Preparing for going totally barefoot...

[Angua2]

As some of you may recall I had my girls back shoes removed just after easter due to financial pressures. Well we are finally seeing an end to the really horrid footiness while she got used to her new feet. Being a TB, and a delicate flower, my mare was determined to make me suffer..... and how she did, every week I teetered on having her shoes back on. But we have both (me and the horse) got our heads round the concept.... Finally!

So we are now successfully barefoot at the back!..... well almost... we have an odd moment when she stands on a missplaced stone, but the unexpected benefits have been worth the "pain". After 3 weeks, she has stopped tripping at the back, and I started to see a difference in the heal areas, they had always had a curling under appearence where they were collapsing and now her feet look almost like a text book.

So with the way the backs have gone, I am now looking at going all "hippy" , and flaunting convention and going totally barefoot with my TB mare with flat, pidgeon-toed front feet in the autumn

I have avidly read the posts on HHO, trawled the net, and am just as confused with it all, although the HHO posts were by far the ones I understood......

SO.........

I have checked the diet, and reduced the amount of sugar....... check
upped the fibre (well it was anyway, but more don't hurt)......... check
tested my grass....... .... um what grass..... may have to come back to that
know which hoofboots.......................................... check
how to fit said boots...................................... oh rats.
Know how long to tolerate the footiness knowing itis going to be hell........TBC!

now then..... what else do I need to be aware of, and

Knowing how the world will fall apart as soon as I get those fronts off I was hoping to get the hoofboots in advance so we were all ready...... but how the hell do I get the measurements for the front hoof boots..... do I wait until I have had the shoes pulled and then do the measurements or, try and get there when the farrier is there and do the measurements in the middle of everything - tricky since he always comes when I am at work, or can i get them with a freshly shod foot.


ARRRGGGG..........................

and what else have I missed/not considered/need to know.

 

[Mitchyden]

You should measure her feet when she's just been trimmed and if you're going to try the Easyboot range it's better to get the Fix Kit to work out which size you need.

If I were you, I'd try and buy secondhand boots as my arab's feet went up two sizes after four months and she'd only been shod seven months before I decided to go barefoot.

 

[CBFan]

I'd wait until she is properly trimmed before you measure to buy the boots. just plan for doing minimal stuff with her while you wait for them to arrive.

Is she fed hay? may be worth getting that analysed to see if that is lacking anything.

if you can get hold of one, maybe have a barefoot trimmer out who may be able to advise you on diet more thoroughly but general concensus seems to be that magnesium helps.

I personally like seaweed - my boys feet look amazing in terms of quality of horn but it is high in iodine so can imbalance other things...

I also like feeding rosehips - they are a good natural source of biotin and other things and are free if you pick them fresh (have to wait til autumn for that though)

What does her 'high fibre' diet consist of? you know alfaalfa is considered a nono...?

I'm still on the learning curve and it is a big one to get right but I'm sure even with a few basic nutritional changes you can make a difference.

 

[oakash]

Eeerrm...'alfalfa is considered a no-no...' By whom??!!

 

[Zuzan]

Eeerrm...'alfalfa is considered a no-no...' By whom??!!

There is anecdotal evidence that some horses don't really get on with it.. really depends on the horse.. I think it also depends on the source of the alfalfa .. suspect some might lead to mineral imbalance (as it's deep rooting) in some cases.. probably also to do with the rest of the diet inc hay and grazing.. ahhhh the interconnectedness of it all