Right the gloves are coming off!

[Silverspring]

Sorry did I say gloves? I meant shoes, the shoes are coming off! When I hear you ask? Well it all going down at 4pm tomorrow! My girl is going barefoot for the first time in 19 years (yes she really is THAT old!)
Anyone want to offer support or advice? I'm a tad nervous but I think it'll be best for her in the long run, I'm looking to get hoof boots so we can continue road work in the future, recommendations welcome

 

[Nailed]

Best bit of advise i can give is to give her time to adjust.

And get her trimmed regularly even if it is only being rounded upas this was prevent flare.

Lou x

 

[Natch]

Wow, and you do endurance, don't you? Or did I get the wrong end of the stick on that thread.

Sorry, no advice but I would be really interested to see how you get on.

 

[skewbaldpony]

gravel. look out for it and fish it out without delay. my boy has been barefoot for two years, and is having to have front shoes back on because he has sore feet, mainly because we can't avoid short, uneven, gravelly stretches.

 

[Silverspring]

Naturally - you din't get the wrong end of the stick we did endurance back in the good ol days

she's now 22 and happily retired from competing, she took it all far too seriously so we couldn't really contiue and just do small rides

skewbald - thanks for the advice, I hadn't really considered gravel but I imagine it could get into their feet easy and cause irratation. We have a dirt track in and out to the field and direct access to field for hacking so I should be able to avoid any gravel or concrete for a while, at least til I get boots

I'll keep everyone posted on how it pans out, I can but try!

 

[Diggerdog]

My old boy was 25 when we went barefoot, so it's never too late! It was the best thing I ever did for his movement and joints, not that he was lame in shoes, he just moves so much better now.

Top tips are:
hoof boots
low sugar diet
vitamin/mineral supplement or balancer
keeping on top of flare

Good Luck!

 

[skewbaldpony]

anyone got any good recommendations regards hoof boots? Just wondering if they would do the job for my boy - he's done so well for the last two years, but mainly on grass - now we've moved and we have a tiny bit of road/track work to do, and it really doesn't suit him.

 

[Silverspring]

Top tips are:
hoof boots - check, measuring feet once shoes are off and sending info to the website that sells all the saddleryshop.com
low sugar diet - we're already on that diet, she gets a bit like a kid with ADHD at the smallest amount of sugar

vitamin/mineral supplement or balancer - check we're on that already, she's getting her old lady vits and a balancer mix.
keeping on top of flare - is this something I need to keep getting the farrier out for? I'm planning on getting him out very month for a while then trying to move up to every 6 - 8 weeks depending on her hoof growth, does that sounds reasonable?

skewbald - I will keep you posted as to how I get on with my hoof boots, service and fit etc I think these things are always worth a try but it's a big initial expense if they don't work

you can hire them to see how they fit and how they are to use etc, I'm thinking about trying that before forking out £100 for a pair.

 

[skewbaldpony]

blimey that's a price isn't it?
Mind you, if they do work, a good bit cheaper than endless shoes ...
I've not heard much about them - how well do they have to fit? What I think I mean is, is it S,M,L - or like Clarkes shoes for kids, 110 width fittings and still they suck their teeth and say 'ooh no, not quite. Here try these more expensive ones ...!"

 

[Silverspring]

Hahaha I used to have the Clarks shoe fitting inflicted upon me as a child, how great would it be if they had hoof measuring machines for horses!
I've been doing some research and they do come in a variety of suze and styles. Some styles fit round hoof, some for wide hooves etc.
http://www.thesaddleryshop.co.uk/D/Hoof_Boots-(Hoof_Boots).aspx
These people will actually look at the measurements you provide and advise on what they think will provide the best fit. I've heard the easyboot epics are the best but I'm going to ask the pros and see what they think. i think all the boots are in the same proce bracket so it's unlikely they will bother to try and seel you ones for a few quid more and risk you bad mouthing their advice (well you'd liek to hope anyway!)

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Which hooflet boots are best partly depends on the shape of the horses feet, for round quite regular feet Boas work very well, but something else might be more suitable for longer or more uneven shapes.

Ive used Boas for 18mths and havent had any problems, esp once they are 'broken in'. Theyve only rubbed twice, once when I used the optional anti rub neoprene gaiters (ironic!) and once when we went through deep stream and then sandy gravel as it got into the boot. Apart from those two times, fab. Theyve never come loose or come off even in fast work.

The only conditions where barefoot was really better grip was on very slippery mud, although you can get studs for the Boas but I havent tried them.

The sizes for Boas are 1234. My haflingers (14.2 but wide feet )are a 2. On the websites they tell you how to measure to work out what size you will need, and it was right in my case first time.

Im lucky in that my girlie has never been shod. She just has a farrier trim every six to eight weeks and I rasp off any excessive flare or snaggy bits in between.She does feel stony ground more than my shod boy, but I let her pick her ground (eg she will canter up grass verge to track rather than the track itself) and she does fine. Ive never been tempted to shoe her.

good luck with the barefoot journey!

 

[Silverspring]

Thank you for teh advice, it's great to hear from people who keep barefoot horses and use hoof boots

I quite like the look of the easyboot epics, she's an Arab and has quite thin skin so I would worry about boots rubbing. I can't even say how round her feet are as she's been shod for so long it's tough to tell quite how her natural feet should look!

Can I ask do you just get a normal farrier out to do the trimming? My farrier was saying he was going to do a pasture trim and I thought that sounded very much like a trim you would do on a non-working horse

don't want her feet trimmed incorrectly the first time!