question for experienced barefoot devotees

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shirley123

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hi i am keen to go barefoot with my horse, but i am scared to death that i will "up set the apple cart" so to speak!!. These are my concerns,
1) he has horrible TB feet - low heels but the toe is kept short and they are kept balanced by regular farriery every 4 weeks. They grow well but left to there own devices would flare out at the quarters a lot !
2)We are having no issues with lameness at present :)
3) This is a biggy and what scares me - 3 1/2 yrs ago he damaged a collateral ligament one in each front foot (coffin joint). this was very serious and he was'nt suppose to come sound again but after careful rehab he did and is doing very well at riding club level - dressage and showing. This was diagnosed via m.r.i. he also had very slight arthritis in the coffin joint and was injected. He is now on a joint supplement and boswellia.
4)Everybody at the yard will think i've finally lost it as they are all very traditional in their thinking.
This is what i am proposing to do :/ if you experienced barefooters think it would work - and you know who you are !! just say i am having his shoes off to give his feet a rest??? last month i changed his diet in preparation of what i have been thinking, that's if i go ahead. I have put him on alfa a oil and he gets his supplements of pink powder as a balancer, veg oil (he's a lazy horse that works quite hard), hoof and joint supplement, boswellia for inflammation/arthritis. He gets two feeds a day and a small net of haylage, 4-5 hour grazing, bedded on good clean straw - which he nibbles . his weight is correct but could easily become a fatty! He will have no grazing this winter, therefore will receive another net of haylage
He's not shod behind and has no problems - excellent feet minimal maintenance from farrier as he wears them down naturally . Can you please give me some advice - would you upset the applecart ?
Sorry for such a long post and thankyou if you've made it !
 
Whereabouts in Lancs are you? If you want to see a TB, also in Lancs, that had rubbish feet, that are slowly coming right then you could come at look at one of my client's horses - we took the shoes off her about two and a half months ago and she is doing great. The people my client got her from were convinced she'd be hopping lame and her feet would crumble to nothing. To say they are amazed when they see her now is an understatement!

The thing with low, or rather under run, heels is that in shoes they will never improve as they never get worked. To get strong heels and a nice fat digital cushion the back of the foot needs stimulation. The frog hits the floor, the whole foot expands outwards, blood is pumped round, the foot gets stronger. Even better the hoof will grow how it needs to grow to compensate for the horse's own conformation and any injuries. So without shoes and with the proper exercise and diet the heels will come back under the horse and the whole foot will improve. It won't happen over night but it will happen! Look at his back feet - his front feet will be just as good as those in time. I would advise getting some hoof boots for the fronts though, so you can keep working him. If your farrier can't recommend any boots then PM me - I provide a hoof boot fitting service as well as trimming (sorry for the plug!)

So to answer your question - yes it will work for your boy (who looks lovely btw) and telling your yard mates you're taking his shoes off for a rest is a great way of introducing it gently.
 
Mr Darcy, where abouts are you? I wish there was someone who could fit boots to my horse for me, i find it a mind field.... Very hard to get hands on advice!
 
My boy has or had a collateral ligament strain in his near fore, diagnosed by MRI. Careful rehab and 9 months box rest had him sound on a straight line but lame on a circle still. He could not go out into a field only a small stable size patch without going hopping lame over night, he had every shoe under the sun and IRAP, Tildren to name but a few drugs.......anyway to cut a long story short he ended up at Rockley Farm to be rehabbed barefoot, now within 2 months he can go out into a large field gallop around with his mates and stay sound. His feet are starting to look amazing, so i would say go for it, i have a sound horse after 18 months of a crippled horse in shoes.......x
 
We have about 60 horses at the moment in our yard and of these 45 are working horses,of which 25 are barefoot.They are all shapes and sizes and we have rebuilt lots of feet with the use of a good set of boots,if necessary with pads and work over a range of surfaces.Get your boot fitter out asap and discuss with your trimmer which structures in the feet need to be strengthened so you know what work to do.Collateral ligament damage is a relatively new find and is often solved by going barefoot as the feet find the correct natural balance.Good luck and just take your time.Remember if you take your horses shoes off and it is unable to work on a decent all weather surface then it was lame anyway!
 
You should try asking your questions on the UKNHCP forum which is specific for barefoot.

But having horses now transitioned to barefoot (including one TBxID with awful feet that are now fantastic...) - it's all about diet, exercvise, environment...and only 5% about the trim.
 
Hi Shirley, I'm going to respond to each of your concerns separately:-

1)I'd like to see pictures, your description leads me to think that although his toe "looks" short to you, it is probably long in the distal to proximal plane, but drawn back in the dorsal to palmar plane which makes it look short. Most underrun feet I see have long toes, which is what pushes the foot back on the heels, making them low (underrun).

2) You are having no lameness issues, but you describe your horse as lazy, typically horses with pain in both front feet are described by their owners as lazy - this is not always the case, but often when the pain is resolved, the horse becomes much more forward going.

3) You say he damaged a collateral ligament in each front foot. Did anyone determine how this happened? It sounds like there was something wrong with his foot balance, or way of going for this to occur in both feet simultaneously. Either that, or the diagnosis was inaccurate. Did you change farrier after this incident?

4)Regarding the peer pressure at your yard, look at it this way. Either you support your horse, or succumb to peer pressure blindly. Your horse only has you to rely on, take on board all the information you can, question all of it, use your logic and ignore any unfounded heresay. Keep asking questions until you feel comfortable with the answers your getting, then you'll know what you need to do. If necessary explain to your yard owner what you want to do and why.

Alfa A Oil is a good choice IMO, as is pink powder as it resolves acid stomach issues. The other supplements are great. Keep an eye on his weight, being overweight is an unecessary additional burden for delicate feet.

By all means take his front shoes off, but from what you describe of these front feet, they will need some boots for comfort during the early days of being unshod. I take it that you aren't intending to continue riding him as soon as deshoeing him? He will need a period of rest to readjust, front feet like this take a few weeks to adjust IMO. Honestly, I think it would be worth getting a barefoot trimmer to do a consultation with you just to get the answers to your questions before making your decision, even if you don't use one to trim.

Feet like these benefit from being deshod for a period each year, we should all remember to do it.
 
hi thanks for all your responses, i am feeling a lot more confident that i am making the right decision about my horses feet.
Lainey123, Glad your horse came sound going barefoot with collateral lig. issues thats reassuring as the vet and farrier all said at the time that they need the support of the shoe and the way they explained it /or i understood/misunderstood was it was acting like a brace/cast ??
Andalucian, I will take some pictures today but will only be able to post them on Monday as i am at work till then :(. (never posted pictures before so we will see if we can manage it !)
The lazy issue, yes it has crossed my mind before i must admit in fact i did get the vet to check him out as i was also having i back issue (saddle). the result was vet said horse was not lame, he was trotted on the straight, lunged in circle in the school, had flexion tests ( vet commented he was amazed how good these were, horse showed no lameness what so ever.) the out come was your horse is sound, just doesn't move that well for a horse of his breeding/type/conformation??? had the reg. charter physio out - she was very good and picked up a sore back, she agreed no lameness, just doesn't move that well.
i think the original damage to the collateral lig. was caused by loss of hoof balance by a previous farrier- he never took his feet back just kept putting bigger shoes on him? also before i got him they used to chase him around an indoor school and therefore he was motor biking and the vets said that because it was a medial lig in one front foot and the lateral in the other that suggests motor biking - in you understand what i mean?
as for peer pressure i know i am in for some stick , but i will do this i am even more determined now i just want the best for my horse. in the past (i am over 40!!) i have lost horses to navicular and will do everything possible to prevent it happening again.
i am a bit confused about hoof boots and fitting, i am hoping mydarcy will come and see me before she moves, otherwise do you know anyone else in lancashire? thankyou for reading all of this and all your support, its appreciated
 
Let them all think you are weird, and rejoice in it! That's what I've been doing for years with my traditional horsey friends!
My big TB has been on the mag ox/linseed/brewers yeast powder for nearly a year and there is a marked difference in his feet - they've grown in steeper and tighter. Like yours, I've always had the feeling that he could go better and I'm wondering now if he has had slight discomfort in his feet all the time. I have high hopes for him when his complete new feet are in, and he seems to be moving better even now.
 
soloequestrian said:
Like yours, I've always had the feeling that he could go better and I'm wondering now if he has had slight discomfort in his feet all the time.
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This is something I have wondered about many times over recent years too. I now feel that in the list of physical checks we do on our horses when things aren't right, especially when it's something you just can't put your finger on, feet/diet should be near the top of the list.
 
amandap said:
This is something I have wondered about many times over recent years too. I now feel that in the list of physical checks we do on our horses when things aren't right, especially when it's something you just can't put your finger on, feet/diet should be near the top of the list.
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Same here. This summer particularly, I've noticed a close correlation between willingness to work forwards off the leg/trot quality, and the amount of time spent off grass. Now, as I think back to last winter, I recognise very similar episodes...and I remember how much trouble I had getting the weight off even in the winter. LGL, I think now.
 
Yes I use them and they are fab. I put my navicular horse in them today he is a bit footy on stones still and I need to start hacking him out a bit further to put some muscle on him and I want him 100% comfortable so he can relax and use himself properly. They are totally flexible allowing the hoof to distort still and stimulate the soft tissue development while keeping the horse incomfort. You have to buy in from the States - its about £60 for 4.

You will want a DAEP to fit them for you probably.
 
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