People with barefoot thoroughbreds....

Sanolly

Sanolly

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...can you show me your horses feet please? Also how do you manage them - diet, boots, hoof oil etc?

I have never really shod any of mine but they have all been native types so have good feet. I really don't want to have to shoe Millie unless I really have too!
 
Biggest problem with TBs is how they are managed as youngsters and how they are fed generally. Simon Earle keeps all his racehorses bare and they do just fine.

I've a number of TB clients and while they take a bit longer to transition - this is usually because they have the unhealthiest feet to start with - but once transitioned they are just the same as the rest. Some have problems with sugar some don't.

One of them hacks regularly on a pebble beach and does a fair amount of road work - haven't blogged on this one because its too straight forward......... :-)

Here is a post on one TB that has just started transition. The start in life for this horse was a long way from healthy - but now he is on the right diet for him he is doing great. A real credit to his owner.

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/thoroughbreds-and-barefoot.html
 
Well Thoroughbreds often have poor leg and hoof conformation compared to native breeds (no, I am not biased, tbs are usually bred for speed rather than good feet/long term soundness, look at the number of foals Big Brown has sired, I'm not tarring all tbs with the same brush, but this is often the case) and so they will find it harder to make the transition to barefoot than a native pony which has naturally harder feet. I have two thoroughbreds, one which possibly could go barefoot behind, one which has remedial shoeing, both are very healthy, both get the top hoof care (supplementary feeding, huufbalm and cornucrescine daily etc etc) and to be perfectly honest, both do a lot of roadwork and also hack on shale tracks, I wouldn't take their shoes off because it would be risking damaging the hoof, and could set them back work-wise. I also have a welsh x tb x tb who is barefoot at the moment, but will have shoes on when he starts proper work :)
 
I do, have been since last summer [Bustie, my lad in sig]. He had the most crappy feet last summer to shoe to I gave up and pulled them off. He had plate-y feet, not much heel, flat, etc.

He's managed fine up till now and farrier even complimented how even and hard is feet are! First time ever probably for him lol.

He's been in full work doing everything since [XC, jumping, hacking for hours, competing, etc] to no ill effect. His feet have changed shape and hard as ever.

However, he has started to get a little bit more sore over the last few weeks, though I think he had his feet taken a bit too far back and was just a little sore on them[only over stony areas but he'd been going over these fine before]. He had a few light weeks in and only in the arena to let him grow some more foot back and now he's fine again :)

His diet, he's out 24/7 most the time...if he's in he's on ad-lib haylage and possibly a standard feed [sugar beet, barley rings, mix, chaff, etc].

He doesn't have any 'special' treatment to make up for his feet...
 
Belle is out 24/7 and gets speedibeet, dengie original chaff, calm and condition in the winter as well as seaweed, linseed, brewers yeast and magox. In winter her hooves are brilliant (and I often drop the supplements) but spring grass does make her footie if I don't give her the magox. I can take some hoof pics tomorrow if it's dry. :)

I do use Renegades if I think she needs them in the Spring but they are wearing out so I've just ordered some Gloves although on our last hack she was brilliant over some very stoney ground so I may not need them, although they are still useful if we plan an exceptionally long hack which would be beyond her normal hoof growth to keep up with.
 
Biggest problem I find with TBs is undiagnosed or misdiagnosed LGL - and there has been a research paper in relation to underperforming race TBs which found the same thing. I'll post a link on my blog later tonight.

Also big problem is the impact of trying to shoe (any) horse straight - it tends to ruin the joints above over time.

Many of the horses I 'do' have wonky legs or something somewhere - they tend to come sound when they are allowed to grow the hoof they need.
 
Well I took my boys back shoes off on Friday and he's no different. He has bloody good feet and we plan to take fronts off aswell. We also aim to event barefoot.
 
These are my two.

http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/indiana.html

http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/obi.html

and a mix

http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/pin-ups.html

Diet wise they are out during the day, in at night during the winter.

Ad-lib haylage.

Mineral balanced diet in accordance with a foreage analysis. This is more to keep the whole of my beloved, elderly, Arab in top condition and fend off the Reaper!

He has alot of feed as his teeth are poor.

Fast fibre, Speedibeet, micronised linseed, brewer's yeast, yea-sacc, copper, zine, lysine, magnesium, fenugreek, turmeric and a selection of herbs.

I've never needed boots.

I don't put any chemicals on their feet - other than a spray of iodine occasionally.
 
LucyPriory said:
Biggest problem with TBs is how they are managed as youngsters and how they are fed generally.
Click to expand...

That

Mine was in training a few months before his 2nd birthday so his feet never had a chance to develop.
When I got him at 5 he had typical tb feet and a year on we were having problems, quick version:- he was rehabbed barefoot here http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-difference.html If you search for Frankie on that blog you will find more in progress pictures.

He was away last year and he hasn't shown any sensitivity to grass but I am watching him carefully at the moment to see if there is a reaction and will probably switch him to night turnout soon anyway.

I have always been careful with his diet as he has always got a bit exciteable on sugar and what made a difference was doing a forage analysis and getting his minerals right.

No potions on his feet but last summer when it was very dry I gave his feet a good soak with water from time to time and we had no cracks ;)

I try to do as much roadwork as possible as well as work over other surfaces as it helps keep his feet in good condition. I don't use boots as there are some slippery muddy bits on the way to the bridlepaths and I find he slips in them but lots of people find them useful.

It took a while as he was one of those horses who looked crippled if he lost a shoe but I didn't have any choice as he didn't stay sound in shoes and we go there in the end.
 
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