Hi,
My horse foundered a few years ago due to improper trimming. It was then I discovered barefoot and decided to use it to treat my horse.
I had wonderful results. It took about a year. However, after a year, her feet became more healthy than they ever were.
Now, I have the most sound horse I know. She completes at least 10 miles of riding per week over any type of terrain without any problems. Some weeks she completes 30 miles of riding still sound and healthy. Her feet are like rocks.
Barefoot is awesome!:)
I am now a farrier. I reluctantly went to horseshoeing school.
The worst feet I see are on shod horses. Shoes really destroy the amazing life supporting properties of the foot. I don't like to shoe. I am out there shoeing when owners want it and talking owners out of it when I can. I hope to someday to only do Barefoot trims.
I get so aggravated and so frustrated when I am asked to go in and pull shoes - I explain all the facets that go with successful barefooting i.e. turnout 24/7 in a herd situation, simplifying feeding, exercise and movement and a couple of trims down the line someone says, "well, I can't keep them out 24/7 and I haven't been able to get there daily for exercise or turnout. My horse is still ouchy on rocks and hard surfaces so I'm going to put shoes back on so I can ride." -- or something to that same effect. People, WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY for our horses's TOTAL well-beings!! Disease is the ABSENCE of well-being and health is the FREEDOM from dis-ease!! Any horse that isn't totally 100% sound is OUR RESPONSIBILITY! When I read figures such as the one from from a co-founder of the American Farrier Association:
"Of the 122 million equine found around the world, no more than 10 percent are clinically sound ... and couldnot pass a soundness evaluation or test." [American Farriers Journal, Nov./200, v. 26, #6, p.5]
I get ANGRY! Why are less than 10% of all these horses UNSOUND??? I would think that with figures such as that people would take NOTE and try to figure out WHY !?!?? Or see that what we're doing, time and time and time again, (shoes, wedges, pads, chemicals, etc.) just ISN'T working? "First, cause no harm" ... that doesn't seem to hold true very much anymore, does it.?? OK, off on a tangent here and I have appts. to get ready for. Gotta run.
Hi, I love your site! I am still learning about the barefoot trim adn certainly like the idea as opposed to struggling with putting shoes on. I totally believe the theory behind this and am trying to apply these principles to one of my horses that got out and inadvertently ate somewhere near 30lbs of grain--2 days later he foundered, despite treatment. Against the advice of my vet, I pulled his shoes and trimmed his foot to your specs (I think). I hope to see more improvement in him. He is still very sore on the front end, though I do think he is getting better. We are about 2 months out now. I may email you with more specific questions and photos.
I am trying to keep as many of my horses barefoot and trimmed regularly as I can, but I also can't ride them on the trails that we ride on since the trails are just too uncomfortable on the rocks. I can understand the people that say they shoe some because they are still tender on rocks. We usually trail ride on weekends, and go on some fairly rocky trails--I just hate to see them be so tenderfooted and ouchy on that terrain. I have not had good luck with keeping boots on, but maybe it is time to invest in some Boa or Old Mack boots (the problem there is that I have many horses with different size feet). I know if I had the time to give all of them the opportunity to grow a thick sole, then I wouldn't have this trouble, but I do understand those who may only have one horse and expect to use it regularly.
Anyway, all that is to say that the theory is great, and I think the trims are the right thing to do, but I can understand why the quick fix of shoeing is appealing, especially since everyone out there supports that activity, including our sources of advice such ast the farriers and VETS (they are not very open minded about this method of trimming either--I've tried!).
Thanks for the informational website, I'll be checking it regularly.
I am very interested in your site and would like to know more. I am going to buy the Jaime Jackson book. And then practice on my 3 horses. I have done my own trimming for 15 years and have had no problems with lameness but that doesnt mean that they are perfect which is what I want in their feet.
Thanks for your expertise and I will be asking more questions soon.
Tanya
I am a veterinarian that does endurance racing. To make a long story short, after looking into the barefoot horse theory and using it on my own horses I can't believe that the rest of the horse world can't see the benefits of going barefoot! I compte on gravel and rock at distances of 50 miles or more and my horse has never been lame, little lone sore, his gait has never been truer and I have saved a pile of money by not shoeing and resetting shoes over the ride season. Try it and you will be amazed - barefoot is the way horses were intended to be - simple but true. People often say well I rode him barefoot and he was sore so I had him shod again. Having a farrier who normally shoes horses trim a horse is NOT even close to a barefoot trim - if you want to go barefoot ( and this will take at least a year to get your horses' feet toughened up) you must do a barefoot trim. Traditional trimming removes most of the protective sole and functional shape of the hoof. I would venture to say that even a bad barefoot trim is a 100x better than a so called "good"shoeing job. So try the trim yourself if you can't find a trained farrier that will do a barefoot trim.
I come from many generations of horse shoeing folks and it was a leap of faith to go barefoot but 100s of endurance miles later I wish I had woke up sooner.
Give it a try - you'll be glad you did and you will have saved your horse a lot of pain or worse.
This is a great information site. I am new to the barefoot thought as well. I purchased a STB right off the track and pulled his shoes right away Aug. 04. He was oochy in beginning but I was told to ride & turnout as much as possible. I took the great advice, and can honestly say it was the BEST decision! I started riding him initially in the sand arena 5-6 times weekly with trail use on the weekends. Granted I did not put him on tons of stones/rocky trails but we did do short stints to work on toughening the sole until he started to toughen some. We did do quite a bit of pavement riding as well. He is not in a position at present to be outdoors 24/7 but I make sure he is outside 12 hrs daily w/a buddy or two and lots of hay. I took him off sweet feed and put him on oats and Gro and Win. It has now been 7 months and his feet look great, I've ridden him through the whole winter outside several times a week and last week rode him for 2.5 hrs Sat. and Sun w/o any gimpiness at all. I'm very pleased with his progress and will never put shoes back on him. The year transition time is well worth the benefits and he is doing fabulous! I did purchase a front set of Swiss Boots just in case I needed them during the transition time but can honestly say, thus far, I have not once used them. I'm anxious to see how he does come summer and the really hard ground and if he needs a bit more toughening, well, we'll continue to work towards it and use his boots.
I'm Barefootin ALL the Way and advocate it to many people but also tell them, if you begin this, be prepared to allow the horse TIME to TRANSITION and expect he'll be sore for a while after pulling the shoes. Ride where you CAN, not where you can't! :)
My farrier, Rick Binger, finished his 'Natural Balance' training 6mos. ago and has been using the techniques from the class since then. I recently purchased a horse from Rick and I got to see first hand Rick work his magic on Chauncey, (I didn't name him) a nine year old QH gelding. Once Rick had finished, Chauncey reacted like he had a new pair of tennis shoes and proceeded to take a romp around the 10 acre pasture he calls home. He seemed to experience running for the first time. Quite amazing to watch. I hooked on Barefoot.
I was given a 7 yr old AQHA pure black gelding due to his extreme navicular. He was so lame he would lay down any chance he could and stumbled when led on a line. Owners tried every kind of shoe made and even had Dr. Ric Redden make his special shoes....he only got worse. Since he could no longer win ribbons, they gave him to me. I pulled his shoes, gave him a natural trim based on the wild horse model and turned him out 24/7. Today there are days I can't ride this stunning 16 hh creature because he is so 'full of it'. He still has the same vet, but she won't credit the trim, and she wanted to nerve him!! I trim my own horses and for a small group of people, and am currently in the process of getting AANHCP certification. It works, I've seen in first hand more than once.
I have had one of my horses for ten years; she had been "unshod" for six of those years, and what I consider "barefoot" for the past year. What a difference a barefoot trim makes! Even though she had been unshod, she still had terrible flares and a grouchy attitude. The farrier always said the same thing..."If you want shoes, we can take care of the flare, but it isn't hurting anything. She just has flared feet, there's not much we can do".
Well, I've been trimming her and my others for over a year, and she is now flare free, and much happier! I am without a doubt convinced that barefoot is the way to go; none of my horses will ever be shod again, or left without a good trim. I am planning on applying to be AANHCP certified as well, and to help in spreading the good word about barefootin'!
I just wanted to give an update about my 10 yo Standardbred I have had now for 13 months barefoot. I just returned last weekend from a full weekend of riding at Beavercreek. We rode the toughest, most rockiest trail many times barefoot. Jorgee did wonderfully, never chipped and was never oochy/unsound.
This is for Katrin: Early into this venture, I purchased a used pair of Swiss Boots just in case and have used them and LOVE them for the easy, park well manicured trails that have the man-made small stones put down. If you have never used the Swiss Boots, try them! I have used them in dry conditions, extremely muddy/sucky thick up to his knees mud, wet conditions & used them at all "gaits", even galloping in them and they just won't come off. The really nice thing about these simple boots is they are very easy to put on/take off, don't rub and as my horse's feet have expanded, you can heat the boot up to continue to fit the horse.
People constantly are amazed at where I ride my horse w/o shoes and his feet look wonderful and he performs very well.
I had my mares shoes pulled on December 7, 2004 because she had contracted heels and a very bad frog fungus. At first I stayed with my farrier to do the trims. But, my mare was always sore until it was time to trim her again. In May of 2005 I called a bare foot trimmer. She would only take me on as a customer if I was willing to learn how to do the trim myself. I have been working with her since and doing most of the trims myself. I just had her out December 17th 2005 to check my horse to see how I was doing. She told me I was doing a better job than 70% of so called farriers. This was a real boost to my confidence. My mare, Georgie, also had very bad stretched white line and was ouchy on the rocks around the stable where I board. She is able to roam 24/7 on grass pasture except in the winter months she is locked in a lot with her buddy and a round bale of hay. I have taken her off 12% sweet feed and replaced it with oats and Vita-Plus. I'm still struggling with the frog fungus and getting the heels to spread and the deep crack to heal. I've been using vinegar/water/tea tree oil but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I'm thinking about trying the Borax and Calendula drops. Because my horse is on pasture and a small dirt lot when I ride in rocky parks I use boots. I've tried Old Mac's, Easyboot Epic, and Easyboot bare. I would highly recommend the Easyboot bare to everyone. Once you get them adjusted to your horses foot they stay on and my horse loves them. When using the Easyboot bare my horse does not even act like she has boots on her feet. I actually was blessed to get into the prototype testing of these boots and they should be available to the public this month, January, 2006 from www.easycareinc.com. What I didn't like about the Easyboot Epic was the lever would pop up and if you use the pin so this doesn't happen the pin is very difficult to remove after your ride. May of 2006 will be a year that I have been doing the bare foot trim on my mare and I'm hop
Morning, Candace!
Thanks for your note. I read, with interest, about the frog fungus and the first thought that came to mind was the feeding of the oats ... I understand that JJ recommends feeding oats but I tend to lean towards even MORE of a "natural" feeding with the elimination of grains, totally, and the addition of a hay stretcher or forage extender to increase the forage consumption. I also add varied veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds regularly for different vitamins and minerals. In the wild, horses don't eat grains much as there just aren't any ... the horses have eaten the grasses so they don't have the chance to grow flowers and seed heads (the grains) ... Once I stopped feeding oats and concentrated feeds I noticed immediate improvement with a very stubborn yeast infection in my TB's heel bulbs ... in fact, its gone. I have to leave his heels a bit longer than what I'd like to see but, his own evidence of soundness attests to his need for the longer heels. Drives me nuts to look at them and I itch to take 'em down to where the "textbooks" say is required but, last word always has to come from the horse, himself ... and this one horse says "uh-uh. I need a bit more heel than what the books say, Mom!" ... ;)
I applaud your dedication to your horses; its not always the easier route to take, is it? I find a 'natural' lifestyle for the horse is often more difficult than a traditional one but, in the long run, the horses tell me they're happy, sound and well. That's what really counts, right?
:)
Tuesday, February 7th 2006 @ 6:34 AM
Posted by Anne:
Hello!
I removed Bob's shoes last week. The barefoot trimmer fitted him With Easyboot Bare boots. I am noticing now that they are way too big and I have to replace them. I also read a Jamie Jackson book
where he warned against the easyboot....
Which boot is the best one out there???
Please help!
Thanks,
anne:)
I went barefoot with my 7 year old CB/TB nearly three months ago. His feet are looking really good and we are now hacking out twice a week on tarmac roads and schooling twice on a surface. He wears old mac boots on the front for hacking. I was worried about his front feet as the soles were thin and his feet are quite flat but so far am very pleased. The shape of the feet has improved already and the soles are buildng up nicely. I can't turnout 24/7 but he goes out most of the day.
This comment is for Candice. The frog fungus problem can be easily addressed by treating with Dry Cow treatment, it comes in a syringe and you can buy it at Valleyvet.com...It is doing wonders for my older horse that also has a fungus with the contracted heel problem..the crackin the frog is opening up nicely. I have been using it for about two weeks...Jane:)
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