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Discussion on Going barefoot
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Friday, Sep 14, 2007 - 8:30 pm:
Well now that Moose is going to be out of work for 6-12 months I wonder if I should have his shoes pulled and let him go barefoot like a real horse.
He was bare foot his whole life from what I was told when I bought him. About a year after I had him I ended up putting front shoes on due to wearing too fast from riding in the sand ring. This past January I put him in hind shoes to give his hind end support after an injury as he was wearing down on the outsides only. Prior to shoes he had great strong healthy feet, minus the 4-5 week chips he'd get which the farrier said was nothing as he could use to be trimmed every 4 weeks as his feet grew really fast.
Sooooo... is it a good idea to let him go barefoot? My vet said to ask my farrier. My farrier said it's up to me that he thinks he will be fine and that we can always put them back on. My only concern is before he was wearing down the outside of his hind feet so bad I don't want to mess him up, his time off is to get better (I hope).
I just wanted to know what everyone thought, I am not so experienced in this stuff. I have learned to much on this site.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Sep 14, 2007 - 9:04 pm:
Hi Melissa I would give it a whirl. Like your farrier said you can always put them back on.
Personally I would pull the hinds first and see how it goes and then the fronts a week or 2 later. Just in case he got sore... all 4 feet wouldn't be hurting at once.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Friday, Sep 14, 2007 - 9:44 pm:
Thanks Diane. I never thought of that. I didn't realize that they would get sore. Is it that painful for them? Gosh, is it worth it?
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Friday, Sep 14, 2007 - 10:22 pm:
Melissa he probably won't get sore if he has a good hoof. He may be a little tender if he has had shoes on for awhile, but most horses with good hooves and soles don't.
I shoe one of my horses in the fronts for summer riding and pull them in the fall and he is always fine. I just tend to be overly cautious.
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 8:50 am:
When a horse make the transition from shoes to barefoot the farrier needs to trim a bit differently.
When trimming for shoes a hoof is trimmed shorter and most shoe-ers trim the sole of the hoof.
When going barefoot the hoof sole is not trimmed so much and some farriers will leave a tiny bit more wall.
Unlless there is a a different issue with correct trimming the horse should not be sore.
Having said that I do want to also point out that while the horse won't be sore on soft ground he may be tender if you take him on hared or gravelly ground.
It takes some time for the sole to develope enough callous to keep a horse sound on hard ground.
This is why the sole shouldn't be trimmed away with every barefoot trim.
There are some very good sites about keeping a horse barefoot.
I don't know if a horse has an opininion about wearing shoes but if there is no particular reason to keep them on it makes sense to take them off.
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 10:45 am:
Hi Melissa, Diane makes a good point to take the hind shoes off first, just to see 
Also, I want to encourage you in that in my research and my vet...I've found that if the horse was barefoot before age 6, meaning the coffin was able to fully develop before the shoes were put on, then the horse will most likely do fine while retired. If he starts to wear more on one side of the hoof, you can always have him trimmed more often
Like your farrier said, you can alway put them back on. If you want to ease the transition, you can wait until it starts raining when the ground is softer.
Why is he being retired? Sorry I haven't been on in a while, but if your vet said it's up to your farrier, I'll assume barefoot wouldn't harm anything.
Good luck!
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 12:43 pm:
Aileen, Moose was injured after backing up into a small ditch and then sinking up to his chest in muck. I believe he injured himself when pulling himself out. This happened Dec 1, 2006 and wasn't really lame, we addressed the issues we thought were apparent at the time, kept riding (walk/trot) and once he cantered he went lame. After a bone scan and radiographs it turned out to be his RF elbow that has alot of arthritic changes that has caused the need to take this time off.
Lori, Moose has incredibly huge, hard, thick soled feet (very drafty). Hopefully this will work in his favor. We are in South Florida and we don't really have hard ground here. The grass is thick and soft, and the dirt is more sandy and soft. Hopefully that will be a plus too. The only hard place is the gravel roads and he won't be heading down those for a long time.
Thanks guys for your help. I'm feeling better about it.
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Member:
sunny66
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 1:34 pm:
It sounds like he'll be just fine! Just one thing, since I've started this barefoot journey, it has been drilled into my head that his feet must be perfectly balanced. I've asked a trimmer point blank about barefoot being good for arthritic horses... and not just increasing the blood flow ... and was told that if the hooves are balanced, barefoot could even help arthritis. I'm not sure I believe this, time will tell tho.
Dr. O has some fabulous articles on balancing the feet.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 - 2:07 pm:
Won't that be wonderful if it actually helps! Not only that it will save me $200 every 5 weeks. lol. I'll put it towards the $10,000 of vet bills I've paid for my boy since Dec. Good thing I love him so much!
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Member:
gailkin
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Posted on Sunday, Sep 16, 2007 - 6:29 pm:
Melissa, my horses have been barefoot for years and are doing wonderfully well on all terrain. It is much healthier for their feet and may help with his other muscular skeletal problems he is having now. I have seen some amazing transformations from horses who have received good barefoot care but I won't bore you with lots of examples. But it is important to have someone do his feet who is current on the newer philosophy of barefoot trimming by leaving the sole callous and frog to harden and callous. You will probably get really into understanding how the hoof stays healthy and absorbs shock and will want to learn more and more. As you know there are lots of good websites like Pete Ramey's, etc. In one of his articles he mentions that horses that trot a lot can develop stronger lateral cartileges on their inside rear hooves which causes them to grow more or become longer on the inside. If you think it is too out of balance you can bevel the inside rears more that the outside and it will wear faster. My jackrabbit arab is like that. Make sure your trimmer bevels the hoof wall. My horses never have chips anymore. That was one reason I first got into trimming because my young horse would have 30 chips and cracks right after his farrier pasture trim. You might want to learn enough so that you can trim him yourself at least some of the time. I usually balance about every 2-3 weeks especially if there is lots of false sole or growing changes. You could do that between trimmer visits.
If you want to see an adorable fun video on why horses love to be barefoot, watch my friend Michelle trimming two new barefoot clients. The owner had been doing them but got kicked by the second horse so wanted a professional trimmer. It is only 4 1/2 minutes and the music is great and the ending soooo cute. It is on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMZqB5qiyfU
Good Luck with Moose and his arthritis. Let us know how he is progressing.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Sunday, Sep 16, 2007 - 9:16 pm:
Gail,
Thanks for the video link, it was great. Funny I never even thought of being able to trim my horses feet, I would love that. I am definitely going to have to learn.
No one here has their horse barefoot, people actually think your crazy when you talk about it. It's only considered when the horse is turned out for a while and not working. I guess I am going to have to educate myself on the subject. Especially since Moose was barefoot his whole life until I got a hold of him. Maybe it's contributed to his problems!
I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this goes. I hope it turns out to be very beneficial for Moose. I will keep everyone updated.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 7, 2007 - 9:35 pm:
Well Moose has been barefoot for almost 3 weeks now! I have to say he's doing great! He's shown no signs of soreness (although he is so stoic he wouldn't). His feet have started to chip a little bit around where the old nail holes are. My farrier said to expect them to look ugly but I'm happy so far and I think Moose is too.
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 7, 2007 - 10:12 pm:
Good news Melissa. How are the rest of his problems doing?
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 12:37 pm:
I've got a 23-year old paint horse who has had a variety of shoes over the years. He was always tender-footed and arthritic, Had a terrible way of going -- would throw his body up the hills and was very prone to cross-cantering. After a year of really excellent trimming and balance, he is sound on all surfaces (NEVER in the 15 years I've had him was he sound on uneven or hard surfaces) and moves better than anytime since I got him. He had been diagnosed with navicular years ago, based on symptoms. His arthritis is not 100% gone but he is vastly better. He even has a floating trot -- doesn't look like the same horse. It broke my heart to realize the pain he was going through all those years could have been avoided, but I did the best I could at the time with Vets and farriers. I just didn't know any better and trusted the advice I was getting though various Vets and 6 farriers (some better than others) worked on him. I, AND my horse are very thankful for Farrier #7. After he trimmed the first time, the horse's attitude changed. He was so happy, he seemed to be thanking me. And he LOVES this farrier, after years of being untrustful of them. All of my horses are barefoot and doing better than ever.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 1:10 pm:
I don't want to jinx my horse but I will say he's going GREAT! He is completely sound again. Although he's not working, he trots and canters in the paddock with joy (soundly). He was really head bobbing there in the end. He's really happy, don't know if it's being barefoot, the rest, or a combination of both...and I don't care. I am just SOOOOO happy he is comfortable. THANK GOD! My only stress now is that his body is telling him it's winter and his hair is growing like a weed (the draft in him). It's still 90 degrees here so every three weeks I have been spending 3 hours clipping him. Yuck! But it's just more bonding time for us!
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 1:50 pm:
Pictures anyone? I am still learning to trim myself, and last trim I believe I took the heels down too far on 2 of my 4 horses. I appreciate all posts and/or photos anyone will share.
Thanks,
And great news to hear so many horses are now so comfortable!
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Member:
cgby1
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 3:41 pm:
Melissa, Years ago I had an older mare who started acting arthritic in her front legs. At the time all my horses only had shoes on their front feet, so I had their front shoes pulled. She immediately began to go pain free, so she never had shoes again. She regularly trotted and cantered, more than my gelding who was 10 years younger. She passed away last April at 33 years old and up until the last two weeks would roll and then get up and trot or canter over to the others with her neck arched, all collected. I wish I had a picture of her doing it. My other horses have not had shoes since then either, I put boots on if I think they need extra protection during a ride. My farrier does a barefoot trim and they have hard feet that don't chip. Boots are much cheaper than shoes and last a long time. If you want more info do a search like hoofrehab.com and you will be amazed.
Cynthia
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Member:
cgby1
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 3:59 pm:
Melissa, I get my boots from www.easycare.com, they ship right away, their service is great and the prices competitive.
Cynthia
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 4:20 pm:
Also, I forgot to mention that he is not wearing unevenly in the hind (which was a huge concern for me and the reason he was put in hind shoes to begin with). I'm not sure if it's because he's not working and maybe they don't wear from just being in the pasture, or if he is balancing out.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Monday, Oct 8, 2007 - 8:41 pm:
Melissa, You'll find all kinds of great barefoot information here on The Horseman's Advisor. Do a search and read everything you can about it on this site!
For me (3 horses barefoot for three years now) the key has been learning to maintain the trim between professional visits. Yes, it's scarey at first! But soon you'll be able to just rasp off a bit to keep things from getting ragged. You can post pictures here and get great advice and feedback on your trims.
Make sure you get a pair of boots for extra long or rough rides, too. As Cynthia says, they last a LOOONG time, and are much cheaper than shoes. I only use mine when I know the going will be very rough.
Sure beats the couple of hundred dollars a month I was spending on shoes!!
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Member:
leilani
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 - 3:52 pm:
Hi All,
Both my mares have been barefoot now for over a year. I have no regrets.
Anuhea wears EasyBoot Bares if it a tough ride, but mostly she is just barefoot.
We have had an extremely wet rainy season this year and I believe the Keratex Hoof Gel has really helped.
I have done some minor maintenance on both, but they are on a 5 week trim schedule so nothing major come up. Best of luck. Leilani
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2008 - 10:38 am:
Happy New Year Everyone!!! Almost 4 months now and Moose is barefoot and fabulous. Granted he's not working like before but he is completely sound and his feet are perfect. I really believe removing his shoes benefited his arthritis. I moved to NC about a month ago and he has huge pastures to run around and that he does. He has become quite the wild man in this chilly weather and I love seeing him like that. We have gone on a few brief walking trail rides (I wasn't supposed to until March, but my niece came and I took her out on my pony a few times) and his feet held up and no ouchiness on the rocks either. Not to mention no soreness the next day with the arthritis. YAY!!! I will never put a horse in shoes again unless its necessary. Thank you all for your support in going barefoot, I may not have done it without that!
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2008 - 8:52 pm:
Great news, Melissa! Thanks for letting us know how Moose is doing.
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