shoes off now very footy help??

[jackessex]

Following on from other post about taking shoes off,they have now been off for two wks and although he is walking better in terms of length of stride and putting heal down first he is getting very foot sore all round,i dont like seeing him like this was wondering about buying some old macs or something?,but as he is already foot sore do you think they will help?ive been gently hacking on tar mac etc but feel cruel now as he is clearly feeling feet,wondering about if its kinder to have shoes put back with pads but dont really want to as he will go back to toe down first and kicking himself again,advice much appreciated!!

 

[domane]

Two weeks is no time at all to condition hooves to being without shoes. I couldn't ride my TB for six months and even then it was a short walk around a soft indoor school. It took a good further 4 before he was anywhere close to being able to cope with hard surfaces. Now I will admit that is an excessive amount of time but his feet were in an awful state and he needed that time.

 

[Kenzo]

Agree with domane, it will take a while longer yet, although it may just take another few months, also the ground around your yard will effect how footy they are, obviously if you have a quite stoney ground or gravel type tracks etc then I personally would invest in some boots for hacking, best of both worlds then and your horse will be comfortable.

 

[M_G]

If the horse is in pain without shoes it's nothing a good farrier can't sort. Not all horses can go unshod & I think it's cruel to cause an animal unnecessary pain but I may be old fashioned in my views

 

[Grumpy Jewel]

My friends horse took months to harden up. She padded her feet with the really light rubber matting and taped them on. Her feet are now hard as nails and although she took a long time and got quite a lot of stick for doing it, she has never looked back.

 

[Amaranta]

I was talking to my vet about this very thing the other day. My horses are unshod but this is because they have exceptionally hard feet and are seen by the farrier on a regular basis.

My vet got very upset with people who seem to think it OK to put a horse through months of pain and likened it to a 'right of passage' that they (the people) seem to want to put their horses through. Fact is that not all horses can go without shoes and who are we to force the issue? It borders on abuse - sorry if that offends but it is my opinion (and that of my vet AND my farrier).

If you MUST go barefoot, you need to give the horse at least six months to acclimatise - this means no hacking or working on hard ground.

 

[Spotsrock]

Solution was found many years ago and updated as science progresses. Shoes.

 

[Pale Rider]

I was talking to my vet about this very thing the other day. My horses are unshod but this is because they have exceptionally hard feet and are seen by the farrier on a regular basis.

My vet got very upset with people who seem to think it OK to put a horse through months of pain and likened it to a 'right of passage' that they (the people) seem to want to put their horses through. Fact is that not all horses can go without shoes and who are we to force the issue? It borders on abuse - sorry if that offends but it is my opinion (and that of my vet AND my farrier).

If you MUST go barefoot, you need to give the horse at least six months to acclimatise - this means no hacking or working on hard ground.

Absolute rubbish this, if the horse is footy going through the transition, which they all are to some extent hoof boots should be used as a matter of course, to help through the transitioning process.

No horse should be expected to transition without some help, SOME vets and farriers have vested interests and are not giving the naive the proper advice.

No hacking or 'working' on hard ground is stupid advice.

 

[LucyPriory]

Let's pull back a little.

You need to understand why your horse is footy. Some are never footy after shoes being pulled and others are - for a variety of different reasons.

Have a look at these two blog entries - they may help point you in the right direction.

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/ouchiness-several-hours-post-shoe.html

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/help-my-horse-has-gone-footy.html

I second the advice for boots and also that not riding for months is absurd. If the footiness doesn't resolve within days/weeks sufficient for comfortable riding on grass, tarmac and most arena surfaces then there is probably something very wrong with diet, trimming or maybe how the horse is being kept generally.

 

[threeponies]

My mare had her shoes off a couple of months ago and was footy on the road but not in the school, I bought the Cavallo hoof boots and they've worked really well.

 

[Angua2]

I have only done the back half so far and it took 4 weeks for her to stop looking crippled.

After reading some threads on here and other websites, I started to look at how much sugar she had in her diet and changed the mollassed chaff and sugar beat. I also gave her magnesium. initially I was just turning out while she got used to her new feet, I was hacking out on tarmac at week 4. We are now at week 7 and there is no sign of discomfort.

I also found that much of the footyness actually came from bruising of parts of the foot that had not been in contact with the ground, you need to work through this too.... arnica will help bring the bruising out.

You also have to bare in mind that you, like me, have made the transition when the ground is at its hardest

I have to say, after the initial "oh god what have I done, she is crippled" reaction I had, I am glad I have perservered as I have never ever seen her backs look so healthy and in good condition and am planning to do the fronts at the end of the year, when the ground is a little more forgiving

 

[jackessex]

i see lots of valid reasons for both barefoot/shoes my horses personal prob is that he has very contracted heals and also poss navicular,i have allready been through 1 1/2 yrs of various treatments and corrective shoeing,but it has all come back to the fact that he has "bad feet" also i didnt like the idea that his toes where being cut back very far,and he was walking un-naturaly ie he was putting toe down first and doing a lot of tripping and stumbling he would also kick himself quite badly,without shoes on he walks much more like he did before all these probs developed and im almost possitive it is not navicular as he started walking correctly without shoes,so i think maybe for him the boot option is prob what i should try next,the other prob i have with him is one foot is smaller than the other so when i buy these boots how do i get round that?

 

[fallingstar]

I had my ponies shoes taken off a few years back on the advice of my farrier. He had suffered a mild lami attack and sadly his feet had literally started to crumble away. It was horrifying!

He was a bit footy for maybye a month or so but I still rode him out hacking twice a week on grass and tarmac. Now his feet are so so much better and he never stumbles unless we end up on the stoniest of ground (which I try to avoid of course).

I will never have him shod again, I appreciate it isin't a solution that suits all, but my pony seems very happy and my purse certainly is as well! It seems a rare thing in my neck of the woods though, nobody else on my yard has an unshod horse and I've had loads of comments from people about it!

So I personally would persist a little longer and mabye get some shoe boots as others have said. If it hasen't resolved within a month or so then look into alternatives.

 

[Angua2]

i see lots of valid reasons for both barefoot/shoes my horses personal prob is that he has very contracted heals and also poss navicular,i have allready been through 1 1/2 yrs of various treatments and corrective shoeing,but it has all come back to the fact that he has "bad feet" also i didnt like the idea that his toes where being cut back very far,and he was walking un-naturaly ie he was putting toe down first and doing a lot of tripping and stumbling he would also kick himself quite badly,without shoes on he walks much more like he did before all these probs developed and im almost possitive it is not navicular as he started walking correctly without shoes,so i think maybe for him the boot option is prob what i should try next,the other prob i have with him is one foot is smaller than the other so when i buy these boots how do i get round that?

I am in the same position, and have decided on the easyboot system, as you can buy the shoes individually, and therefore cater better for your horses requirements. I was reccomended the easyglove boots, by someone with at TB on here and will be going down this route when the fronts come off.

 

[amandap]

i dont like seeing him like this was wondering about buying some old macs or something?,but as he is already foot sore do you think they will help?ive been gently hacking on tar mac etc but feel cruel now as he is clearly feeling feet,wondering about if its kinder to have shoes put back with pads but dont really want to as he will go back to toe down first and kicking himself again,advice much appreciated!!

Boots will help and imo should be used if a horse is sore.
Have you made necessary dietry changes etc? Barefooters always recommend keeping a horse comfortable, using boots, pads, pea gravel, sand and only going on surfaces barefoot when the horse is comfortable on that surface.
It is a total myth that horses have to be sore and is counter productive.

 

[dumpling]

Two weeks is nothing, you should really have hoof boots to wear as soon as you get the shoes off. You should start tarmac work with no shoes by leading up and down a road for about 10minutes to start things off, and build it up slowly. You should really hack out with boots otherwise they'll end up crippled! However if nothing changes about 6months down the line I'd suggest going back to shoes.

 

[foxy1]

Boots will help and imo should be used if a horse is sore.
Have you made necessary dietry changes etc? Barefooters always recommend keeping a horse comfortable, using boots, pads, pea gravel, sand and only going on surfaces barefoot when the horse is comfortable on that surface.
It is a total myth that horses have to be sore and is counter productive.

This. No-one wants their horse foot sore. You must stick to comfortable surfaces and get hoof boots. It IS cruel to leave a horse footy in the pursuit of barefoot.

However, the cause of the footiness will be diet so you also need to focus your efforts on that.

 

[thatsmygirl]

I have a horse who copes without shoes no matter what we do so he's one who " truely doesn't need shoes" but my other old mare will not go without shoes and has somebody else has said, I will not put her though months off being footy and in pain for the sake off going bare foot. With mine if they need shoes they have them if they cope fine they won't have shoes. Iv seen horses stuggling being ridden down the road nr us and I agree that it is cruel to let them stuggle like that.

 

[jackessex]

foxy1,what sort of diet?hes only at grass and i dont tend to feed as to be honest hes a vey good doer,grass isnt lush either.

 

[Clava]

foxy1,what sort of diet?hes only at grass and i dont tend to feed as to be honest hes a vey good doer,grass isnt lush either.

Sometimes grass is exactly the problem. You could try and take him off grass and feed hay for a week and see if that makes a difference (although if he is already sore then this might not help much and boots are the way to go). My mare becomes footy in the Spring when the sweet grass comes in but is rock crunching all winter. This forum is excellent for diet questions and barefoot in general...
http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/forum2.php

 

[LiveryList]

I asked my farrier about a friends pony i was attending who had had his shoes removed after many years as the owners were concerned he was footsore after only a couple of weeks and my farrier said you should allow at least a couple of months for the horse to be comfortable on soft ground- depending on how long they've had shoes on for and what their general foot condition is like- let alone hard or stony ground but that in the meantime he should be walked out or riddden on hard ground regularly to harden his feet up. He said if you stay working on soft ground to 'be kind to the horse' and not cause it pain you are only prolonging the hardeneing of the feet. The owner asked me to suggest the use of mac boots or similar and the farrier said it defeated the point really, it was better to just let him go barefooted. That is about the extent of my barefoot knowledge but that was straight from the farrier

 

[jackessex]

this was what i was wondering *******,will his feet harden as thay should in boots???
also ive realised i may have a prob with his small foot as he also has what i can only describe as what would of been a third toe at the back of his hoof so to fit a boot i will have to allow for it,if i could figure out how to put pics on here i would show you all!!!also before i measure for the boots ahould i have his feet trimmed as they have only been lightly rasped since shoes came off??

 

[Clava]

this was what i was wondering *******,will his feet harden as thay should in boots???
also ive realised i may have a prob with his small foot as he also has what i can only describe as what would of been a third toe at the back of his hoof so to fit a boot i will have to allow for it,if i could figure out how to put pics on here i would show you all!!!also before i measure for the boots ahould i have his feet trimmed as they have only been lightly rasped since shoes came off??

Different surfaces are needed to help the hoof strengthen but not so the horse is in discomfort, this is where boots come in. With my mare I used boots a lot when shoes first came off and then found that gradually I needed them less. It can take 6 months for a horse to grow a new hoof capsule which is stronger than the one which was growing while shod (especially if the diet has also been improved with such things as magox, linseed, seaweed and brewers yeast), so for at least a while you are walking around on a hoof that is not used to being bare. Once bare the heel might need to improve as well as the sole and these things take a little time (my mare improved in 3 months), but the hooves will improve faster if you can get them working well and hard and boots can help this.

The third toe sounds unusal, can you upload pics on to photobucket and post here?

 

[RobinHood]

I took my horse's shoes off at the beginning of March and in the first week I was very close to putting them straight back on. I didn't ride him and he wore old macs with pads in the field (we have half day turnout) for the first 2 weeks as he was very sore. After that I started riding him rounds the fields in old macs, first just walking and then gradually increasing the amount of trotting. Middle of April he was back to schooling and jumping in the arena, and cantering in the fields with old macs on the front feet. Then I got a bit braver and started riding him in the grass arena barefoot, but he still wore boots to walk to and from the field.

Next I swapped the old macs for easyboot gloves on all 4 feet and started boxing out for more adventurous hacking. We've been everywhere (at all speeds!) with shod and unshod hacking companions and the boots have been fantastic.

Now he marches along the stoney tracks to the field and over the planings all over the yard. I can ride in the arena and then over the stones into the fields, jump the cross country fences and crash round the woods. Last night we practised some hedge hopping in the rain and he felt fantastic. The only time I use boots now is when we're going out hacking in the lorry just so we're not limited where we go.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Barefoot is brilliant if you ride your horse regularly on all sorts of terrain and you have the patience to persevere in the beginning. It is definately not an easy option and not the option for every horse or owner as it needs a combination of the horse being able to go barefoot (and I don't believe every horse can and remain sound and happy in work - only some) as well as the owner being prepared for the transition.

A good foot supplement can help as can products like Keratex hoof hardener. Hoof boots are imo a necessity to have as a backup for times of soreness, so you can still ride your horse. Boots can rub heels and around the coronet band so a good fit is essential.

Our horses are all barefoot in winter, but I get hubby to shoe the 2 mares infront in summer as their summer grazing leads off a really stoney track which makes them very footsore and I am not prepared to go through the conditioning transition required as I do not ride out enough to do this.

 

[dressagecrazy]

I have 5 horses barefoot & all are sound on my rock hard clay fields even my boy who has Impar lig & DDFT damage.

First of all you need to research, going barefoot is not the easy option. 2nd many people are going on about diet but what will be causing more issues ATM is the ground.
Your horse has just had his shoes off & the ground is like rock, he will be feeling everything especially if you also have a farrier who pars away the sole on each visit. Please tell me this isn't the case?

Get some boots they are fab, he needs to be T/o in them & ridden in them on any surface he's sore on. Don't let him be sore, I would never let a horse be sore & can't abide it when people say they went through months of soreness there is no need & yes I feel it's cruel!

You will find that even with boots the horse will transition well, my PRE was shod when I bought him I did 4 weeks in boots & now he has rock crunching hooves. I'm lucky in the fact he has strong feet it can take a lot longer, but whatever you do don't let your horse be in pain.

 

[bumblelion]

Last summer I got my farrier to take my tb's shoes off for a few months whilst I was pregnant. He's an exracer and raced for 6 years, so I knew he had always been shod and expected him to be a bit sore at first. I thought I'd try though and let the nail holes grow out and give his feet a "breather"!! Well, he hardly moved out in the field. I tried to be strong and thought, no he'll be fine in a few days! The next morning I brought them in for some tlc. Trouble was he then wouldn't leave his stable! I tried everything!! Poor thing was in so much pain, he couldn't even go out to the field (10 metres from stable!) which is his favourite place in the whole wide world! Plus he hates being in unnecessarily in the summer as he should be out having fun!!! I phoned the farrier and he came that day and put them back on! Everyone thought I was being too soft but at the end of the day I know my horses and know when something's not working out!!
You can always just get the fronts put back on?

 

[Clava]

Last summer I got my farrier to take my tb's shoes off for a few months whilst I was pregnant. He's an exracer and raced for 6 years, so I knew he had always been shod and expected him to be a bit sore at first. I thought I'd try though and let the nail holes grow out and give his feet a "breather"!! Well, he hardly moved out in the field. I tried to be strong and thought, no he'll be fine in a few days! The next morning I brought them in for some tlc. Trouble was he then wouldn't leave his stable! I tried everything!! Poor thing was in so much pain, he couldn't even go out to the field (10 metres from stable!) which is his favourite place in the whole wide world! Plus he hates being in unnecessarily in the summer as he should be out having fun!!! I phoned the farrier and he came that day and put them back on! Everyone thought I was being too soft but at the end of the day I know my horses and know when something's not working out!!
You can always just get the fronts put back on?

Poor horse. I would however be quite concerned that my horse's hooves were so unhealthy that they couldn't even move without shoes and I'd be looking at correcting what was wrong if I could (maybe diet?) and putting boots on full time until he improved. He could be showing early signs of laminitis? I would only ever shoe a horse with healthy hooves or once I knew exactly what was going on with them. Horses should be OK on soft surfaces without shoes.

 

[jackessex]

right have now posted pic of conners front feet onto my album on my profile under my horses,please have a look and tell me what you think???it shows the growth that he has on his near fore which i refure to as his third toe,it has horny growth which i have trimmed back or it touches the floor.input for boots greatly appreciated!!!

 

[bumblelion]

Poor horse. I would however be quite concerned that my horse's hooves were so unhealthy that they couldn't even move without shoes and I'd be looking at correcting what was wrong if I could (maybe diet?) and putting boots on full time until he improved. He could be showing early signs of laminitis? I would only ever shoe a horse with healthy hooves or once I knew exactly what was going on with them. Horses should be OK on soft surfaces without shoes.

Once the shoes were put back on he wasn't a "poor horse" but a "VERY HAPPY HORSE". He has very good feet for a tb, and not unhealthy as you accused them of being! Not all horses can go barefoot. He's a tb so at the end of the day his soles are much thinner than say a cob. Also he's been shod since a 2 year old so they've never had the opportunity to toughen up! Although I don't need to justify myself, I can not bear when someone who does not know me or my horses, says "poor horse" as if I am an animal abuser!! Also there is nothing wrong with his diet! He loves eating chicken and drinking beer! No way does this contribute to his feet! He also is not showing early signs of lamimitis. I have a laminitic and know the signs. Thankyou for your criticism!