Right my barefoot friends, help I need the final push

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thatsmygirl

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As you all know my lad is doing well but I am worried with winter on the way ( deep mud and frozen rutty ground and how they will cope) thing is my farrier is coming thurs and I have a decision to make, iv got 5 horses bare now, some retirered some young so not all in work but I have one left with a set on. She's not 100% sound so iv decided to turn her away for the winter. She normally hunts but I think her ringbone is playing up at the mo on her hind legs so going to rest her for the winter. So do I take the plunge and take her whole set off at once or just her hinds and fronts next time? She's on a good diet and tbh since she's been on equimins advance complete her feet are growing like mad, she needed re shoeing and clunches up after 4 weeks of being shod. So now her feet are over long, flares and cracking nr the nail holes as I couldn't get the farrier out sooner :( he's coming thurs.
Tbh I won't be carrying on with this farrier as iv been triming the others myself but actually they are self trimming I'm just taking a riders rasp around and rasping off wall if need be but not a lot.
I'm worried if I take the whole set off she may be sore ( owned her 11 yrs and never had a break from shoes) and I'm worried the farrier will take off to much, he's very happy with his knife on soles/frogs etc but there's to much flare for me to be happy just to take her shoes of myself as they do need a trim really. What do I do? Try and say please take shoes off but don't touch sole/frog or how? I'm worried he wouldn't listen and just do it and leave me with a crippled horse?

Also serious question!! The way the farriers pull the shoes off does that bruise the horses hoof? I had a pony that couldn't cope before at all every time the farrier took his shoes off but take the shoes off myself carefully 1 nail at a time and he's coped fine so does the wrenching off the shoes not help?

I so don't know what to do but need to make my mind up fast,
 
If you have taken shoes off before, then do it yourself. Then at least you wont need to worry about an excessive trim, some gentle roadwork maybe enough for a while. I had a pony who had been shod for over 11 years and he was fine, just see how it goes.
 
Thing is her feet are very long and do really need a trim up. Not sure I would be happy doing them and what if she's to sore to go on rds to self trim?
 
The whole bottom of the foot is flared which it never normally is, it's due to the fact she needed shoeing a few weeks back really as the equimins has made her feet go wild ;)
 
Why don't you find a barefoot trimmer or a farrier you can trust who has experience with these things?
My mare has ringbone, also a tb and taking her shoes off was the best thing I could have done! She is much more comfortable and totally sound now!
Good luck in what ever you decide :)
 
I wouldn't be too worried about the flaring. If it's flared then it's not well connected and therefore will do no harm to the internal structures when the horse sheds it naturally.

I've watched a horse all summer go from shod to unshod, turned out in the field and not touched. It was fascinating watching his hooves shed and shorten naturally. They looked shocking at times, with chunks missing....but they ended up lovely in the end. He's since been reshod :( (probably because his hooves were 'too short' :rolleyes:).

Don't pick the feet out before taking the shoes off. The bedding/mud packed into the hoof often helps cushion from the leverage used.

[YOUTUBE]l8YvYiSKDQ0[/YOUTUBE]
 
Oh iv only got my phone as a Internet source so can't watch that Oberon. Bloody shame.
So are u saying just take her shoes off myself and leave her feet alone?
 
And also I'm worried sick that come the hard winter I'm going to end up with footy horses. Thing is I work full time so mine are out 6am - 5pm and sometimes iv heard that they are stood by the gate waiting to come in so could be stood in deep mud near the gate way for a couple off hours. Summer went really well but winter I'm bloody scared of if I'm honest.
 
Whatever you think is best ;)

Was your summer drier than mine :confused:

In the north of England, my horses are stood in a bog all winter but they manage OK.

If you're so worried then leave it till Jan, when the winter is almost over.....
 
I'd take them off and do nothing else. That's what my farrier's just done with my cobs backs. The plan was to go one cycle just backs off then take the fronts off next time assuming he'd been OK. But he pulled one in the field running away from the evil head of the herd in a mud slick so we've pulled the last shoe ourselves to save dragging farrier out. I don't think cob's noticed - he's having no probs with any surfaces so far :)

I wouldn't worry about winter :)
 
It has been quite wet but the field has coped well, I'm thinking maybe take her hinds off for now and get them going and go for fronts when winter is neally over. That way if she becomes sounder I can hack her out without having to buy boots until I'm happy to take her fronts off as well.
 
In your position i'd cancel the farrier and get a BF trimmer out to give your horse the best chance. If she really can't go the whole hog and needs fronts on for the winter then so be it, you can always try again in the spring
 
Personally I'd also go down barefoot trimmer route. U will.find that if barefoot and we get snow then shouldn't ball upnin foot as no metal to.stick too!! And they generally slip less on the ice barefoot as they have more traction :-)
 
I'd find another farrier that isn't as happy with a knife and take her backs off then her fronts once she's happy :)

I whupped my boys shoes off when he came back from loan and his feet don't look great being chipped etc but its cosmetic IMO and the views of other more knowledgable peeps on here :)

He's happy on tarmac, grass and schooling surfaces and he's getting better with rougher tracks every week :)

He is retired and I'm hoping by the time the winter HOPEFULLY hardens the ground he will be 100% comfy and I won't have to resort to boots :)
 
In all honesty I'd get someone in to take the shoes off if you aren't happy to do it yourself (I wouldn't want to do it myself just in case it went wrong :o ) and then I'd leave her feet alone and let her get used to it before you do anything else.

If you look at the Rockley pics of horses just out of shoes some of them are really scary looking but Nic doesn't trim them as she wants the horse to be comfortable asap, which it won't be if trimmed too harshly, and because she wants them to grow the hoof they need asap too.

Whatever you decide I hope it goes well :)
 
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