Barefoot - Do they always go lame?

[Guest]

I was just wondering if it takes a while for a horse to 'go lame' after having it's shoes off.

Bry has had her shoes off for nearly 5 days and she's still fine, theres a bit of ouchy when I pick her feet out and they look absolutly shocking but she still appears to be sound.

She's got boots for hacking anyway as I think they might be helpful for the time being as I have no intention of reducing her workload providing she's sound.

Should I expect the initial sound period to wear off soon and have a lame horse?

[jenren!!]

Soem horses cope fine, Bry might have such tough feet she doesnt feel the ground much at all :D

[No_Angel]

maddie was perfect for about a month, then suddenly started getting ouchy on stones. dunno what happened, nothing changed (shes always been sound on the hardcore/gravel by the gate.

[Stella2]

I don't want to tempt fate, so touching wood, crossing fingers etc, but Flora had one set of shoes on when she came back into work in April, having been barefoot, turned away from the previous September. She was fine when turned away and aside from being a little ouchy on stoney ground, she has had no trouble at all since having her shoes off in May. - So no, they don't always go lame (touches wood again) :)

[Sarah-B]

TC was completely sound for the first couple of months and then became ouchy and has been to some degree ever since :confused:

[MelanieD]

A horse with healthy feet that doesn't overdo things early on shouldn't go lame. Any horse with healthy feet should at least be sound moving around by itself in a field straight away. Some seem to start to feel their feet more after a little while, some don't change from when the shoes come off, doesn't usually go from perfectly sound to totally lame though. Main causes of lameness early on barefoot is either foot problems that were there already when shod but didn't show up as badly with a shoe on or overdoing things and either getting far too much wear or bruises/abcesses.

[Wonder Horse]

Ditto sarah-B,

Seth was fine for 5wks or so (although lost lots of hoof up to nail holes)

But now is very ouchy.Only been riding 2hrs per wk 1/2 grass the rest road.

Had 7 days off during last fortnight. Left hind very short of hoof.Both hinds must be 1inch or so lower than they were which is probably a good thing for his posture overall, but am having massage therapist out,as obviously will effect back etc.

Still not sure how long I can do this.It has helped with his traction,and he trips slightly less, but other things such as the difficulty finding boots to fit, his fitness level dropping, putting weight on, being lammi prone,the only grassless paddock is chippings, can't get grazing muzzle to fit him,footy,worrying i'm missing the beginnings of laminitis mixed up with being footsore,difficulty holding feet up long enough to trim,etc etc etc!!!!!!:eek:

And all this even with advice of E.P. (who appears unavailable for any advice whatsoever)

I think if you have a poor doer,with small feet,perfect facilities, and don't care if they are fit,it must be a lot easier!:mad:

Good Luck.:(

Sorry about all that! Just a frustrating time

[Guest]

Oh WH I can see why you are frustrated, I really hope it all works out for you.

I guess only time will tell with Bryony

[Wonder Horse]

Hi Bobbin,

(Shouts from the rooftops)..IM HAVING A BAD DAY!!!!!

I'm sure Bryony will be fine!;) You have been very sensible getting boots before problems kick in.

I asked my E.P. 3wks ago if Seth needed them as I was worried, but she thought not.He's only had 3.5 hrs excercise since then.2hrs of it in school or on grass.
My Bares arrived today (can fit back only,but these are worst anyway) and they look great,but fortunately I cut out some outline drawings of Seths feet and tried these in them,and one boots too small :( He seems to have widest part of his hoof,in different place to widest part of boots. Never mind, I will try to get a trimmer to retrim hoof,retake measurements and swap if necessary.

Bryony looks a sweety in her new shoes!:D :D :D

[entreat]

Please keep in mind that the barefoot decision is a long term one, and it takes up to 6months to grow out the hoof completely. The hoof of a horse new to barefoot will still be working on weaker hoof wall & will be more prone to wearing down than a seasoned barefoot horse.

Best of luck to you and your horse in the transition.

[Guest]

Thanks, I have bought the boots with the expectation that Brys feet may not be right for a year or so...hopefully not though.

Thanks WH - She wasn't to amused with them!!

[Wonder Horse]

My ego doesn't need a bigger horse - 14.2 and full of female attitude!

I bet she's 14.3 now!!!:p

[galadriel]

My TB's always had horrible feet. I switched farriers and their feet started GROWing (wonder of wonders) and the new growth was healthy and tough. So I had their shoes pulled. They didn't even get ouchy, much less lame. I did not boot them, though I would have if I'd been asking them to walk much on the roads or unpleasant surfaces.

[Bay Mare]

Wonder Horse, sorry you're having such a tough time at the mo. Have you tried calling her on her mobile? I know that she's been really busy recently but she's not usually that bad at getting back to you. Hang on in there, it's worth it in the end!

If you think about it the feet haven't suddenly gone 'bad', it's just that they need to adjust to having to work again without the support of a shoe. A bit like us going 'barefoot' I guess, we would be a bit ouchy at first if we had never taken our shoes off before.

To answer the original question ... no, they don't always go lame. Saff was sound from day 1 but then we don't think that she had shoes on for very long anyway, probably less than a year, so her structure wasn't as bad as if she'd been in shoes for a lot longer.

After having Saff barefoot for over a year now I would still persevere with barefoot if I get another horse that doesn't have such an easy time. The benefits (IMO) greatly outweigh the time and effort that you sometimes have to put in.

[Guest]

My ego doesn't need a bigger horse - 14.2 and full of female attitude!

I bet she's 14.3 now!!!:p

That sounds really aragonty doesn't ...someone wrote it in a thread a while ago and I just loved it...so I asked them if I could knick it.

And yesy she probably is a bit taller now.

[Yann]

It's not inevitable for a horse to go lame or footsore, though progress isn't always linear.

[Wonder Horse]

Hi,

Lovely signature Bobbin!

Yes BayMare, I have PM'd you.

Sorry Bobbin for putting my rant in your thread!:o

[Lgd]

Nope they don't all go sore. Peri had to have her shoes off for maternity leave having been shod continuously for 13 years. She's always been able to work with a shoe off anyway and has hard feet. Hind shoes off in November and foreshoes off in January. No ouchies and has been ridden lightly on roads and has no problems with rough ground or gravel. My farrier has suggested leaving her barefoot and see how she goes when she is back in full work.

[Guest]

Sorry Bobbin for putting my rant in your thread!:o

Hey it's actually relavant...going barefoot isn't always straight forward and I can understand why you are so annoyed...not had much luck have you.