So what do Rockley Farm actually do...

[robthecob]

So please don't think the above title is either ignorance or me doubting them as I am a believer..

However, I have a niggling feeling there is something going on in my horses front feet. I have spent the last year helping my mare to recover from sacroilliac injuries and she us looking great but I am uncomfortable with how she looks sometimes on a circle on the lunge or when leading in hand on hard ground. Ridden she looks a lot better and once loosened off I don't get the short 'stabby' stride infront that i see on the lunge.

She is already barefoot behind amd the plan has always been to progress this to the feet bit as the balance was poor before we have worked with shoes to try and encourage the feet to right them selves. I have a great farrier who is also an excellent barefoot trimmer he is due out Monday and I am half inclined to ask him about taking the fronts off sooner rather than later.

So back to my original question, can I do what Rockley do? I have all the time, good facilities, a friend who has transitioned two horses to barefoot but I am not a professional. My reasons for lot wanting to send my girl away are not purely financial, we have been through so much together that I really don't think it would be right to if I can achieve what they achieve.

Can I?

Terri

 

[Oberon]

It is perfectly possible to rehab a horse barefoot at home. The owner needs the support of someone they can trust with the horse's feet. The owner also needs to arm themselves with enough knowledge on keeping a horse successfully barefoot, so that if they hit a bump they know how to help the horse without panicking.

The owner needs to provide appropriate nutrition and work on various surfaces to stimulate hoof growth without making the horse sore.

Rockley has the specialist knowledge on nutrition, hoof growth and trimming on hand. As well as the tracks and surfaces already in place.

For owners who have been through the mill and had years of the experts telling them what to do with their lame horse - then the vet gives up and the owner has to consider barefoot as a last chance. It's much easier for those owners to hand over the rehab to Rockley at this point and not have the stress any more.

But Rockley doesn't wave any magic wand. A lot of the time Rockley just starts the ball rolling and the owners have to continue the rehab at home.

But Rockley DOES take the guesswork out of it all. You know you can trust them 100% to do the best they can for your horse and their success rate is excellent.

 

[Andalucian]

Yes you can do it at home, but you'll need guidance on transitioning from shod to barefoot, which is where a good barefoot trimmer comes in. Talk to your farrier in depth, you never know he might be able to advise you sufficiently to be successful.

 

[criso]

My horse was rehabbed at Rockley and I don't know if I could have done it at home.

Some of the reasons I would have struggled are

1) I work full time and have to travel for work, I would have struggled to be able to put in the time to give him the right sort of work especially in the winter when I only see him in daylight at the weekends

2) He was an ex racing tb with horrible flat, underrun, thrushy feet. Coming out of shoes he was pretty sore and I don't 't have the supportive surfaces that really helped in the first few weeks and being on a livery yard couldn't do much to provide them.

3) Constant rehab and care so someone assessing your horse and seeing their progress more or less every day not just every few weeks for a trimmer to visit. Looking not just at their feet but at the changes that happen all over as muscles start to readjust.
And someone who has seen so many of these cases and knows what to expect at every stage.

4) I hadn't done it before, my farrier hadn't used barefoot to rehab a horse with soft tissue damage before and he is the first to say he learnt alot from my horse and having seen what can be done has slightly opened his mind.

5) ...but not enough, he still trims frogs and sometimes soles and genuinely believes a horse will get abscesses and thrush if you do trim the frog on a regular basis. I know 2 other farriers who have said the same thing to me. Trimming my horse's frog makes him sore and on my own I would have thought he was just not coping.

6) Everyone thought I was mad, they only person who I got a positive comment from is my saddle fitter, I would have got no support at all and given he wasn't an easy case I would have been accused of cruelty for even trying as my vet did when I first read about Rockley and asked him to look at the website.


7) My horse has turned out to be a bit grass sensitive at home which he isn't at Rockley as the grass profile there is much better than mine even with mineral balancing. Being in such a perfect environment kick started his rehab.

In the same position, I would now try at home having learnt alot but be prepared that I might not be able to do provide everything and have to send him down to devon.

It sounds like you have more time, support around you and hopefully better facilities than I have so I wouldn't put you off trying but have Rockley as a back up if you can't quite manage it before you give up.

 

[nic83]

My horse was also rehabbed at Rockley, sorry I don't know how to quote but I feel Criso has covered most of it!

 

[Luciejjkk]

My horse is an rockley rehab to.

There is no way I would have been able to do it at home.

eta: i think the more 'problems' a horse has, the harder it is/ will be to do at home.
i know that i would not have been able to rehab my horse at home. rockley isnt just a 3 month rehab and then you are home on your own, nic is there throughout and all her advice and knowledge is so invaluable. Even knowing what I do now, I do not think I could have done it on my own at home. I guess it depends on the individual owner, the facilities they have access to and most importantly the horse, and the problem/s it has/had