Uneven wear barefoot horse

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njc

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Just seeking advice experiences from other barefooters. My horse is just 6 always barefoot all surfaces currently in light hacking work. He was backed at the end of his 3rd year but turned away while I was pregnant so this year is his first year of regular work He is slightly cow hocked and yesterday the farrier said he wears his hooves unevenly (this was my usual farriers apprentice) and he also does this on his front feet farrier said his conformation is slightly out at the fetlock. My farrier is young and progressive he shoes, uses glue shoes, advises about boots and is happy for horses to stay barefoot. He is happy my horse has good hoof quality and hard soles. So is not recommending shoes. So my question is should the uneven wear be levelled up at trimming or not? I should add farrier is happy to leave him self trimming for weeks but his feet have grown like mad this year and he is either stimulating them with work or not yet doing enough to wear them down. Also should I give him a joint supplement or add anything to his diet? In summer he is out 24/7 in winter he has ad lib hay and a handful of just grass with added linseed and biotin he also has a salt lick. He holds condition well and I have no issue with coat and hoof quality. Apologies this ended up quite long
 
Rockley farm have a minimal trimming approach, there are loads of examples of horses with unlikely looking feet: here is one.
http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/hooves-and-symmetry.html

I think I would lightly trim trim if he is not getting enough work and you can't do a bit more road work, but nothing radical.
If you feel the horse needs joint supplement, I would consider a physio session to identify imbalance discomfort. You can't alter conformation, but if the horse is sound there should be no need for a joint supplement at this stage. Linseed is thought to be good for joints.

Your young farrier is full of enthusiasm but as yet has not a lot of practical experience with barefoot horses, so be happy he does not suggest shoes, which is the default of many.

I would work on building up muscles behind, doing lots of slow work uphill, the inner thigh muscles will develop in a few months, but they will be there as long as he is in work.
 
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I didn't think they trimmed at all at Rockley.

Personally if the horse has conformation faults I think self trimming is even more important. Much better that the foot is allowed to make its own shape and compensate for the limb, than the limb is forced into the wrong angle.

Can you up his work load, more walking on Tarmac, should sort out the growth.
 
Thanks bonkers that's an interesting read. Fw he is doing roadwork which we're gradually increasing. The roads are quite busy near us and he isn't keen on wagons or buses but he is getting better. His conformation faults are slight but I do think it's important to let him have the feet he wants. He's 16hh still growing and powerfully built so I want to help his joints as much as possible
 
Yes, well if he is still maturing, take your time developing the right musclature and this will be make him a really good ride. The whole barefoot thing will reduce concussion, so stick with it, maybe you can do a bit more road work early morning, there are not many people about early on a Sunday morning. Walk on roads as much as possible though a few trots to get off the busy bits should be OK.
 
Cow and sickle hocked conformation does put more pressure on the inner hocks and may predispose to bone spavin. One of the first signs many owner's have is uneven shoe wear, so I'd say your farrier is spot on bringing this issue to your attention. As your horse is unshod, the uneven wear would show on the hoof as opposed to the shoe on shod horses. Certainly worth asking your vet for a recommendation re supplements as a preventative.
 
Thanks for the advice all work to date is hacking in walk including hills we trot occasionally for short distances. My farrier is young to me but has actually been doing it for about 18 yrs his apprentice trims under his supervision. I have no plans to rush my horse I have read quite a lot about ocd, as friesiens can be prone to it and mine is a friesien cross. He definately doesn't have sickle hocks and the cow hocks are slight I keep a close eye on him but he doesn't have the symptoms the uneven wear my horse has doesn't seem to match what I've read
 
I've had mine barefoot for the past 4 years and he has dreadful action in front resulting in him landing lateral wall first and wearing the lateral wall of the hoof much more than the medial. Left self trimming he grows a big flare on the medial toe of both front feet. I need to boot him some of the time and this uneven growth makes it awkward. What I do is try not to take anything off the bottom of the wall so the feet are self trimming where he wears them, but I need to take the flare off on the medial toes from the top or his boots don't fit. His feet do not grow very fast so he never needs much trimming apart from the flare. This works best for him. Sorry if this isn't a very good description.
 
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