two weeks into being barefoot, how long to give it?

Firehorse

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i bought my horse 5 weeks ago. cob type. farrier took him shoes off two weeks ago after me asking about going barefoot. i had thought of jst taking hinds off first for a while and then fronts at a later date, but he said jst do it and see how he goes. so he whipped them all off.
horse is fine pottering round field, yard etc and fine on roads but he's not happy on the Downs. even tho the ground is soft, its very stoney. been up there twice so far and today he really didnt like it. picked his feet out when we got home and he had a stone lodged in a front.
shall i wait and give him longer to adjust and if so, how long? or shud i hve his fronts put back on? he's used for hacking. only a couple of times a week at the moment, but that will increase with better weather/longer days.
thx
 

be positive

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Going barefoot is not just a case of taking the shoes off and hoping for the best it is a bit more complex they need time to adjust, the feet require conditioning, the correct diet and plenty of patience, some are fine from day 1 others take far longer, need boots and some may always be a little reactive to stones although in my experience they pick up less stones bare than they ever do in shoes.
I would give it longer, this is probably the worst time of year to have taken the shoes off as they are soft after months of wet conditions under foot, look at his diet, do more work on the roads and avoid the downs until he has had time for the feet to toughen up, if that is not possible shoe in front and try again when conditions are more suitable and you have more time to ride or walk out, getting boots would be another option to give you something to use when riding on the downs.
 

ester

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The mantra is don't do more than the hooves can cope with, they are rarely at their best out of shoes. It is good that he is currently good on the road but please also be aware that often about 6 weeks in the hooves wake up and become more sensitive.

small screwdrivers are good for lodged stones but if he isn't happy on that ride don't go and stick to the roadwork or consider getting some boots to protect his hooves.

Realistically the best thing to do is shorter more regular (daily outings) on the road to encourage the hooves to improve.
 

Gloi

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I'd start off keeping him hacking on smooth roads and other surfaces he is happy on for a few weeks and at least until the nail holes grow out. After that, if he is fine start adding in the more challenging surfaces and you will know whether he is fine or will need boots for a while for stony areas.
 

Hack4fun

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Give it longer, take it easy, let the feet harden up and the sole develop thickness. Stoney ground is the hardest for them, and it may feel strange as well as uncomfortable. There is a good facebook group on going barefoot.
 

soloequestrian

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You could get some hoof boots if you want to vary your rides a bit - apart from anything else, they're much cheaper than going back to shoes. They last for years so if you do get to the point of not needing them, they will probably have resale value. You do need to get ones that fit well though or you will find them very frustrating - I'm sure someone with a better current knowledge than me can give you an idea of where is best to go for a good fitting service.
 

tallyho!

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Barefoot is a way of life, you don't just talk to your farrier to have the shoes taken off and hey presto! a barefoot horse. By the sounds of it your farrier is not experienced in bf or else he would have given you the same advice and helped you with it. The half of it is having a good hoofcare practitioner to help you as you transition, if you don't have the support, don't attempt to try.

I would really use the internet and buy some good books and give yourself and your horse a chance of success barefoot if you really wanted to do it :)
 

dominobrown

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Hate to say it.... but to fully adjust it can take upto 18 months. By this time most of the foot will have re-grown. It will take a lot patience and tweaking with diet etc. In 2 weeks any changes in diet will barely taking effect in general, nevermind on the hooves.
 

DabDab

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It depends what you want long term. If you want to ride out over all terrains right away then either get boots for him or put shoes on him.

With shoes his feet are unlikely to ever condition so you'll have to keep using them unless you want to go through another transition, whereas with boots his feet are more likely to condition so that you may be able to do without them in the future.

Well fitting boots will quickly pay for themselves, whereas shoes are an ongoing expense but are slightly easier on a day to day basis
 

fredflop

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Depends entirely on your situation. Firstly assess his diet - is it barefoot friendly?

If he’s stabled overnight, I’d probably get a set of boots. This is based on the assumption you ride with him “coming out of the stable” before or after work - any mud on the hooves will be easy to remove.

If he’s field kept, I’d put a set of fronts back on. Trying to deal with boots on a field kept horse in winter is a nightmare. Mud ends up everywhere, all over you and the horse. Ideally you’d also want to let his legs dry off after you’ve washed all the mud off, else I can see the boots rubbing
 

ycbm

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Hate to say it.... but to fully adjust it can take upto 18 months. By this time most of the foot will have re-grown. It will take a lot patience and tweaking with diet etc. In 2 weeks any changes in diet will barely taking effect in general, nevermind on the hooves.

It is very rare for a transition to take that long unless something is wrong and most people/horses do not need a lot of tweaking. Eighteen months would be a case for an expert.

In 18 months most barefoot horses will have grown three or four complete new feet.
 

ponymia

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My pony used to have shoes, cob x, took them off at the start of this winter because her winter field is so muddy she spent the majority of last winter off due to loosing shoes all the bl**dy time! So thought it was a good time to try barefoot.

At first, she was a little sore on the yard wand walking on roads, she was fine in the school and field however so i thought it would be fine just for the winter as we don't hack (nowhere to go not on roads that isn't muddy and not allowed to hack alone if along a road- yard rules) or compete during the winter. Was intending to put shoes back on as soon as she moved back to her summer field.

Now though, after giving it a while, she is fine on the yard (muddy uneven ground) and on the roads. She seems more than happy and hooves have never looked better - not a crack in sight.

I would give it a while longer - it may work out or may not, but worth a decent try :)
 

Landcruiser

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If you are going to do it you have to educate yourself, as others have said it's not just a matter of taking off the shoes and off you go. The shoes WILL have caused some damage or compromise to the hooves, and you have to allow time and the right conditions for the horse to heal itself. Smooth tarmac is great, but build up from short easy rides. Grass, arenas will be absolutely fine. The Downs I would boot for, or at worst allow the horse to pick it's way, slowly, and be prepared to get off and lead over particularly stoney bits.
Also you need to look at the diet, remove anything with molasses or sugar or refined starches - forrage and a good balancer is best.
Have a look at Nic Barker's books - they are excellent.
 

Reacher

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I’ve been wondering if it would be useful to have a thread / sticky which has a list of helpful barefoot related websites - most useful perhaps for people new to barefoot and maybe not aware of what it entails, but other people might find the odd gem they didn’t know about.
Would it break any forum rules eg count as advertising ? ( I can’t find the rules at the moment on my phone)
I guess there may be differences of opinion as to the merits of different approaches etc on different websites but it would be up to the user to make their own mind up. I’m happy to start it off if people like the idea
 

Queenbee

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Oh I see. It could still be done as a thread which would be searchable

yes it could but I guarantee people would not bother to search and would instead just post a new thread.

OP, two weeks is nothing, give it time it will pay off in the end. What you are describing I would be expecting at this stage with the combination of wet weather and hooves unconditioned to being barefoot. My beast is a little rock cruncher however, although he has not had shoes for the last 12 months, neither has he been in work, he has been in a wet field all winter, stabled at night - not that that makes any difference. I started riding him 3 days ago, he was footy on the bridleway today, I suspect this will still be the case in a fortnight but with time, patience and work this will change.

You will want to build up your work over time, focus on roadwork for the most part. Even working in the school with the abrasive sand will help. If feeding hard feed, ensure the diet is fibre, no molasses or sugar, this won't help the immediate hoof but will help with the quality of new growth. Make sure you keep the hooves clean - give them a good pick out so they can breath if in at night and not be sat caked in damp mud.

If you feel it's necessary, you can use preparations like keratex hoof harder as an interim measure, it will help harden the sole for now but you paint it on the sole and hoof wall, not the bulb of the heel and the frog, these will still be susceptible to stones.

I would give it time and patience, do not be disheartened, its perfectly normal at this stage.
 

amandaco2

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look into diet and the way the feet are needing to be trimmed- ie no sole or frog trimmed. diet- avoid pretty much all commercial feeds (full of fillers, chemicals etc) and give meadow grass/ hay. agrobs and TB are good feeds and forage plus do good mineral and vitamins.
hoof boots will help over difficult ground and allow you to ride as normal until the hooves are stronger and better conditioned.
 
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