Thinking about trying barefoot again.

[Jingleballs]

I’d previously had my boy barefoot a few months after I first bought him as he just kept pulling his shoes off and farrier and I agreed that due to the state of his feet with all the nail holes, it might be a good idea to try barefoot.

I managed to keep him barefoot for around 2 years with no real issues but then after a very dry summer his hooves got very badly cracked and chipped and the farrier put his shoes back on

He’d been shod all round again ever since – just under 3 years - but last week I decided to get the backs taken off again as winter is coming and we won’t be doing as much hacking so I thought I’d try it and see.

I’ve slowly been building up hacking on roads again and tbh, he seems no less comfortable than when he was shod His feet are a bit messy though just due to the nail holes but I’m hoping that this will improve and I want to change his supplement to help this – I’m torn between forage plus winter balancer or farriers formula as both seem to get good review.

I’m also thinking that perhaps it might be worth whipping off the front ones too in 6 weeks time to see if I can transition him to barefoot again. My main concern is that the same issue reoccurs again and we have problems with the hoof cracking. Is there anything that I can try to avoid this? Obviously in the winter it’s not such an issue as it’s quite wet and the hooves are less likely to try out in crack but I don’t want to have the same problem come summer time.

I’d be grateful for any help/advice as it’s been a long time since I’ve ventured into the world of barefoot!

 

[texel]

Is your farrier applying a proper barefoot trim ? not a pasture trim for example ?

Barefoot feet have to be trimmed correctly to enable them to withstand the seasons and whatever is thrown at them and to prevent them splitting and chipping. What are you feeding your horse currently ?

Horses feet live and breathe, they are not made of plastic sometimes you will hit a glitch, mine have been barefoot for 12 years and in that time I have had to deal with; diseased frogs, abscessed feet, and laminits, wet seasons, cold seasons, and dry seasons.

Each challenge was tackled and resolved without the need to resort to shoeing. Each challenge has enabled me to build on my knowledge of the horse's foot: it's structure and function - all so fascinating.

 

[Scarlett]

When his feet cracked was he lame on them?

 

[LucyPriory]

Forage plus has a much better spec than Farriers Formula. Can you describe the previous cracks in more detail or post photos?

 

[Jingleballs]

Hi - he wasn't lame with the cracks but his hooves were a mess - annoyingly I can't find any photos of them.

I have a new farrier now who is apparently much more experienced and accomplished than the previous one although I know that there is an argument that a barefoot trimmer would do a better job but with several horses at my yard happily barefoot for years, I'm optimistic that he can do a good job.

Interesting that the forage plus is a better spec than FF - I was torn between the two but think I'd be swayed towards FP.

 

[abitodd]

.

Each challenge was tackled and resolved without the need to resort to shoeing. Each challenge has enabled me to build on my knowledge of the horse's foot: it's structure and function - all so fascinating.

So true,but the horse's foot is only the end of the story on this learning curve.

OP,as others have said,FP will target the dietary requirements of a BF horse(or a shod one!) much better than farriers formula. IMO hooves do not crack due to external conditions. Mineral deficiencies or dietary imbalances cause weakness which can be exacerbated by improper trimming/lack of work. (An active BF horse rarely needs trimming.)