Today was the day....shoes removed

lynz88

lynz88

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Today was the day shoes and pads/wedges have all come off Jonny. Farrier came out and tidied up the feet just a bit but left pretty much everything in tact to help the poor boy. Said it is ideal to let the foot grow how it needs to grow and not lop off the feet though expect that over the next couple of months the toe will come back quite a bit. He also showed me how to use a rasp and showed me how to properly find the apex of the frog, what to look for with the bars, etc. Also showed me what to do with small cracks to stop them from going up the hoof. He is now doing another livery's horse (Jonny's stable neighbour) so when he comes next week, is going to leave me an old rasp. He actually said it was good timing because poor horse has started getting minor thrush under one of the back pads despite us only doing his feet when it has been dry (for this reason).

Farrier also said that he has another client who has decided to do a similar thing as me and he was very against it at first however, he cannot believe the transformation over the past year or so when he does go out to re-balance.

Walked Jonny out to his field which is along a stoney/chalky track (a good 5 minute walk) and he walked out just fine. The thing that I really noticed immediately was that I had suspected he was walking toe first but without shoes it was really, really emphasized. His angles are also quite awful now but just shows what the wedges and shoes were doing to artificially give him better alignment...that said, the whole reason of doing this is to do it properly and keep him more comfortable as I suspect the bar shoes were crushing his heels and also making him incredibly uncomfortable. I really hope things go alright - this is the last straw before retirement (which is breaking my heart but is the right thing to do as he is happy as can be being a pasture puff) and I can officially then say I have literally thrown the book at all of his problems and tried everything. Have also bought the book as suggested by TPO on another thread. I am both very excited and very scared but have enjoyed learning so much over the past little while (and will continue to learn)!
 
Thanks ycmb! Would have never tried if it hadn't of been for these forums and coming across the Rockley blog (which I use for learning and inspiration). My farrier is worth his weight in gold if I'm honest!

Went for a 5 min handwalk down the lane way this morning as it has now been about 24 hours and Jonny coped surprisingly well - only some ouchy steps on stones that we had to cross on the driveway but wasn't b-lining for the grassy bits (which he was doing just over a year ago when we took hinds off as he was really sore in his back and wouldn't let the farrier shoe him). Also don't have shockingly strong pulses or heat like I did when he went into pads and bar shoes so hoping all of these signs are positive.

Will be only short hand walks for a while until I get adequate angle change as I don't want to put any extra strains or stresses on his body. His posture has gone backwards but again, shows that hoof angles affect a lot more than one might think. Have remembered to take some photos this morning as well ?

He was barefoot back home and had no problem on a 1/2 mile standardbred training track (hard gravel) or any other type of ground so I know this horse can do it despite being a TB! ?
 
Good luck with it OP! Definitely take lots of pics, you won't realise the changes until you see what the foot looked like when the shoes first came off.

My 8yo has just gone back to barefoot after 9 months in bar shoes following keratoma surgery in Nov last year. It's been 4 weeks now and the change is amazing so far. I took more pics this morning, and even the change since last week is there to see, such a fascinating process!
 
seems we have now hit the ouchy stage but was to be expected - he would rather not walk/move if he doesn't have to but can be swayed by a gentle nudge, food, and/or treats. I've been taking him for just a 5 minute hand walk on pavement at his own chosen pace and seems to be walking quite well on it though definitely unsound on the LF (which isn't much different to when he was in shoes anyways as this is a severely compromised foot). He is making me laugh a little as it's clearly been a long time since he has felt his feet and reminds me of a foal who doesn't quite know where its feet are and sometimes flops them down (almost like when a kid does it when they are just being silly). Have quite strong pulses now but figure its more to do with the additional circulation and the massive change in angles although he is actually standing relatively 'normal' in the hind end vs shoes (he's been camped under because of the negative HPA in both hinds which although is an issue without shoes, seems to me was actually made significantly worse by shoeing!!). He has to think about letting me pick up his feet but is much better than when he just flat out refused to pick up any feet with the shoes/bar shoes/wedges. I made his bed a bit deeper for him last night and think I will ask the girls to do this for him since he is otherwise is out all day and also has to walk to/from his field via a track - the least I can do is make him a bit comfier at night. Despite all of this, he actually seems relatively happy in himself which he did not seem to be when we put on the bar shoes/wedges. I know it sounds super silly and can't in any way be possible but it almost feels as if he "knows" what is happening and what I'm trying to do for him and he's also trying to make an effort.
 
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