Barefoot questions

[greyhorses]

I'd like to try and get my horse to go barefoot. He went barefoot this summer while I went to America and he lived at my friend's place. When he came back home I tried to keep him barefoot but he could barely walk over the stones on the drive and I needed to ride to shift some of his excess weight so the shoes went back on.
However, I've now seen some things you can put on feet to hack in, my questions are:

How expensive are they?
How long do they last with roadwork?
Do you need brushing boots as they seem wider than the foot.

Thanks

[gordo]

Hello! My horse has been barefoot since March 06. It was a tricky and uncomfortable route but we had no choice as his arthritis meant he had dotten dangerous to be shod. He is a 17.2hh ID/TB all of 17 years. We first got Boas which didn't like then Old Macs G2's didn't fit and now happily in Marquis on the frobts which cost 100 pounds. They will last a fair old while and all the parts are replaceable when they do where out. I haven't used any brushing boots as not needed to. It is a real nightmare getting the right boots but I would talk to whoever will be trimming your horse's feet for advice before buying. You can get good deals via the net and also trial before you buy but the fitting is supposed to be done by trimmer really (mine weren't though). Hope this helps.

[greyhorses]

I'd like to keep my original farrier but he doesn't specialise in barefoot, do you think this will cause problems? He's due again in January so I can chat to him then.
Will go and search the web now for Boas, Old Macs and Marquis....
Thanks for your help Gordo.

[jen1]

hi, im taking it that your horse was kept at grass at this time?? if so the white line would have opened to a degree! and his foot wouldn't have had any conditioning at all, so to then ride is a few steps too far,(not slating by the way) if you want to go barefoot now is a good time if you have some hard standing he can spend some of the day on, just to keep hooves dry, and then walk out in hand this can range from 10 Min's to an hour, let your horse tell you, any-horse will be lame to begin with on stones much like we would say oo oww when walking on rough surfaces, then we would be OK, on smooth ground, now if you have a horse that isnt OK on smooth ground after walking on stones, etc, then it might be wise to use boots, sometimes but not all of the time, maybe just 10 Min's walking in hand on smooth tarmac for a month,walked out every day, and use boots for riding ect, a barefoot trimmer is invaluable, to the progress, as they will see what the untrained eye wont, id go for an ancp trimmer every time, that being based on mustang feet, my horse had been shoes less (trimmed by a farrier) and he only lasted 45 Min's 2 a week, until we went right into barefoot he now hacks for 2 hours most days, i can see you thinking behind your question (how long does the hoof last)
bare foot= good walking boots) shoes or untrimmed untamed farrier usually amount to stiletto's,, if that makes easy sense of it, you need to study a little to get a real informed idea of what involved, i can highly recommend JAMIE JACKSONS book paddock paradise, , and look up my trimmer new web site,www.right2remainshoeless.com. good luck, and keep asking questions, jen xx

[jen1]

ninawithblue said:

I'd like to keep my original farrier but he doesn't specialise in barefoot, do you think this will cause problems? He's due again in January so I can chat to him then.
Will go and search the web now for Boas, Old Macs and Marquis....
Thanks for your help Gordo.

this is why its god to research and form your own opinion about the fact, and then sound the farrier out, and see if he is anti barefooot, which usually mean keerrrching,!lol
i have never seen any farrier trim that gets them to the right shape and heel hight, if you would like me to send you pics of the heel placent of my filly i can, jen x

[Azrael]

I used original old macs, cost about £95 and lasted for ages, think it's either 3 or 6 months they are guaranteed for but mine lasted way longer than that. Got two horses to the point where they didn't need them anymore and then got sold on ebay with plenty of use left in them. Never used brushing boots with them, I'd use brushing boots if the horse normally wore them but wouldn't use them on a horse that doesn't usually have them just because of the hoof boots.

It's worth getting someone who really knows what they are doing with barefoot, doesn't matter if it's an EP, other variety of good trimmer or a farrier as long as they know what they are doing with working barefoot horses. An EP, or someone else who know what they are doing, can usually improve the feet a lot and get a lot of feet healthy enough not to need boots anymore. If you have a farrier who isn't doing a very good barefoot trim then you could be stuck faffing with boots for a very long time. At worst you could even get landed with a cr*p trim that makes the horse more sore.

[blueali]

My Blue is barefoot and trimmed by my farrier although I did get an EP out at the same time as my farrier so they could share knowledge. I use Old Macs and now G2's on the hinds (they are the wrong shape for the front), I tried Boas and they twisted, the laces kept breaking so the boots came off and the grip was very poor on mud. I used them less and less over the summer but now the ground and so her feet are so wet I have to use them all the time when hacking. I ride most days, quite a lot on roads and mine lasted 9 months. I tink they look bulkier than they are, I haven't had any brushing type problems, so unless your horse had a VERY close action they should be fine.

[greyhorses]

Thanks. Blue did indeed remain in the field for three months while barefoot. He managed to walk up and down the track to the field when he came back to my yard, however when he had my weight on top as well, he found it hard to walk out on the track.
He is stabled at night and we have a concrete yard so his feet would have chance to dry out.
Thanks for the offer of pics Jen1, I'll carry on searching the web for the time being.
The boots do sound like they last a while.

[samcspottyhorses]

blueali - tell me again - your farrier and your EP Shared Knowledge?

[jen1]

samcspottyhorses said:

blueali - tell me again - your farrier and your EP Shared Knowledge?

you mean they didnt draw rasps at dawn ;D,lol

[blueali]

Oohhh yes, shock horror, horsey experts working together for the good of the horse!

Everyone considered Blue's feet, it was EP's first visit so she did the whole thorough thing. Then EP did trim, meanwhile farrier went to his next appointment down the road, then he phoned me to ask if she was finished and could he come back for a look. He is trained in cytek so has a slightly different way anyway although does a variety of shoes, but showed the EP his work in the form of the other horse living with Blue. We discovered that although the farrier uses different landmarks on Blue's feet at least the trim was the same, although the EP explained how she would deal with the flare (in Blue's case more boldly) and what to aim for with a barefoot ridden horse (mainly a rim around the sole of hoof wall). I think they discovered their theories were not so far apart after all and as EP's are not anti-shoes if necessary she thought his work would be the next best thing for a horse that HAD to have shoes.

Next I'll try to get a vet agreeing aswell!

[jill]

There is a qualified farrier in mid Wales who also does barefoot trimming, according to my friend who uses him. My ambition is to get to chat to him and ask what does he do differently - my farrier is keen to get Caspars feet right but very protective of the registration system, like most of them - no-one else can do the job!! A qualified farrier would have the credibility he could relate to, so I might get him a bit further along the route.

[KoLaTo]

I'm another with a heaven sent pro-barefoot traditional farrier, he has always said that they weren't born with lumps of steel tacked to their feet so why mess with what nature provided ! He is really helpful and gets me to look at the balance and heel height etc and even spends time showing me how to do them myself and yesterday bought me up an old but usable rasp for between visits just to keep them tidy.

My girl has Cavallo Simple Boots on the fronts at the moment as she is footy on stones but dosen't mind tarmac or other smooth surfaces so if we are just going poodling round the bridlepaths then we don't bother with them but i pop them on for longer road or track rides where we might encounter gravel and stones. I also work her once a week in a sand school which has really helped.

My little lad on the other hand is a footsure mountain goat, not sure if he has ever had shoes on, he goes over any surface whatsoever no problems and has feet like little iron pads - LOL