Very nervous - bf support please!

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NellRosk

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So Thursday is the big day roski has his front shoes taken off. Broke the news to my blacksmith today and he basically told me he wouldn't be able to manage as he has very thin soles. So please wish me luck everyone! His diet is sorted and hopefully the pro balance and linseed will kick in soon. Does anyone have any tips on when I should start walking him out on gentle hacks?

Thanks if you can decipher my nervous ramblings!!
 
Hoof boots are good for starting out if he is very sensitive on his feet - also if he has very thin soles, they may just give some extra comfort.
 
Cavallos are good, more forgiving in the fit than some other boots & good if you need to use pads aswell :)
 
Hoof boots with EPS pads for thin soles. I took my very thin soled horse BF last year and it has been a fantastic move, but the boots were essential. I had Cavallo Simples.
 
With boots and pads you should be good to go straight away. You may need to use boots going to/from the field initially, depending on how sensitive he is and your yard's set up. My lot have been unshod for a couple of years now but I still boot mine if we're going to be going on very stony tracks. Good luck!
 
Thanks everyone :) I really hope my farrier will take back what he said!! Roski had his backs off a few months ago and is coping fine so I'm not really sure where he's got it from that he won't be able to manage with fronts off. Argh nervous/ excited for tomorrow!
 
NellRosk said:
Thanks everyone :) I really hope my farrier will take back what he said!! Roski had his backs off a few months ago and is coping fine so I'm not really sure where he's got it from that he won't be able to manage with fronts off. Argh nervous/ excited for tomorrow!
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You could always use some form of Iodine based hoof dressing to toughen his soles up a bit more. Why Barefoot just out of curiosity.
 
chrisritch said:
You could always use some form of Iodine based hoof dressing to toughen his soles up a bit more. Why Barefoot just out of curiosity.
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Ooh will certainly try, I thought iodine was just purely antibacterial. My 4 year old has always been barefoot and her feet look great. Roski's never had problems with his feet but after 12 years of having shoes on, they are showing signs of it, decontracted heels etc. I think at 15 he is starting to show beginnings of arthritic changes and because I hack quite a lot I can't see that the concussion on his joints from shoes is doing him any favours. So we are giving bf a go :)
 
I love iodine to keep bugs at bay and it may also make the tissue harder......but hard isn't the same as thick.

If the sole is thin - then he needs more tissue to make it thick.

He will do this by stimulating the sole on the ground/with pads in hoof boots.

For the first two weeks at least - keep him on soft/smooth ground or booted to protect thin soles and give him chance to lay some tissue down.
 
Oberon said:
I love iodine to keep bugs at bay and it may also make the tissue harder......but hard isn't the same as thick.

If the sole is thin - then he needs more tissue to make it thick.

He will do this by stimulating the sole on the ground/with pads in hoof boots.

For the first two weeks at least - keep him on soft/smooth ground or booted to protect thin soles and give him chance to lay some tissue down.
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I'm not 100% sure they are thin, he had his backs off and coped fine. I think my farrier is trying to discourage me but I'm not an expert so couldn't say. Oberon is it a lot more difficult for a horse to transition it's fronts than it's backs?

Finish work in 15 mins, can't wait to get to the yard and see his new naked feet :D
 
NellRosk said:
Oberon is it a lot more difficult for a horse to transition it's fronts than it's backs?

Finish work in 15 mins, can't wait to get to the yard and see his new naked feet :D
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It can be more difficult with fronts - but diet, boots, work and time can make it all much easier.

A horse should never struggle when going BF/taking a shoeing break - discomfort can be avoided 99% of the time.

Most horses just out of long term shoes will have a thinner sole.

But......

if you push hard on his soles with your thumb and it flexes or he flinches - they are very thin.
if you look at his toe sole area and there is a convex bulging - you have a thin sole with a low coffin bone (a sign of metabolic problems).
 
Good luck I've taken two barefoot now and am still in the "transition phase" for my second horse.

He has terrible feet (There's a thread on here that I started about him if you're interested) and I feel like if I can do it with this horse nearly any horse can be made comfortable barefoot.

Everyone thought I was crackers but we are off on hacks in our Cavallo Simples and haven't had a sore day!
 
So they're off! Feet look terrible, just shows what shoes can mask. Here's some pics, can't wait to see positive changes! And thanks for everyone's well wishes!

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NellRosk said:
So they're off! Feet look terrible, just shows what shoes can mask. Here's some pics, can't wait to see positive changes! And thanks for everyone's well wishes!
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They don't look "that" bad to me well done for being brave enough to go for it!

Is that a bit of bruising I see around where his feet have been rasped near the nail holes? Could just be a trick of the light...

Other than contracted heals they look like good strong feet.

They are far nicer looking that my boy's feet when his shoes first came off.

Good luck you'll be amazed at how quickly the heals start to recover!
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Thanks kezz86, I'm excited to see how they change!! Yes, last time he got shod about 8 weeks ago, I noticed a few days later around all the nail holes there was a bright pink mark, so definite bruising :( Another reason not to shoe. He wasn't lame but I was a bit worried. So the bruising wasn't from yesterday but a while back, poor boy!
 
amandap said:
How is he? You'll soon get used to seeing less than perfectly 'dressed' hooves. Time is your greatest ally. x
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He was fine yesterday, worried he'll feel a bit ouchy when the blood starts flowing properly in his feet. The yard turned him out this morning so I'll ask when I go up tonight how he was on the walk up to the field x
 
Some farriers don't know this. They see a horse go out on tarmac for the first time (maybe at breaking in stage), go on a few hacks (too much roadwork too soon), wearing its feet down in a week or two and think shoes are the only solution.
 
And once the roadwork is gradually built up its great for barefoot horses, even at trot (unlike with shod horses BFs can absorb the concussion and it's a great way of conditioning the feet as part of a mix of surfaces).

Was out with my friend today and her shod pony was slipping like crazy on a track we were trotting along, there was a thin layer of mud, whereas my pony (BF) was striding out at top speed and I didn't even notice the track was muddy until I heard a squawk from behind!

You won't look back (and if you do, you can always put shoes back on but I don't think there's much likelihood of that)
 
Barefooters see most hooves as being far too long - we are used to see short hooves (as nature intended).

So when a more traditional minded hoof care professional (who sees the longer hooves as normal) sees the shorter hooves of a working barefoot horse - there can be an instant assumption the hooves have been 'worn away'.

You have to look at the solar view to know if this is true or not.

The only times I have ever seen a horse wearing hooves down quicker than the rate of growth is when:

The diet is not right (so the horse isn't producing good quality tissue)
The work has been increased too quickly for the condition of the hooves
Thrush in the frog is causing the horse to walk on his toes too much

Otherwise I have NEVER seen a horse wear their hooves down to a catastrophic level.
 
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