To the Barefoot

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FudgieFoo

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Mar 11, 2005
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nr. Hemel Hempstead, Herts
My mare has recently gone bare on her fronts after four months being bare on the hind. She is fine in the field but when she comes onto the concrete yard she looks foot sore. She's not in work and won't be for 12 months. Will the feet improve? Is there anything I can do? She was fine on the roads with the hinds bare.
 
Yes and yes! What sort of trim are you having done? My old cob was never footsore barefoot but he had badly underrun heels which didn't seem to be improving at first. My trimmer suggested I walk him out with pads on his feet every day, I did this for about 3 months & it made a huge difference to him.

Now isn't the best time to be going barefoot with the ground being all soggy but talk to your trimmer & take their advice, I'm sure there will be things you can do to help your horse adjust.
 
My farrier did the trim. She has her toes rolled and heel dropped as they suspect lamanitic changes. I don't like the ideas of EPs. Not only that I go for farriers/dentists/chiros etc through word of mouth.
 
FudgieFoo said:
My farrier did the trim. She has her toes rolled and heel dropped as they suspect lamanitic changes. I don't like the ideas of EPs. Not only that I go for farriers/dentists/chiros etc through word of mouth.
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But it's not just about rolling toes and dropping heels. The foot needs to be in balance and whoever is doing the trim needs to understand the bare foot.

Some farriers are more than competent to keep an unshod horse sound and working well, unfortunately not all are! My mare had dreadfully unbalanced feet with the farrier which led to a rotten crack all the way up the front of the near fore.

I'd be interested in why you don't like the idea of an EP. Have you researched it?

Certainly I've found every EP that I've come across (a few!) to be very intelligent, knowledgeable people who are passionate about horses and their hooves. The training is TOUGH and they don't hand out passes like candy! KC (the founder of the trim) was a highly qualified farrier himself so it's not like it was developed by someone who just decided to think up a barefoot trim!

Although there are some people who are very happy with a farrier trim there are also quite a few people out there who didn't have success with the farrier but did have success with an EP trim. I think that the fact that they tend to offer advice and support on conditioning, WLD, thrush, feed etc helps this somewhat.

I agree with IM re walking in pads, it can be a great help especially in the early stages. Also pay careful attention to any WLD & thrush as these tend to show up more in barefoot horses because the foot isn't 'protected' by the shoe.

Good luck :)
 
Some farriers are great at doing the trimming prior to shoe fitting, but a barefoot trim is different altogether, and some farriers just cannot do it - it's not part of their training I suppose.
Find a good KC La Pierre trimmer - they have to train for a year and then have a practical exam with the great man himself. Do a bit of research on the subject of barefoot horses as well and find out all you can.
 
Iron Maiden said:
Now isn't the best time to be going barefoot with the ground being all soggy.
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HI, can you possibly explain why now isn't a good time for going barefoot? I ask because CW went barefoot on the back 6 weeks ago and I was thinking of leaving the fronts until march, only because I know they have more weight on the front and to give the back feet time to properly harden. I would have thought soft ground was better for them as there's more give in the ground. Is it because of thrush???

I must explain that I was also thinking of going barefoot at the next visit from the farrier in 2 weeks but was going to ask his advice. He has not been footsore but his frogs are a little tender when picking out (the horse, not the farrier! :D ).

Sorry to hijack but I am sure the answer could also help Fudgie.

I am completely new to barefoot, so any questions really are just questions...!:D
 
As I understand it, the bare feet need to be stimulated by some degree of concussion to develop proper internal structure. On soggy ground you won't get the same stimulation as on the firmer ground you get in summer, so the foot will take longer to develop good structure. To a degree you can compensate for this by doing roadwork & schooling on sand, but your EP is the best person to advise on what's appropriate for your horse. The purpose of pads is to distribute the weight evenly over the whole foot, so everything gets stimulated - even heels that aren't weight bearing properly because they have collapsed. They do work very well!
 
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CWs hacking involves some hard surfaces on byways but this is only twice a week, then one 'go' in the sand school so is this enough?? I am avoiding stoney surfaces so he doesn't get bruised. I don't have a problem (yet, as he still has to have the fronts off) so have fingers crossed it is enough..

Fudgie, from what I have heard from other threads, she should get better but it will take more time as the front is more weight bearing. Maybe as Iron Maiden says she should be put on harder surfaces a bit more often to stimulate the whole foot??

Quick question, if you use hoof boots, then surely these do not allow the whole foot to make contact with the ground so cannot be that great at stimulating the whole foot??

I am interested in all replies from all as I too feel like I am fudgie in 3 months time.....
 
You can put pads inside hoof boots, I never did this with my old cob because his front feet were so big, nobody made boots big enough for him! I think Bebe & Yann from NR have both used boots with pads inside successfully though.

I know there are people a lot more knowledgeable than me about barefoot on NR, but for what it's worth, in my experience you are best off taking it a day at a time & just seeing what your horse is happy to do. If they get footy then take it easy on hard & stoney surfaces, if they are happy to go on any surface & have a good blast then just enjoy it!
 
EP is equine podiatrist. These are the trimmers who do the KC LaPierre inspired trims. Just re-read the posts & realise we're talking farriers, the philosophy may be a bit different in that case. My barefoot experience is with EPs rather than farriers but it has all been very, very positive.
 
mayoguinness said:
I had a KC trim on my horse once! My horse went hoping lame after though, but maybe I should of continued a bit with it! What about Pete Ramey! I heard he was sposed to be good.
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If your horse was already barefoot then the horse shouldn't have gone hopping lame as a result of a trim. Are you sure that it was a 'proper' EP? Did you report this to them and what did they say?
 
Bay Mare said:
But it's not just about rolling toes and dropping heels. The foot needs to be in balance and whoever is doing the trim needs to understand the bare foot.

Some farriers are more than competent to keep an unshod horse sound and working well, unfortunately not all are! My mare had dreadfully unbalanced feet with the farrier which led to a rotten crack all the way up the front of the near fore.
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Interestingly enough farrier mentioned her hind, which have been bare no prob since June, were out of balance.

I'm afraid I don't know too much about feet to know if they are in balance, being correctly trimmed/shod. Hence all the problems I've had with Fudge recent months where her toe has gotten very long.

TBH I've been looking at her feet in the field and she's much more upright now on the fore and it looks "right" for her.

She can't do road work/school work as she is being rested following her recent lameness and prior to her foaly being born. Vet didn't see any point bringing her back into work for such a short time.
 
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