New to barefoot - Photos

MiniMilton

MiniMilton

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My horse has been out of work for the past few months, and he's been essentially fending for himself. He wont be ridden for another 5 months but in the meantime I was going to start lunging on sand and walking in hand on tarmac. It will give me 5 months to get his feet right before they have to stand up to ridden work, and jumping etc. His hinds have been without shoes for 3 months, his fronts without shoes for 3 weeks. What issues are currently there for me to keep an eye on? (please see pics) (sorry they are massive, i'm not IT savvy))

And how much walking on tarmac do I need to do to have any impact on hoof condition?
I started today by lunging 15 mins then walking in hand on tarmac 15 mins. There were a few moments where he looked a little tender in the fronts

Near fore
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Off Fore
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Near hind
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Off Hind
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I have read the barefoot diet advice given here and he is currently on speedie beet, pro hoof, salt and a tiny bit of topspec lite. I'm ordering micronised linseed today and when that arrives i'll stop giving the topspec lite. Oh and he has had laminitis in 2012 and is on restricted grazing track system for 8 months of the year (apr-Nov)

Thanks in advance!
 
Nobody answering, I think they look good, the hinds are doing really well lovely big frogs doing what they are supposed to, no reason to think the fronts will not be looking as good in a few months. If he is a little sore in front just take it slowly it will take time for them to become strong enough, having laminitis in the past can make them a bit more sensitive and cautious, I have found brushing the foot out with salt water helps keep them healthy as well as toughen them up, although yours look thrush free it does not hurt to treat them as if they may have it while they get used to being in contact with the ground.
One of mine is due to have his fronts off again soon, he had to be shod last summer but they are now ready to go bare again, if diet is correct and the hoof already healthy the transition should be fairly straightforward.
 
Thank you so much for the replies. I'm surprised (and delighted) by the positive comments on them. I've been trying to compare them to photos of other hooves. The part that I get most lost on is the heels and bars.

BP thanks for the salt water tip
 
Nice looking feet especially given the time frame. This is the kind of thing I love to show people who think I'm barmy - you can really see the difference between the frogs he's been using in the unshod back feet, and the ones he hasn't in the fronts.

Just take your time and measure your progress against how he feels, rather than any schedule. If he feels fine, ask a little more next time, if he's a bit sore, then dial it back for a few days. My lad has been slower to adapt to having front shoes off than when his backs came off, but we're not on a deadline - I want it to work for him and for him to be happy working barefoot.
 
Oh - and as for the heels and bars, my theory is that as long as they are sound, barefoot horses will generally grow what they need.

Every time my farrier has taken the bars down etc the coblet has been less confident, and in some cases, a little footsore after. Must keep more of an eagle eye on the farrier - if I go to get him a coffee etc, he often 'tidies up' a little for me...cue frown.
 
Thanks Lego, yes the bigger hind frogs have given me a bit of confidence that this may actually work for us! I'm going to take photo's of all my horses each month. (Dont worry I wont be posting ALL of them to HHO. But probably some!)I'm actually feeling quite excited about it.

I have one mare with horrific hooves (the mother of the guy pictured above) and I swore I'd never try barefoot again with her after watching her limp around for a year before I finally got fronts on her again. But for some reason I feel tempted to try again, armed with a little more diet knowledge.
I had wedge pads on her for years and when I finally took them off her a few months ago her frogs were non existent. Seeing the difference in her sons frogs is a bit of a wake up call
 
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Re roadwork - I built it up slowly but in the end I found that CM needed to do a minimum of 5 hours on tarmac per week to keep her hooves reasonably 'nice' they would square off at the toe and I did get the farrier regularly anyway. Any less than that and she would need trimming after a month. She used to go 6 weeks when shod, so her growth is definitely faster now as she will of course be wearing some off, which she couldn't do with shoes on. I can see no reason why she couldn't adjust to doing more hours by gradually increasing her roadwork, but that's something for the summer and longer daylight hours.
 
Sorry to Hi-jack a little, I just wanted to ask if all the wet weather makes them more likely to be footy - mine has had his shoes off about 3 months now and started great, but just intermittently recently he has been a little sore on any uneven ground and I wander if it is because they are alway wet/soft??
I only get to hack out once a week if I am lucky, (he doesn't go alone/weather/finding someone to go with) so wonder whether I should try and do more on tarmac?
 
It doesn't seem unusual for deshod horses to have a 'blip' a few weeks into being BF. The key is to keep working him on surfaces that he is comfortable on. Can you take him on the roads safely in-hand?
 
Faracat said:
It doesn't seem unusual for deshod horses to have a 'blip' a few weeks into being BF. The key is to keep working him on surfaces that he is comfortable on. Can you take him on the roads safely in-hand?
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Yes I think I could, hopefully with the lighter evenings coming it will be easier to get him out...I think perhaps part of it is, we don't get out regularly which doesn't give consistant work on tarmac, it has only been muddy field to stable for the last 5 weeks, with only one hack up the road..
 
Feet look almost identical to my horse, lovely frogs, good heels, slightly flat fronts.
Mine is sound over all surfaces and self-trims beautifully on about 5 - 8 miles roadwork a week (bit less in winter, they grow a bit slower). I imagine your horse will cope easily too, just take your time building up the roadwork and let nature take its course.
 
Kati*89 said:
Yes I think I could, hopefully with the lighter evenings coming it will be easier to get him out...I think perhaps part of it is, we don't get out regularly which doesn't give consistant work on tarmac, it has only been muddy field to stable for the last 5 weeks, with only one hack up the road..
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Also don't forget to check that you've got the diet right and make sure there's no thrush.
 
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