very happy barefoot,but a few Q's

[devonlass]

Just looking for a few answers from all you barefoot experts out there!!

Both my horses are barefoot and have never been shod.I would love to keep them that way,and would be gutted if they ever had to be shod (not having a pop at shoeing,just my own personal preference).

My youngster is not quite 2 so obviously I don't have too many worries about her,it is my 5 year old mare I have a few Q's about.
Firstly they both have good feet (well in my humble un-expert opinion anyway ),farrier seems happy with them as well.
My first worry is about roadwork.Have only backed and started my mare over the last few months,so not doing a lot yet anyway,but have taken her out for walks on the roads a few times.The road is quite gravelly in my lane,but she seemed fine with it,but only went about half a mile each time.Farrier say's he thinks as long as she not doing more than 2 hours road work at any one time,she will be fine,does that sound ok?? Not that she will be out for anywhere near that amount of time for a while,but it seemed quite a lot to me.
Next question(sorry if boring you all to death already!!).She also got quite snatchy with her front feet back along when picking out hooves.Not all the time,and she has been better again lately.I put it down to the wet weather and having quite *squidgy* (sorry,not a very scientific term but best word for what it was!!) feet.Field was really wet,although not a complete bog as is on a hill,and they do live out so there is no opportunity for them to come in and dry off.Could this have been why she was snatchy with her feet?? Or was I a terrible mum and should have took it more seriously??
Next question is about my farrier.He's great and I would hate to part way's with him,but he does just do a basic trim ie:mostly just takes of height and does minimal shaping if necessary.They have always been sound and fine on all surfaces,but even so should I have a proper trimmer?? Am thinking more long term really,as in when they are both in full work will a basic trim be good enough??
Last question (sighs of relief all round I hear!!).Now we have gone from very wet to very dry,I notice their feet are drying out fast (soles and frogs mostly),is there something I should start using now to moisten them?? Their feet went very dry last summer and just wondered if should start putting something on,or is it just best to leave well alone??

Wow what an essay!! Sorry to those of you who fell asleep,and many thanx to those who managed to stay awake for reading!!

 

[MelanieD]

Farrier say's he thinks as long as she not doing more than 2 hours road work at any one time,she will be fine,does that sound ok??

Sounds fine, I do up to 3 hours with one of mine and she quite often comes back like she could easily do it again. Depends on the state of the feet and how rough the roads are. If you want to do more than the feet can cope with and not shoe then hoof boots are very useful.

Next question is about my farrier.He's great and I would hate to part way's with him,but he does just do a basic trim ie:mostly just takes of height and does minimal shaping if necessary.They have always been sound and fine on all surfaces,but even so should I have a proper trimmer?? Am thinking more long term really,as in when they are both in full work will a basic trim be good enough??

Its possible, impossible to tell what exactly was going on without actually seeing the feet.

Next question is about my farrier.He's great and I would hate to part way's with him,but he does just do a basic trim ie:mostly just takes of height and does minimal shaping if necessary.They have always been sound and fine on all surfaces,but even so should I have a proper trimmer?? Am thinking more long term really,as in when they are both in full work will a basic trim be good enough??

It depends a lot on the farrier, them being sound over everything would suggest he's not doing anything too wrong. You could probably get a trimmer to come out as a one off to check everything is okay if you're concerned about anything.

Last question (sighs of relief all round I hear!!).Now we have gone from very wet to very dry,I notice their feet are drying out fast (soles and frogs mostly),is there something I should start using now to moisten them?? Their feet went very dry last summer and just wondered if should start putting something on,or is it just best to leave well alone??

Dry is good, their feet are tougher when dry, and they can get all the moisture they really need internally. If they are getting really hard and difficult to trim or a lot of exfoliating sole is building up because they are really dry and hard then a quick soak in water would be fine, but with the lovely UK weather you're likely to get that done the easy way often enough.