Transitioning to barefoot

[Keira 8888]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are well.

Im after a little advice please regarding Princes feet.

He has been barefoot now for several weeks and I’m very happy with how things are going. He spends the majority of his time on grass and only has to cross a small stone yard twice a day. When we go out for our walks on the road he wears scoot boots.

In terms of his diet, I really just hide his supplements in a handful of oat straw - this includes biotin.

I put effol on his hooves and soles each day.

is there anything else I should be doing? His horn grows very slowly so I would love to know if there is something out there that really works when it comes to enabling slightly faster growth?

Thanks very much guys,
Keira x

 

[Keira 8888]

Forgot to add - the reason I want to speed up growth is because he has a few cracks that I want to grow out - the better condition horn is coming through, just very slowly!

 

[Melandmary]

I could only add to feed a good hoof supplement. I have just started with progressive earth pro hoof as it has good reviews on here. Too early to tell if it is of benefit. But I need her to grow healthy foot after lami. There are others like formula 4 feet but I picked this one as no fillers in it and it is an overall vit/min supplement. I don't like balancers

 

[AandK]

What supplements are you giving? I would ditch the effol and use something like Red Horse Sole Cleanse on his soles/frogs, their products are great for feet, I also like their field paste.

 

[paddy555]

I'm not sure what effol does. The only thing that goes on my bare feet is water.
As for supplement I got noticeable growth with equimins supplement on one horse that just couldn't grow feet. The supplement got the growth to normal levels.

All mine are on equimins advanced complete. I would love it if their foot growth would slow down a little. I seem to do nothing but trim them.

I soak nuts and put the supplement (powder) in there.

 

[Casey76]

Putting Effol on the walls and sole isn’t going to be doing the hoof any good. You can’t paint on hoof health.

Ideally you will maintain a state of hoof growth/wear balance, so that there is very little to trim each time.

Keep a check on the frogs. The central sulcus should be a slight dip; if there is a deep crevice, raggedy crack etc, there is infection. Sole Cleanse, or Hoof stuff is good. Zinc oxide cream mixed with clotrimazole athletes foot cream is good and sticky and will stay in a deep sulcus for a long time. (Make sure the frog is well cleaned and flossed (with a baby wipe or non-shedding gauze) before putting anything into the sulcus)

 

[Gloi]

A good hoof supplement and then put in the miles. Nothing encourages bare hooves to grow more than using them and the more you ride in the boots the more quickly the hooves will grow.

 

[Keira 8888]

Fabulous - thanks so much everyone. Some great tips that I can start with straight away, thank you!

I will take a very good look at each frog tonight to make sure there is nothing more than a slight dip in the central sulcus.

Also interested to read that the more I walk him out the faster the horn will grow - that’s really good to hear as I was worried I was taking him out too much. I have to keep him moving for his joints so I’m relieved that it’s also good for the hooves.

Many thanks forum wise ones ?

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

My barefoot pony has no lotions or potions nowadays, just a blast of water on them every few days in very dry weather. Although Red horse products were my saviour when transitioning as she had a bit of thrush.

then make sure feed is as low sugar as possible and mine is also on equimins advance complete.

 

[Regandal]

The best hoof supplements are:
Pro Earth, Forageplus, Equimins Advance. None are cheap, but I think you get what you pay for!
There could be one other that I can’t remember.

 

[PurBee]

I'm not sure what effol does. The only thing that goes on my bare feet is water.
As for supplement I got noticeable growth with equimins supplement on one horse that just couldn't grow feet. The supplement got the growth to normal levels.

All mine are on equimins advanced complete. I would love it if their foot growth would slow down a little. I seem to do nothing but trim them.

I soak nuts and put the supplement (powder) in there.

equimins adv. complete i also used and found it to be good, compared to formula4feet (really wasnt impressed tbh!), forage plus winter balancer, ok-nothing special…but equimins adv. complete somehow had beneficial noticeable effects.

 

[Keira 8888]

Well I think it’s the green light for equimins advance complete then - great that so many of you have recommended this, thank you ?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Well I think it’s the green light for equimins advance complete then - great that so many of you have recommended this, thank you ?

Ah, hang on, there is a chequered history re Equimins misrepresenting the spec of one of their products re, IIRC, vit E content.

I've never fed Equimins, I use Pro Earth or Forageplus, but there was a lengthy thread on here about it.

ETA

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/equimins-vitamin-e.800790/

 

[splashgirl45]

i used formula4feet one year when it was very dry and my horses feet cracked and split badly. they improved so i stopped, they started cracking again so i used it again and her feet stayed in good condition...

 

[Alwaysmoretoknow]

IME its not what you put on them, its what you put in them that makes the difference. If the feet are slightly 'challenged' by gentle work the hoof growth will adapt to meet the horse's requirements as long as their nutritional needs are met. The difference between the conformation of a shod and unshod foot (if the foot conformation could be described as 'normal' without any major abnormalities such as being especially flat or boxy or there being any major deviations in the lower limbs that will affect weight bearing on the foot itself) is quite interesting to observe over time - it may start to resemble the feet of wild or (semi) feral equids i.e. more convex or domed but with some parts of the frog still in intermittent contact with the ground. They may also feel slightly warmer generally (but be sure to check pulses just in case there is something else going on). Gelatin is a good supplement (and cheap) - try it on yourself - great for hair and nails. If P can adapt to being barefoot it will be both cheaper for you and safer for him as, while being undoubtably necessary for some horses, a shod hoof can also be the cause of injuries such as nasty over-reaches, speedy-cutting and brushing knocks as well as the risk of shoes being pulled off in the mud etc. and damaging the wall. Good luck with your transition.

 

[black and brown]

Firstly, well done for taking the plunge and transitioning to barefoot. For me it was one of the best decisions I made. I wouldn't bother with the Effol, hoof lotions tend to be purely cosmetic! I've recently changed from Equimins to Pro Earth having followed the thread on Vitamin E. At some point you might want to try hacking without boots, it will encourage the hoof and sole to further harden up and get self trimming going. You always have the fallback option of boots if your horse isn't comfortable without boots.

 

[Keira 8888]

IME its not what you put on them, its what you put in them that makes the difference. If the feet are slightly 'challenged' by gentle work the hoof growth will adapt to meet the horse's requirements as long as their nutritional needs are met. The difference between the conformation of a shod and unshod foot (if the foot conformation could be described as 'normal' without any major abnormalities such as being especially flat or boxy or there being any major deviations in the lower limbs that will affect weight bearing on the foot itself) is quite interesting to observe over time - it may start to resemble the feet of wild or (semi) feral equids i.e. more convex or domed but with some parts of the frog still in intermittent contact with the ground. They may also feel slightly warmer generally (but be sure to check pulses just in case there is something else going on). Gelatin is a good supplement (and cheap) - try it on yourself - great for hair and nails. If P can adapt to being barefoot it will be both cheaper for you and safer for him as, while being undoubtably necessary for some horses, a shod hoof can also be the cause of injuries such as nasty over-reaches, speedy-cutting and brushing knocks as well as the risk of shoes being pulled off in the mud etc. and damaging the wall. Good luck with your transition.

Thanks so much Angie! Would you mind if I send you the X-rays of his two front feet to get your opinion on his pedal bone? I’m still trying to get the vet to email them to me - they seem reluctant to do it for some reason! Maybe I will have them sent to Darren first! Hope you are well and Boris puss is still on your pillow ? Found out today that Prince really enjoys his belly groomed! I’ve never ventured down there before but thought I would give it a go and he loved it! Started to groom me while I was doing it and stretched himself out and started rocking like he does with his chiropractor! Can’t believe I’ve had him a year now - couldn’t love the old sod more xx

 

[Keira 8888]

Firstly, well done for taking the plunge and transitioning to barefoot. For me it was one of the best decisions I made. I wouldn't bother with the Effol, hoof lotions tend to be purely cosmetic! I've recently changed from Equimins to Pro Earth having followed the thread on Vitamin E. At some point you might want to try hacking without boots, it will encourage the hoof and sole to further harden up and get self trimming going. You always have the fallback option of boots if your horse isn't comfortable without boots.

Aha! I was going to ask this - thanks so much for your reply. At what point do you think I could try walking him with no boots? He has been barefoot for a few weeks now but still slightly footy when walking on concrete without his boots. When do you thinking could try him without them? I don’t do any trotting on hard ground - only in hand walking on the road. Im interested to know when I could expect him to tolerate walking on road without the footyness- I have 6 months in my mind for some reason (must be something I read) What is your experience? Thank you! Xx

 

[black and brown]

Maybe try the hand walking on the road without boots first. Timescale is really difficult to predict. I hacked straight away without boots but was probably fortunate. You could try a short walk, 5-10 minutes, a few times a week to start with and then build up. I would have a go within the next few weeks. Once comfortable on smooth ground, try hand walking on stoney ground but keep the sessions short to begin with. Prince will let you know if he's comfortable or not but don't give up if you have a few ouchy days, just take a step back and try again later .

 

[paddy555]

Ah, hang on, there is a chequered history re Equimins misrepresenting the spec of one of their products re, IIRC, vit E content.

so are you suggesting that people should avoid Advanced complete just because equimins made a mistake on something else? that may give some humans some form of satisfaction but I can see no reason to take a horse off one of the best supplements around for the production of hoof quality and growth or to fail to try it or to recommend it.
It is one of the most successful supplements and there is nothing to suggest there is any problem with it, in fact it works very well for many horses.

Only one thing counts for me as far as products go and that is "does it work" If it does I use it, if it doesn't I change.
I've used this for around 10 years or more so I would have given up on it long ago if it didn't produce the results.

 

[Keira 8888]

Maybe try the hand walking on the road without boots first. Timescale is really difficult to predict. I hacked straight away without boots but was probably fortunate. You could try a short walk, 5-10 minutes, a few times a week to start with and then build up. I would have a go within the next few weeks. Once comfortable on smooth ground, try hand walking on stoney ground but keep the sessions short to begin with. Prince will let you know if he's comfortable or not but don't give up if you have a few ouchy days, just take a step back and try again later .

Right! Fab - I will do this tomorrow, thank you! What are your thoughts on a short gravelly path? I need to walk him down one for approx 25 metres before we get to the road. This is what’s been holding me back from walking him out without the scoot boots. If we took it very slowly, at his pace, could I attempt it?? X

 

[Gloi]

Right! Fab - I will do this tomorrow, thank you! What are your thoughts on a short gravelly path? I need to walk him down one for approx 25 metres before we get to the road. This is what’s been holding me back from walking him out without the scoot boots. If we took it very slowly, at his pace, could I attempt it?? X

If you do it and watch his reaction you'll soon know if it hurts or not. Just use his reaction to decide whether he is ready.

 

[black and brown]

Right! Fab - I will do this tomorrow, thank you! What are your thoughts on a short gravelly path? I need to walk him down one for approx 25 metres before we get to the road. This is what’s been holding me back from walking him out without the scoot boots. If we took it very slowly, at his pace, could I attempt it?? Could you walk a very short distance down the track and then walk back without boots just for a few minutes each day, gradually building up the distance each time? Also, I don't know how practical it would be but could you take off his boots once you have reached the road? Letting him go at his own pace is good but the full distance without boots is possibly too much at this stage.

 

[Tiddlypom]

so are you suggesting that people should avoid Advanced complete just because equimins made a mistake on something else?

This was covered extensively on the thread, I think.

It was not a trivial error. Trust in a product is hard won and easily lost.

 

[Keira 8888]

Yes I could def do this - and I will take it very slowly. Do you think the human equivalent is us walking on stones in bare feet? Xx

 

[paddy555]

This was covered extensively on the thread, I think.

It was not a trivial error. Trust in a product is hard won and easily lost.

the product was oil(a product I still totally trust) and had nothing to do with Advanced complete.

 

[ycbm]

so are you suggesting that people should avoid Advanced complete just because equimins made a mistake on something else? that may give some humans some form of satisfaction but I can see no reason to take a horse off one of the best supplements around for the production of hoof quality and growth or to fail to try it or to recommend it.
It is one of the most successful supplements and there is nothing to suggest there is any problem with it, in fact it works very well for many horses.

Only one thing counts for me as far as products go and that is "does it work" If it does I use it, if it doesn't I change.
I've used this for around 10 years or more so I would have given up on it long ago if it didn't produce the results.

The point is that it is only "one of" a number of good barefoot supplements and it is sold by a company that did not know what it was selling when it was absolutely crucial to sick horses that they get the natural form of the product and not the manmade one.

With other products available, I'm afraid no company that does that and responds the way they did when it was found out gets a second chance with me.

There is also hidden iron in all of the barefoot supplements except for Forage Plus and if you have high iron already like many places do then that's bad news.

 

[ycbm]

the product was oil(a product I still totally trust) and had nothing to do with Advanced complete.

So what's in Advance Complete Paddy?

Whatever is listed as being in it? Or something else? How do you know?
.

 

[black and brown]

Yes I could def do this - and I will take it very slowly. Do you think the human equivalent is us walking on stones in bare feet? Xx

Yes and no but most people are probably uncomfortable walking on stones barefoot whilst each horse will have an individual reaction. Some take to it straight away whilst others are more sensitive and need more time. However, with time and a good diet you can hopefully get a thick sole and robust hoof and frogs.

 

[ycbm]

Keira be aware also that it is very common for horses to be less comfortable after a few weeks than they were to start with. For want of a better description, the feet seem to "wake up" and temporarily get more sore. So don't get downhearted if that happens.
.