We ALL want barefoot research except the BEVA?

[tallyho!]

People are allowed to say poisitve things-people are allowed to say negative things. That's how being a commercial business happens. An unlevel horse unless there has been a mechanical change (arthodesis for example) is avoiding putting weight somewhere that is sore. Work sound horses all you want, but there are several videos of horses with 'powerful movement' and 'bouncy trots' etc. at home supposedly doing really well that are mincing along, being pushed to perform which isn't in the horses best interest.

People can say what they want and they do.

It is not in the horses best interest that you sit on its back to be fair... and lameness can be due to a thousand different factors, one of which is just sitting on it's back. Weren't you trying to insinuate (and delta99) that the lameness was due to just hooves?? Do you have any clinical papers to prove that please?

If we rewound the life tape of the horse from the moment it was diagnosed with caudal hoof pain, do you honestly think you could pin it down to one factor? If so, please tell us so we stop chasing "useless" approaches to the problems such as wedges/heartbar/barefoot/unshod/eggbar/saddle fitting/dentistry/bitting/massage etc etc???

I know the answer

 

[dreams579]

Fantastic news, really pleased for you, he's such a lovely lad. I'm hoping we'll be able to get to the reunion too, but definitely not going to be jumping since it terrifies me lol! So glad he's doing well. x

aw well, plenty of nice riding to be had around MKE without needing to jump

it should be so much fun meeting everyone properly and seeing so many rehab horses happy cantering about the place! i know i for one can't thank Nic enough for giving me my darling horse back, and i know theres plenty of other rehab owners who would think the same

 

[tallyho!]

Not just Nic... I just want to add, that if it wasn't for "barefoot" I too would not have a horse...

 

[SO1]

With regard to the price £125 is £18 a day which is not a great deal with you consider that places with enough land to keep horses out are expensive, it is probably cheaper to have a place where the horses are stabled and there is less land!

So that £18 a day will contribute a bit to yard costs such as mortgage, most of the horses do not seem like good doer pony types so unless there is loads of grass the horses will need supplementing with hay or some other feed.

If Nic does one hour of work with the horse each day be that ridden or trimming, grooming etc then she is probably not making much more than £15 an hour at the most which is less than most riding instructors make.

On her research page it says 30 horses are included from 2008 to 2011 she is not going be making much money if only 30 have been rehabed in 3 years that is 10 per year which is £15,000

For her to bring in 70,000 after tax she would have to rehab over 500 horses a year.

 

[Bikerchickone]

Thank goodness for the voice of reason!

I just hope that with all the positive experiences of barefoot, whether at Rockley or not, somebody somewhere who can help make the results known and accepted will pick up on the impressive results and help to take them further.

As an owner I'd love to be able to have my horse rescanned after he's completed his rehab period. Unfortunately I simply can't afford to do so.

If we can just get the word out about what all barefooters are achieving then maybe we can get some funding in place so that there are quantifiable results available for all to see.

I live in hope, but until then I'll continue to spread the word about my understanding and experiences.

Ps, dreams I look forward to seeing you at RRR. x

 

[tallyho!]

p.s. a HHO barefoot meet up sounds awesome

 

[Bikerchickone]

It sure does! Could be a logistical nightmare to set up, but what fun!

My vote is for down south lol!

 

[tallyho!]

Me too !!!

 

[Bikerchickone]

Excellent! Who's going to organise it? Lol x

 

[Holly Hocks]

Not just Nic... I just want to add, that if it wasn't for "barefoot" I too would not have a horse...

Me too - veterinary advice was companion or PTS......I'm back on board and hacking out. Not schooling yet, but I've got all winter to do the schooling!

 

[amandap]

Actually it was the vets who were telling me to "bute him up and work him through it" and that was a major factor for me in sending him to Rockley and trying barefoot as I wasn't prepared to do that.

I read this vet advice almost every day on here and other forums. It makes me shudder tbh.

Horses can be 'lame' for many reasons a major one being compensation from years of foot soreness causes body problems. How do you correct this? Shoe and bute?

 

[dressagecrazy]

I tend to stay away from threads like these, but I have read nearly all of the thread.

I am a person who turned to Barefoot when my dressage horse was diagnosed with Severe Impar ligament damage & adhesions to the DDFT. The foot internal structure was a complete mess. The horse would be hoping lame & 30 mins later sort of sound. But then as soon as any lateral movement occurred he would be back to hoping lame & I mean that lame he couldn't move. His prognosis was extremely poor & I was advised that if he would make a field ornament I would be lucky.

I decided to go down the BF route, I looked into Rockley but for my horse it wouldn't of been an option. He is not a well socialised horse he came to me as a very screwed up horse & it took 2 years to straighten his mind out. So to send him there as I say would not of been a good option for a very hot headed fit horse.

So I decided to do it myself, from my own experience I will say I never expected in a million years to have a sound horse in 12 weeks, & guess what he wasn't. But we did see changes week by week, the lameness even though it would still happen the lameness it's self was changing. He was no longer getting to the hopping lame stage & the frequency of the severe lameness was getting longer apart.

Eventually with a lot of carefully management he did come sound, that was last April. He's now working Back at the same level he was before the injury. I am still rediculous pedantic over him as I'm sure any of you would be.

It was always on the cards to re-MRI him, but the horse was left with issues after his stay at Leahurst. He used to allow me to do anything with his hooves & trusted me implicitly. Since his MRI's he's been a different horse & will slam his hooves down on me & generally be a pain to do hoof things with. So as much as I would love to see the data of a new MRI I just can't put him through it. But I know that info would definitely help the case for horses being Barefoot.

 

[cptrayes]

Fantastic news about the adhesions DC. I always worry about whether adhesions will go too far to be broken and resolved. I'm glad yours has. Well done with your painstaking management to achieve it.

 

[tallyho!]

Excellent! Who's going to organise it? Lol x

It would be fun if people were interested... xx

 

[ThePony]

It would be fun if people were interested... xx

Slightly OT from the start of this post, but OMG, I would love this!! Am a South ish person, not a rockley rehab, but were lucky enough to take our girl down to see Nic for some advice.

I do think it is a shame such an interesting thread has decended into mud slinging and slander. I should imagine anyone with half a brain will realise that so many insanely grateful people for Nics knowledge and openness rather over rules a grumpy one lol!

 

[j1ffy]

I have only just come across this post having looked to see if anyone had mentioned Nic's blog post, and I'm very at where it headed!! It seems that emotion has overtaken passion, which sadly seems to happen whenever barefoot gets mentioned here. I would love to see research as would most other sensible horse owners - we all want the best for our horses and to give them the greatest chance of sound lives. I know Nic has tried for years to get interest in research from many routes so if anyone knows of any bright young PhD students or colleges looking for research subjects, I'm sure she'd love to hear ideas!!

As for ex-rehabs 'mincing', I think my boy is striding out pretty well... He left Rockley 6 months prior to these pics being there, having been re-habbed for caudal hoof pain in his off-fore that had been an issue on and off for nearly a year (it was incorrectly diagnosed for a long time, Rockley was my first choice once it was correctly diagnosed):

As for the comments about Nic, all I can say is that she is the most open, honest, straighforward person that I have met in the horse world. Perhaps as a result of her lawyer background, she is always very clear about what she will do with your horse and the potential outcomes. She then does exactly what she promises and her communications are always consistent and clear. At no point did I feel there was any interest other than the wellbeing of my horse, and I only wish there were more people around like her!!

 

[Pale Rider]

Nice post J1ffy, Another trimmer I know has just closed their book to new customers, unable to take any more.

Feel the argument is won, merely a matter of time before barefoot is the mainstream.

 

[sbloom]

Quite gobsmacked reading some of this, having met Nic and seen first hand what she does at Rockley. I am quite sure that anyone investigating barefoot, or perhaps sending their horse to Nic, will get quite a clear picture about the Rockley story, and its detractors.

 

[amandap]

Lovely photos j1ffy.

 

[stormybracken]

Another satisfied customer of Rockley Farm.

After at least a year of lameness and seemingly endless involvement with vets my horse Storm had an MRI and the official prognosis of "poor" by the vet plus the verbal suggestion I have him pts, just as the insurance was due to run out. Two weeks later Storm went to Nic, and now we are Happy Hackers, and have been since the day after he came home in August 2010.

No claims made by Nic before or during his rehabilitation, no magic wand was stressed several times - what else do you say to someone sobbing down the phone, plenty of free time given by email and on the phone and in person before, during and since his time there.

This thread has been very refreshing compared to the barefoot threads from 2-3 years ago when I was desperately trying to find a solution to my horse's obvious pain, and there have been some very positive responses to the BEVA blog - basically don't give up! Plus I love to hear about other horses' recovery from injury, whether barefoot or shod.

IMO the facts speak for themselves, my horse was lame before, and IS sound after, and has remained sound...so far...it's my responsibility to keep him that way, and to continue with the rehabilitation which started during his 14 weeks at Rockley Farm. This is for Life.

 

[Jasons Dad]

I don't know much about science but a few vids and photos don't really look like science so maybe that was the problem!