Seriouly "wobble" about going barefoot

Daisychain said:
Stick with it, your horse will be sore for awhile. If he has always been shod it is unlikely that he will have a tough calloused sole, this takes time to develop.

I switched my belgian warmblood to barefoot approx 9 months ago, due to having navicular and being advised to pts.

He was crippled at first, even on the grass, i stuck with it and now we have good hooves, a lovely hard sole and he can go on almost any terrain. He is showjumping and competing again!

I had my first barefoot trimmer come and see him the other day, my farrier has been great but still thinks he should have shoes on.... It was lovely to talk to someone who has really studied it, and was on my wavelength. Not once did she knock my farrier or any farrier for that matter. Any little niggles i had she explained and gave me reassurance i was going in the right direction.

Give barefoot time, and i can see big changes happening in the future, once it starts to be supported by more vets etc.

You don't need to be a scientist to realize the most beneficial way is too allow the foot to work naturally.
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sorry to hijack thread OP but mine has navicular and thinking of going barefoot - and having wobbles - DAISYCHAIN - can i ask about the trim your farrier did - did he take the sole off at all or rasp it - i am unsure whether to have farrier or trimmer - My 'local' UKNHCP trimmer is in northants which is miles away from wolverhampton. and was yours lame with navicular and has barefoot really helped then??? - mine has really flat feet, low heels and has changes to navicular bones on both front feet and also now sidebone so sort of hoping barefoot will be my saviour
 
There is a lot of confused thinking abotu navicular and what it represents.

I know I keep harping on about looking at Nic Barker's site at Rockley Farm - but have a look please - she is doing some great work. I guess even if you are remote she could help you by having a telephone consultaiton wiht your vet and farrier/trimmer.

Here I go creating MORE work for Nic - but really she is at the forefront of the lateds thinking about re-habbing these guys!
 
i have looked at nic's site and looks great - i am going to give them a call tomorrow to ask some questions about rehab - i have also ordered sarah and nics book off amazon tonight too - its too far to send and my insurance is nearly over so will have to rehab at home. Want a UKNHCP trimmer but mark johnson is in northants which is just miles away - cant see any closer ones to me on web - sarah has suggested i get a grass sample analysed too to see what minerals are deficient so trying to do that as well then she/mark can advise on minerals
thanks :)
 
Thee may be students in their second year who are closer - ask Nic and she can tell you.

I would have no hesitation using a student - by the time they are half way throgh the training they are pretty good trimmers - and are always looking for case studies - your lad sounds like a great case study. These are generally done with support from mentors anyway so you have access to a wider range of skills.

But in reality - Nic gets the environment right, the feeding right, the type and level of work right, a conventional trim and gets excerllent results- there is no "dark magic" as such. :) I've seen the horses, seen the casts and wahtched them move - the changes in the casts over a 3 month period are very thought provoking
 
Kezimac, my farrier has been doing my trim, and to be honest there is no reason why yours can't at all, but it is very important that the sole is left alone, and the frogs too.

Think of it slightly like african people in 3rd world countries, they don't wear shoes so the soles of their feet become tough and calloused, as ours would if we didn't wear them!

This is why people immediately think, my horse can't go bare foot etc.... it takes time.... years of having a shoe on, actually makes the hoof very weak.

I did my own research on the net, as like you there is very few barefoot trimmers in my area. Luckily by chance a lady i have known and lost touch with is doing her final 6mths training, and has taken on my horse as a case study she needed 10 in total.

She has shown me numerous case studies and photos, fascinating stuff.

The trim she said was fine my farrier had done, the only thing she did was take a little more off his heels, to allow greater contact of the frog on the floor, so we can get it to grow and develop more. She said his soles were great. It takes along time to get your head around barefoot, but i remember years ago at a riding school i grew up in, she had over 100 horses and all unshod. We did everything on these horses, hacking to shows, miles away etc....

I remember thinking years ago, how does she do it???? Now i am understanding why!!!

It helps when you have someone to talk too, who understands the fantastic benefits for our horses.
 
cptrayes said:
Farrierlover it takes about 4 months for a newly barefoot horse to grow its first full hoof. I have one which is 8 weeks in and the heel is on the ground and the toe is 50% there. I can send you a photo if you want to see it. The rate of growth in a working barefoot horse (roughly twice as fast as a shod one with the same feeding and work) is one of the things that convinces me that shoeing can't be good for a horse.
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Well that explains that!
My horse had shoes removed 4 months ago and I have been very confused as the large rings in hoof walls (due to huge pads) have very nearly grown out! I just could'nt imagine it to be true - WAY too soon!

How very incredible!

I have some questions regarding feeding. Why is attention feeding MORE important for unshod horses?

I have been feeding Alfalfa A (1/2 sc / day) Seaweed (2 sm x 35ml scoops/day) , Biotin (1 x 35 ml sc / day, Glucosamine, Garlic (1 50ml sc/day), Apple Cidre Vinagre (1 x 50 ml sc / day) " large handfulls of Equilibra 500 F/Balancer and also Linseed oil at 1 x 50 ml sc/day) IN addition to Spillers Conditioning fibre and pony cubes. Is this ok? I feel as though horse eats MUCH better than I do!

Is the Charnwood linseed a better source for whatever it is in linseed than the oil

AND where does one go to have grass samples analysed? Is it expensive?

<phew>
 
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