the name of useful books re barefoot horses, but I'm sure that someone will be along soon who has a brain. My horses are trimmed every 6-7 weeks, but one of them has strangely shaped hooves, so we need to keep on top of them. In my experience, unless you learn to tidy the hooves yourself between trims, you can't leave them for long periods of time. Even if they look as if they are not that long, they start to flare, and that results in splitting and cracking. Touch wood, when mine are in regular work and having regular trims, I have very little cracking, flaking or splitting in their hooves. So, I treat their hoofcare just as I did shoeing, and make regular appointments.
SOME farriers seem to get a bit casual with unshod horses, I had one in the past who just wouldn't tidy the hooves regularly enough. He'd come to shoe most of the yard, but look at mine and tell me they could go to the next visit. Even when I pointed out flare that needed sorting, or that toes were just starting to get long he'd tell me they were fine. Well, they weren't, so we had to part company. So you are going to need recommendations in your new area to help you choose your next farrier (or trimmer).
Re trimmers - it's a minefield and there are a lot of wannabees who aren't well trained. Another reason to join a "barefoot" forum just to suss out some future hoofcare for your horse.
Good luck.
smile.gif
 
I think others have covered almost everything you need to know however I would say that you may come to a point around 7 - 8 weeks of thinking have you done the right thing!! Do persevere with it, my horse has been without shoes for nearly 6 months and it was the best thing ive ever done. Hoof boots were a great invention, if you are interested in these do pm me and i will let you know of a company who have a fab reputation for help and support on these. Good luck!!
 
Good luck with this - My mare is barefoot and has competed sucessfully this way for years I've never looked back. The only thing I would say is if you have taken your horses shoes off as you were unsure of your farriers work ie hoof confirmation changing then I would still look for new farrier/trimmer to do your trim.

It's been agreed before in previous posts by farriers and the like that little damage can be caused by nailing a shoe onto a hoof in comparison to the damage that can be caused by a bad trim.

I hope this helps :-)
 
Is there a best time of year to go barefoot? I had my Sec D without hinds for part of last summer and he was ok but his feet went all crumbly and horrible so I had his hinds put back on. I did try a couple of years ago without hinds but where we were then the hacking was really stony and he just hated it.

However, I'm keen to give it another go.
 
My farrier said that now was the best time of year to take shoes off because the ground is wet and soft, and it will be easier on her feet for the ground to get progressivley harder as her feet do. Made sense to me.
 
Lots of great advise already. I would definitely encourage you to take the plunge. I did in June last year and was so amazed by the changes and improvements in all my horses that I'm now training as a barefoot trimmer as I want to be able to help others take their horses barefoot too. There are some crackpot websites out there but also many with great info on them. If you stick to the websites of suitably qualified people then you can't go far wrong - Jaime Jackson (AANHCP) and Pete Ramey in the States and any UKNHCP or AANHCP qualified trimmers in the UK. What you don't want to go anywhere near are the Strasser trained people - though I'm not sure there are any still practising in the UK. The Strasser trim is nothing like what is taught by the AANHCP or UKNHCP - maybe that's what your farrier meant?

A good introductory book to give you the basics is Feet First by Nic Barker and Sarah Braithwaite. I'd also highly recommend Founder Prevention and Cure by Jaime Jackson... even if your horse has never had laminitis (founder) it should be required reading and has lots of information about diet, which is crucial for successful barefooting.

Don't be afraid of using hoof boots if you need them. The only way to strengthen and improve hooves is to work them and if your horse is uncomfortable at first using hoof boots will mean you can carry on working them - the more work your horse does the better the feet will become.

The advantages of being barefoot are huge - once you've done it you wonder why you ever shod your horses and why everyone doesn't go barefoot.
 
I would take very great care chosing a trimmer - try to get a UKNHCP one of you can. The trim is only a tiny part of the whole picture and you will have to look at diet, environment, how the horse moves and so on - the trim is important but not the main thing to think about

What you will probably see is a level of decontraction as the back of the foot opens out and the frog and heels start to become more active and engaged

DSCF0381.JPG


Here is a picture of the shoe and hoof that it came off - one of mine - please keep your shoes and you can use them to compare the progress - mark them for each foot.

As you can see there is significant decontraction at the back of the foot - the heels have widened and the shape of thew hoof has changed - the central sulcus has expanded and there is a much more functional heel and digital cusion than there was - this was after 6 months of shoes off, I need to take this picture again as he is today.
 
Ha ha! Know who you are now SMID. I recognise that foot!!!


OP three bits of advice 1) buy the book. 2) buy the book 3) buy the book

It will tell you all you need to know. Currently on Amazon for less than fifteen quid and worth every penny.

Don't mistake going "footie" in March for failing to cope without shoes - it will almost certainly be the spring grass. You may need to keep her off the grass in the daytime like many of us do with our barefooters.

Good luck!
 
My mare went barefoot just under a year ago - purely because the farrier could not get shoes on as her feet were awful and wouldnt hold the shoe. I had always had to be very methodical looking after them, but he ended up suggesting taking them off and seeing how she got on. He explained she would be footsore for some time and probably have to be out of work BUT it was the best thing that has ever happened! Each time he came out and I explained we had not had any problems, he would say "the worst is yet to come" - but it never did. She has super feet now and they have completely changed shape. She had perhaps 2 weeks of being footsore but not badly, and for the first few months, after being trimmed there was often a day or two where she was delicate on rough, stony ground but I can honestly say for the workload she does it was the best decision! My farrier has suggested trying to put shoes back on again now her feet have come good but I have refused!!!!!

I oil them now and then and also rub vaseline into the coronet band and after a spell in with the snow she had a touch of thrush, which I am treating, but all in all, fabulous!

Good luck! I hope you have as much success as I did!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top