My mare has to go barefoot...

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RosieIsARider

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I have had Tess, my 14hh tb X welsh, for 5 years now and she has always been shod. I also have two other horses. I am 16 so don't pay for shoeing myself and mum has said the she will not pay for the shoes of 3 horses so i have decided that Tess will have to go barefoot.

She competes in dressage a few times a year but is mainly used for long distance hacking, fun rides etc. Unfortunately she has inherited dry flat thoroughbred feet rather than hardy welsh section c feet. She has been off work since September last year and i am slowly bringing her back into work.

I am working on strengthening the walls and soles of her hooves i have brought Naff hoof and sole and i am introducing some roadwork in the hope that she will develop harder soles naturally but she is a bit sore on gravelly surfaces. I have developed a routine of applying naff hoof moist to the walls of her hooves twice a day, conucrescine ointment to the coronet band once a day (her hooves are a bit cracked and i am hoping it will promote some healthy hoof growth) and the hoof and sole ointment once a day. As well as picking her hooves out and washing the dirt off before i start the routine. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes (because she is very mareish and trying to kick me throughout the process) but if it means i don't have to sell/loan her then i don't mind.

It is too early to tell whether or not my routine is helping! She is a good doer and very fizzy to ride so i don't really want to be giving her any hard feed. I am also on a budget so any treatment would have to be affordable.

I need to know what else i can do to make the transition to barefoot less painful for her of if it will even be possible for her to go fully barefoot?! Also how long will it take for her to be able to hack happily barefoot?

Sorry it is so long!
Rosie x
 
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Possibly look into buying the horseshoe boots? http://www.tackdirect.co.uk/prod_show.asp?id=1039&ref=froogle&prodid=1039

Im not too sure as i have never used them myself but a livery uses them on both her riding horses when she hacks out? I can find out the brand they have if that would be any use for you? They work just like you or I put shoes on. My pony used to have shoes and I took them off as farrier said they wern't needed. I guess I was lucky tho, he has never been feely or sore on gravel or anything. Hardy little new forest for you!
 
I have a newforest pony too and i have to say he is the most amazing pony i have ever had!

I would love some of these boots but i think they would have to be a birthday present as i can't afford them right now! do you know if they have to be replace every so often due to the soles wearing out?
 
A few of us barefooters believe that diet is the key to success barefoot.

Hoof health comes from within - not what you potions put on them.

1) A high fibre diet with plenty of vits and mins, but low in sugar and starch is key.
2) As much work as the horse is comfortable with. You will NEVER outwear a healthy hoof.
3) Sympathetic trimming.

Being footie can be due to spring grass or an under-transitioned hoof that needs more work.

Trimming wise - little is better than more, horses can often be lamed by over enthusiastic trimming. And hacking away at the soles of a barefoot horse is strictly forbidden!

As for boots - they can be a tool if a horse is too sore to get enough work in - but if you address the points above - they may not be necessary.

My horses have been barefoot for 7 years now and I've never needed boots.

The book Feet First is a good place to start.
 
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Oberon said:
Hoof health comes from within - not what you potions put on them.
Click to expand...

Though i agree with this entirely i have has really good results with cornucrescine before on some of the rescue horses and ponies. I thought i would use it because her feet still show evidence of shoeing damage and they are a bit cracked so i'm trying to 'grow them out'..:o
I have also heard that the 'hoof moist' is good when the weather is particularly dry (my fields are like deserts!) I use the hoof and sole basically because it can't do any harm!
She is on hay at night and decent grass in the day she also has access to salt licks, mineral licks and the option of a river to drink from so i don't think that she is lacking anything in her diet. I am a bit obsessed with my horse's diets so nothing gets forgotten!

I will definitely take your advice about the sympathetic trimming on board and i have the option of using a barefoot farrier if i need to, so hopefully he will give me some good advice too! :)
 
Although I agree that 'hoof health comes from within', not all horses are blessed with great hooves either the foot itself or general conformation can make a difference.

All of my previous ponies have gone barefoot without a problem although I have used Keratex hoof hardener in the past with excellent results.
But one of my horses who I've had for 10 years really struggled and so has always been shod.
When he was retired following injury 3 years ago, I had his back shoes taken off and he was OK, but now due to athritis he can no longer cope with the concussion of nailing shoes on. Imprint shoes were just too expensive so I tried 'Old mac' boots on his fronts.
I have to say that they are brilliant :D, he only wears them when being led out for excercise on hard or stony ground, but his movement is so much more confident now he realises he won't feel any jarring.

Best of all when I went to my local tack shop to buy a pair of boots I found a pair of used ones in his size for £30...they are like new so were a complete bargain.
 
The reason I mention diet is because even when conditions and trimming is fine - you can sometimes find that horse that just never seems to be right.

What we are finding is when said horse has their grazing analysed and minerals balance accordingly - they come completely sound.

Lotions and potions tend to be incidental, it's the minerals that fixed the horse. So I tend to save the cash instead nowadays.
 
I think cornucescine is a good cosmetic product. I also firmly believe diet is THE thing for good ol' hard hoof!

I have Raynauds. since having my horse bf, I've looked at my own nails. I've been supplementing with brewers yeast, selenium ACE, mag, cal & zinc and my nails are SO much better and my circulation has improved a lot. I think I need to should shout this more but my consultant thinks its amazing! All from learning more about hooves!!!

Before, i was on losartan and nail cream.
 
I spoke to my farrier today and he said that he recommends 'Kevin Bacon's Hoof dressing' as it is a grease based product. Apparently hoof oil is not a good thing to put on horses feet everyday as it actually drys them out - a bit like if we put oil on ourselves then sat out in the sun.
 
My pony has a slight twist in the hoof which is evident when unshod but is easily sorted when shod.
I would love to have him barefoot, but at the last yard the tracks were very stoney, and farrier advised against it.
My boy is currently unshod and in a new place, with better tracks, my new farrier is not quite world class, but I might ask about boots, but I am not sure about them.
 
tallyho! said:
I think cornucescine is a good cosmetic product. I also firmly believe diet is THE thing for good ol' hard hoof!

I have Raynauds. since having my horse bf, I've looked at my own nails. I've been supplementing with brewers yeast, selenium ACE, mag, cal & zinc and my nails are SO much better and my circulation has improved a lot. I think I need to should shout this more but my consultant thinks its amazing! All from learning more about hooves!!!

Before, i was on losartan and nail cream.
Click to expand...
Hehe, love your post. I have come to believe that hooves are a mirror of overall horse health. Working on the assumption... you are what you eat and how you live, it all comes together. :) Learning about hooves is imo a fascinating and enligthening journey.

Second Oberon's posts. :)

Have a read of this fab blog. http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/hoof-dressings.html
Google Jaime Jackson, Pete Ramey, Dr. Robert Bowker, K. C. La Pierre, Cindy Sullivan, Marjorie Smith...
 
you obviously want to do the best you can for Tess, but you must be worrying for her! could one of the others go barefoot instead - one with less flat feet? Or could two (or even all of them) go barefoot behind with shoes in front? hope you can work something out.
 
Oberon said:
A few of us barefooters believe that diet is the key to success barefoot.

Hoof health comes from within - not what you potions put on them.

1) A high fibre diet with plenty of vits and mins, but low in sugar and starch is key.
2) As much work as the horse is comfortable with. You will NEVER outwear a healthy hoof.
3) Sympathetic trimming.

Being footie can be due to spring grass or an under-transitioned hoof that needs more work.

Trimming wise - little is better than more, horses can often be lamed by over enthusiastic trimming. And hacking away at the soles of a barefoot horse is strictly forbidden!

As for boots - they can be a tool if a horse is too sore to get enough work in - but if you address the points above - they may not be necessary.

My horses have been barefoot for 7 years now and I've never needed boots.

The book Feet First is a good place to start.
Click to expand...


Ditto all of this! My barefoot trimmer also suggested to me to keep sugar in my lads diet to a minimum as this could cause problems. (i was new to the whole barefoot thing when i got him!)
 
My pony has been barefoot for nearly 12 month now and is doing great . i have him on one of the Rockley farm diet plans ( unmollassed sugarbeet,seaweed,mag calcium brewers yeast and linseed ) Its a great diet and he has grown a fantastic new hoof .
For 6 month i hacked him out in easyboot gloves ( they are amaizing and still look as good as new even with all the wear they have had. ). He can now cover all terrains barefooted without any probs. Hope this helps xx
 
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