Transition not going as well as expected..

[Ptaty70]

Hi

CW became bare at the front about 5 weeks ago. He really suffered in the first 3 weeks and I looked into boots.. then we went on a ride and he strode out so i thought we were over the worst.

then (like with hair appointments... you make an appointment a week ahead and you hair looks lush, but if you cancel the appointment, it looks like poop IMMEDIATELY!..) the last two weekends he has really suffered with any stones and there aren't many where we are.

I hibiscrub his feet now about once every 5 days (is that enough?) but he is out on grass/mud during the week.

My plan is to walk him up the tarmac driveway for 15 mins per night this week to harden his feet.. BUT his frogs are squishy and have tears in them ... these tears, are they normal? could he get an infection? will walking him for 15 mins on tarmac harden his feet? will harder ground in the field help him?

I am asking as I went on a hack today and i give him his head so he can find the right route for his feet (head is to the floor chcking for stones!) but I ended up a few banks and ina few bushes today as he was so footy.. this was on a track with just a few intermittent stones

Will he be better after walking on tarmac per night or shoudl I really buy some boots..?

I shall take a piccy of his hooves, but they are rather worn with bits detaching themselves. The outside looks great.

thoughts and help... ;)

[KarinUS]

I would definitely invest in some boots. Your horse shouldn't suffer for so many weeks during transition. It's fairly dry here where we live but I can see why winter/spring would be a very tough time to transition anyway.
I thought our transition (even the TB) went beautifully but I had the boots ready the moment the shoes came off and in the beginning they were never expected to go on the trail without the boots.
It jsut makes it so much more comfrotable for them. I believe that going barefoot is in the best interest of the horse and ultimatley it should make them more comfortable, not less.
Get some boots. There are even trading sites for boots in case you feel like you don't need them anymore in a few weeks.

[LMS]

Approximatly once a year the sole & frog will look like it's falling appart, and that's normal for a horse with good hooves.

If your horses hooves have to much moisture in them (and if that were the cause of the current condition) careful about doing too much work on the tarmack as it may take off too much off the hoof.
I would invest in boots if your horse's feet are tender.